About 1,100 riders use the line every weekday, far below the original forecast of 2,400 to 3,200 riders, for an average cost to the system of $330,000 per rider.Īnd heres the kicker. But as costs shot up to $368 million from a projected $89 million, the agency cut back to four trains and four stations. It was originally proposed as a six-train commuter service with six stops.

One day, the rail system will help hundreds of thousands of riders make their daily commutes to work at higher speeds than on our increasingly congested roads.īut so far, the system is costing much more and being used less than anybody initially expected.Ĭonsider the 34-mile Sounder north line, which links Seattle to Everett. A commuter rail system that extends from Everett to Lakewood is sprucing up stations and adding trains.

The regional transportation authority, which operates rail and bus services in three central-Puget Sound counties, is completing a light-rail extension from downtown Seattle to Capitol Hill and the University of Washington campus, and has plans underway to extend its reach to Lynnwood to the north and Redmond to the east.

Sound transit link light rail