Sounder rolls, but few ride it
Published 9:00 pm Monday, December 22, 2003
With the fanfare over, it was finally time for Sounder to get to work on Monday.
Sound Transit’s new Snohomish County commuter rail service to Seattle was hugely popular among those who rode the first true commuter train on Monday, with many riders already calling for more trains.
While a train full of dignitaries, football fans and Christmas shoppers got service started on Sunday, Monday’s train was the first to take Snohomish County workers to their downtown Seattle jobs.
The new weekday roundtrip Sounder starts at Everett Station in the morning, stops at Edmonds Station, and ends at King Street Station in Seattle, only to be reversed in the afternoon. Sounder will eventually stop in Mukilteo when a station is built there, probably in 2007 or 2008.
"Already people are saying give us an earlier train, give us a later train, and that’s a good thing," said Lee Somerstein, a Sound Transit spokesman. "That means the interest is there."
Still, the first train was only about 25 percent full, with 215 people taking it south in the morning and 182 taking it back to Snohomish County in the afternoon. The train had four cars, which means it’s capable of carrying 560 people. A fifth car can be added when demand grows.
"That’s about what we expected, it being the holidays and not that many people knowing about it," Somerstein said. "We’ll get our marketing people up in Snohomish County."
Somerstein said the number of riders will pick up as word gets out and more people find a way to adjust their schedules to match the times the trains leave.
The train leaves Everett in the morning at 6:55, stops in Edmonds at 7:21 a.m. and arrives in Seattle at 7:54 a.m. On the way back it leaves Seattle at 5:15 p.m., arrives in Edmonds at 5:42 p.m. and gets back to Everett at 6:14 p.m.
A second roundtrip train is scheduled to start at the end of 2005, with two more roundtrip trains starting by the end of 2007. The trains will all go south in the morning and come back in the afternoon, with the times staggered to best catch the commute. Some Seahawks and Mariner trains will be scheduled as well.
Voters expected the first train to roll much sooner, having approved Sound Move, the plan to bring commuter rail and improved bus service to Snohomish County, in 1996.
Tough negotiations with Burlington Northern Santa Fe for access to the railroad’s main line to the East Coast delayed the project by three years and drove the overall cost up to $385 million.
Commuters who road the train to work on its first regular trip into Seattle had the following to say about Sounder:
"I’m here the first day because I’ve been waiting for six years. The train versus the bus takes away the once or twice a week two-and-a-half-hour commute on the freeway. I’m going to take it every day. It’s the stability — it’s being on time."
"I’m thrilled it finally happened. It’s going to grow fast. I know it’s going to take time, but we’re going to need that second train pretty fast."
"There’s no traffic, and there’s only one stop. On the bus it takes an hour and a half on the freeway, and if anything happens then you’re toast. (I would like) more times. Anything beats driving your car."
"I think it’s incredible. I’ve been waiting for this for 15 years. We’re going to be happy when we get more flexible schedules. I’d say 10 out of 10 for comfort, ease and look out the window, we’re going to see some awesome sunsets here in a few months. I like the fact that you can go to the bathroom."
"We need more trains. It’s unfortunate because the train is not early enough. Just one more, earlier train would be fine."
"I love it. I’ll ride it every day. There’s no traffic jams. You can sit in a bus for two hours. (The train) is always moving, and there’s a bathroom. I would prefer that it go earlier and come back earlier. It’s just fantastic, but they could add a dining car. And while they’re at it, they could have it go all the way through Marysville."
Reporter Lukas Velush: 425-339-3449 or lvelush@heraldnet.com.
