Today I had a chance to get on a Light Rail car riding from Othello station to Tukwila, and my god, it was amazing. The train was so quiet that the air conditioner was the loudest sound, and the ride was very smooth. I’d never been in a Link car with more than a few people in it, and I was impressed to see how much space there was with so many on board. There were probably ten Sound Transit staff, as well as an FTA representative, several Sound Transit board members – including Mayor Nickels, King County Councilmembers Larry Phillips and Dow Constantine, Senator Patty Murray, five of us from the blog, a ton of media folks and other bloggers, so I’d guess there were around fifty or so people, most crammed into the front of the car.

The views coming from Tukwila to the Rainier Valley are breathtaking. I noticed three spectacular vistas: over the Duwamish River, the view of Downtown from Tukwila, and the view of Mount Rainier from across Southcenter. Link is going to be really great to ride.

Here’s some video from the event, expect more pictures and maybe some video to come soon.

42 Replies to “I RODE LIGHT RAIL TODAY!”

  2. Ha ha… title in all caps. Only 9 months away, Link will be the best thing ever!

    They should do a golden transfer thing and holders of the golden transfer win a ride on Link before it opens.

    How did the ride compare to other rail systems that you’ve ridden?

    1. The ride was really smooth. Smoother than MAX, definitely smoother than street railways I’ve ridden. No vibration to speak of, no rocking, perfect. The air conditioning is ten times as loud as operating noise.

      1. Definitely very quiet without the AC, as Ben points out. That was the main thing I noticed.

        Also, the elevated views… I’ve mostly ridden on subway systems — running elevated was really stunning.

    2. By writing this! We’re apparently the new media. I’m going to write more on the trip soon.

    1. I don’t know when they’re going to have a public event. :( I’ve heard things like January and March.

      1. Oh, lol– well, that’s alright. I’m going to Portland to visit my former roommate a few times before then and she’s staying with someone far out on the blue line and the other half’s best friend lives by the streetcar in the Drugstore Cowboy house (not the flophouse from the end).

        I’ll just pretend they’re kinki sets.

        3. Nah, they’re basically the same as the Green Mover in Hiroshima (although I think more of the Green Mover is low floor).

  5. Hey everyone,

    I took video too! I’ll hopefully have it up later this week!

    It was a great ride, you really notice how quiet the vehicle is. Before you know it, you’re already in motion.

    A single car is an impressive length on its own, so when you think about what a 4 car train will look like sitting at Othello station, you really realize we’re building something great.

    2009 will be a great year for Seattle!

  6. Maybe people will start taking their visiting family members on trips for the view on Link, rather than the bloody windshield view of the AWV top deck, which seems to be driving mental dinosaurs like Frank Chopp.

  9. I wonder what it will be like in the Beacon Hill Tunnel. The MAX is generally pretty quiet, but in the Washington Park tunnel, it was really loud. I have found the same thing with the BART (esp. in the Transbay Tube) and I’ve heard the New York Subway can be very loud.

    1. With the train going at 50 mph (right?) in the tunnel I think it will be loud like MAX. It’s a confined space and the noise would bounce around. Unless the tunnels have sound insulation which I doubt.

      The train wasn’t much louder than a hybrid bus when ST tested them in the DSTT but that was at lower speeds. Definitely not as loud as MAX there.

    2. NYC and BART are both older – I think Link will be reasonably quiet for the first decade… :)

    3. NY subway has nothing on BART. I’ve heard BART’s noise issues are due mostly to the type of train. It has wide wheel placement which means when it turns corners the outside wheel is dragged further than on trains with a narrower wheel placement. Link will never approach the squeal of BART, even with aging tracks.

      1. That’s interesting! I never thought about it that way, and I think you’re right. Plus, Beacon Hill is pretty straight.

        I wonder about the tunnel south of Capitol Hill station, though.

        1. yikes, good point. it is suppose to make quite a significant turn between Westlake and Cap Hill isn’t it? that might get pretty screechy.

  11. It really is getting closer to reality, isn’t it?

    So is Link operational on the entirety of the line at this point? Can it run on its own power from the DSTT to Tukwila?

    I hope ST really kicks out the jams for the grand opening – parties at every station, live music until 1am.

    1. how about the statins, how many are Functionally complete (meaning that there may be work ongoing at the station, but the station could serve pasengers today)?

      If ST wanted to push the votes, they could try “public” excursions sometime this month ;)

      Lor Scara

    2. It can’t run under its own power the whole way – electrical systems through the Beacon Hill tunnel and McClellan station don’t look done, and nor are those at Tukwila station (we stopped short of there) or south from there.

      Give it a couple more months. :)

  12. Ridership on the Streetcar has beat the first year projections by 17,000 riders in only 9 months.

    News at the streetcar’s website.

    1. Don’t tell people that! The Streetcar doesn’t work, remember?? (smirks)

      So let’s see…347,000 riders in 9 months…

      That means that it came 4th if you go by ST’s Q2 2008 Quarterly Ridership.

      The 545, the 59x, and the 550 all were above 410,000 riders for Q2 2008.

      The Tacoma Streetcar had just shy of 220,000 riders.

      I couldn’t find any numbers for KC Metro Transit though. It must be buried on the redesigned site.

      1. Triple the amount of workers in SLU and take a guess at how many riders are going to be on the streetcar in a couple of years.

        2. Well, with Amazon set to move it’s headquarters into 6 new buildings along Terry Ave (from Denny to Mercer) over the next 3 years, they better start ordering new cars soon, or the existing ones will be packed.

        3. What’s that huge construction by KCTS and the opera house? Is that Gates Foundation?

        4. Yes, that’s the new Gates Foundation headquarters (and a wonderful new huge parking garage…)

  13. All stations but Beacon Hill Station could serve passengers today.

    Wire is completed in the Southbound tunnel ((supposedly)) but not connected to either side of the rest of the right-of-way. Once that is completed, they can start full line testing between Pine Street/Westlake and South 154th Street. Testing of South 154th to the Airport will happen just before opening day or at night during scheduled operations.

    Rail is 97% completed between Pine Street Stub Tunnel to Sea-Tac Airport Station with 300-400 feet remaining to make it 100%

    OCS support and wire is starting to begin between South 154th and Sea-Tac Airport. The main delay to opening at Sea-Tac will be dependent on the completion of the station itself. Is there a chance that Sea-Tac Station could open early – That is yet to be seen however they are making outstanding progress but with 9 months until opening day, doubtful. It’s best to “take the time and do it right” than to rush it.

    The overall project now sits at 95% completion with construction starting in November/December 2008 for University Link, with Utility work kicking off the project.

    It’s my understanding that tunnel boring will begin in late 2012? I need to confirm that with ST.

    I don’t think there will be any public excursions or open houses until July – There will probably be one or two more media days (like we were there yesterday) until opening day in Early July 2009.

    1. I have an idea for after the line opens. We should collect as many people as possible – 400, 500 – and see how many we can jam onto a train (like, late at night) so we can see just how low the 200 estimate really is.

      1. That sounds really fun! Sign me up.

        Hey, we could do a STB meetup or a Prop 1 Victory party there! If ST lets us.

        Or we don’t have to do anything. If Link’s opening day is going to be like the Streetcar’s we’ll see really quickly. First comes a single-car train, people try to jam into it. Then two minutes later, a 4-car train pulls in to the station. Jaws drop.

        1. Hah we could do it like something I saw on one of the transit blogs (I can’t remember which one) about the party streetcars in Prague…

        2. Yeah, I don’t think we need permission to fill up a 10 pm train and have a party. :)

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