Sound Transit's New "Light Rail Fixed While U Wait" Service
Employees of Sound Transit were understandably filled with a certain pride yesterday morning as they showed off the new light rail operations and maintenance center for the collected media.
The new plant, in SoDo across from the Tully’s headquarters in the old Rainier Beer building, sits on a 26-acre site and yesterday morning there were 35 of the new light rail cars on the grounds all lined up and ready to go.
The operations and maintenance building contains more than 160,000 square feet of space and can hold 16 light rail cars. There are work bays where workers can get underneath and on top of the cars for routine maintenance or general repairs. There’s also a washing bay that looks like a smaller version of the Costco Car Wash just a few blocks away. And there’s a paint room that the guys on Pimp My Ride would drool over. About 175 people work on the site.
"We’ve got everything we need," said Paul Denison, link operations manager. "We’re testing the equipment every day and the trains are out on the line simulating their daily run times. We’ll be ready for the July 18 opening."
Entering the trains--made in Japan and assembled in Everett--the biggest surprise is how spacious they and how much room there is. High ceilings, comfortable seats for 74 people and, according to Denison, room for 200 to ride comfortably, though he admitted more than that could fit on. To prove his point, he mentioned that Japanese transit uses "pushers" to cram more people into trains. Doesn’t seem likely that sort of backside help with catch on in uptight Seattle, where booty touching is frowned upon.
Safety is at a premium with close circuit cameras throughout and a triple braking system that Denison seemed particularly proud of. "These trains have smooth, controlled stops," he said. "People are going to be impressed." The trains travel at various speeds throughout the line, but generally move with the traffic, at 35 mph, when they travel on city streets. The trains travel just 2.5 inches above the tracks and are so low slung that access for all will be easy, including for handicapped riders who will find wide aisles and ample wheelchair spaces. Nearly all the machinery is located on top of the trains.
The only possible shortcoming is a lack of sufficient bike racks; there are only two bike hooks on each car, though one of the bench seats can be folded up so a cyclist can stand there. Transit officials said that, following the opening, there would be a wait and see approach to managing service. A shuttle bus from Tukwila, the current end of the line, will run riders up to the airport until the line is extended to SeaTac in six months. There is room at the plant for up to 100 cars if ridership really takes off.
Let’s hope it does. Seattle’s dream of a light rail system is just about here. We need to prove that we’ll use what we’ve always said we wanted.
