Once again, Sound Transit’s new light rail track extension to Federal Way has been fertile territory for copper wire thieves, who caused service to be halted for six hours Friday.
The chronic disruptions are a drag on the regional system’s dependability, before the March 28 opening of the Bellevue-to-Seattle segment across Lake Washington, which should increase light rail’s 110,000 average daily ridership. And a few weeks later, international visitors will arrive for six World Cup soccer matches in June and July, when the prestige of mayors, council members and business barons is on the line.