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Our test light rail ride began at the Columbia City station, which is not in the "heart" of Columbia City, but six blocks away at MLK Way and South Edmunds Street.
With just ten days to go before the new Sound Transit link light rail opens to the public, Mayor Greg Nickels led a group of bloggers, reporters, and test bicyclists on a ride of the new line, from the Columbia City station to Tukwila.
It’s hard not to be excited by the new service. Pulling out of the new Columbia City station, the train quickly got up to speed and moved quietly along. (That's partly why we took our scenic video--so you can hear what it sounds like inside.) The cars are large with unusually high ceilings. This morning’s tour included more than 35 riders and the cars still felt spacious and open.
The station platforms are perfectly lined up with the height of the train doors, and crossing the thresholds is easy as it gets. The tour included a mother with a child, demonstrating how easy it is to get a stroller on board, and a blind woman who said she was thrilled with the smooth ride.
At the three stations visited on the morning run, there are covered areas to stand and wait for your train. The Tukwila station is a nice piece of engineering. It’s four stories off the ground, with wide and open concourses, large elevators and escalators. At all the stations, there is nice art (Tukwila has a huge drop of milk!), but the stations don’t really need it. Their functionality gives them a nice aesthetic without adornment.
The trains will open with service from Westlake to Tukwila on July 18. It will be free to ride on the 18th and 19th with paid service starting on Monday, July 20. The base ticket price will be $1.75 with a .05-cent increase with every mile. When the Tukwila to SeaTac section opens in December, it will cost $2.25 from Westlake to the airport. Trains come about every 7.5 minutes during peak times, and every 15 minutes otherwise.
There are no turnstiles. Tickets can be purchased from kiosks at the stations, and you can use your Transit Pass, Puget Pass, Orca smart-card, and bus transfers. You won’t need to show a ticket or card to get on or off the train, but there will be fare inspectors walking the trains to ask for payment. (If you are riding without proper fare, there is the potential for a $124 ticket, so do everyone a favor and drop the dime.)
Sound Transit has learned the hard lessons of other lines across the country: there are security cameras on the trains. King County Councilmen Larry Phillips, who was also along for the ride this morning, pointed out that rider safety is a major priority. Everyone wants to make sure the line isn't derailed by criminal activity or hijacked by John Travolta or Robert Shaw (depending on which era you like your Pelham 123).
Bike riders are being given short shrift as travelers in any number--though claims of getting up to eight bikes on a two-car train were thrown about, there are racks for just two bikes and two areas where a biker can stand with their bikes. This morning, as part of the demonstration, there were three bikers trying to get on with the 35-person entourage and they had trouble getting through the scrum with their bikes (some of that due to TV cameras jockeying for best bike-viewing position).
Over time, Sound Transit will have to keep their eyes on the number of bike riders and adjust accordingly. On the good side, all the stations have bike storage, though it’s currently just racks with no lockers. Lockers will be available at some stations "in the future."
No park and ride spots are available. The city and county want the new line to be accessed by foot, bike, bus, taxi or drop off.
From the Rainier Beach station to Tukwila, the train picks up speed to near 55 mph, which is about the speed of your average roller coaster. There is a nice sense of speed but the ride stays smooth and steady and this section has some beautiful vistas as you ride along about I-5.
We’ve all waiting a long time for meaningful public light rail service. The line is clean, fast, steady and affordable. It’s beginning to look like the wait was worth it stupid, pointless, cost-increasing foot-dragging.
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Little Miss Seattlest has been impatiently counting the months until she can ride this train -- we pass the Rainier Beach station every morning. (We're pretty excited, too.)
"If you give them great coffee and great music..."
(Singles, 1992)