Sound Transit Board Chair and King County Executive Ron Sims announced Dec. 17 that final agreements have been reached with the Burlington Northern &Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) for extending Sounder commuter rail service between Everett and Seattle – including stops in Edmonds – and between Tacoma and Lakewood.
The first trains between Everett and Seattle will run Sunday, Dec. 21 for the Seattle Seahawks’ home game against the Arizona Cardinals. Regular commuter service will begin the following day.
“This is very exciting news for Snohomish County,” said Dave Earling, outgoing vice chair of the Sound Transit board and president of the Edmonds City Council.
The Sound Transit Board convened in a special meeting Dec. 17, approving eight agreements for extending Sounder service. The board had originally planned to have the agreement with Burlington Northern in place Dec. 11, but some details remained to be ironed out, officials said.
Following are the highlights of the agreement:
• On Sunday morning, Dec. 21, Sound Transit will distribute 500 tickets in conjunction with a public celebration at Everett Station featuring food and entertainment.
• Regular commuter service to Snohomish County will begin Monday, Dec. 22. Following the Puget Sound shoreline, the service will initially include one round trip each weekday from Everett to Seattle and back with stops in Edmonds. The service will be offered free of charge through Jan. 2 to promote ridership.
• Extending Sounder service to Lakewood will he enabled by Sound Transit’s purchase of 21 miles of track. Lakewood service is scheduled to begin in late 2007 following the completion of necessary track and signal improvements.
The agreements with BNSF permanently enable commuter rail trains to travel on existing tracks from Seattle to Everett and Tacoma to Lakewood, according to Sound Transit. In the Seattle-Everett corridor, the agreements provide for access to the tracks during specific hours of the day in perpetuity – an improvement over the 97-year term of a preliminary agreement announced last spring. And Sound Transit’s full ownership of 21 miles of track between Tacoma and the Thurston County line (at the Nisqually River) will give the public full control of the segment’s future.
“I cannot emphasize enough the importance of these agreements,” Sims said. “Not only have we purchased an important right-of-way from Tacoma to Thurston County, we will have access to the Seattle-to-Everett tracks forever.”
“This agreement permanently guarantees that Snohomish County commuters the choice of leaving behind their cars and the I-5 corridor’s growing congestion,” said Sound Transit Board Member and Snohomish County Executive Bob Drewel.
Drewel said the track and signal improvements resulting from the agreements will increase capacity for both passengers and freight, further enhancing the region’s economic competitiveness.
“Commuter rail service was one of Snohomish County’s top priorities for the Sound Move plan approved by the region’s voters, and today we’re delivering it,” added Earling. “Sunday’s train ride will be the happiest of my life.”
Sound Transit will eventually run four round-trips a day from Everett to Seattle, with future trains to be implemented over time. It is projected that the second train will start in the fourth quarter of 2005; the third and fourth trains will start in the fourth quarter of 2007. Service to Mukilteo will be added when track improvements are completed, allowing for a permanent station to be built. Mukilteo service is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2007.
Sound Transit will pay BNSF a total of $258 million over four years for easements to operate trains on the segment between Seattle and Everett and $32 million to purchase the Tacoma-to-Nisqually section of track.
The cost of the Everett-to-Seattle Sounder project which voters approved in 1996 has grown from $177 million to $385 million, an increase that mostly can be blamed on the payout agreed to in the spring for access to Burlington Northern Santa Fe’s tracks rising from $115 million to $258 million.
Sounder service began September 2000 and currently serves about 15,000 passengers per week with three round-trips each weekday between Tacoma and Seattle.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
