SEATTLE — The first of 152 new Siemens light rail vehicles for Sound Transit has been delivered, beginning the process of delivering the equipment for new services to begin over the next five years.
The vehicle arrived by truck on June 6 from Siemens’ Sacramento, Calif., plant, and after unwrapping and some on-site assembly, was unveiled to reporters on Wednesday.
The new cars have 74 seats, wider aisles, more luggage-storage space, and twice as many bicycle hooks (four) as the current generation of light-rail equipment.
Sound Transit expects one to three cars to be delivered each month as it prepares to launch service to Northgate in 2021, to Bellevue in 2023, and Lynnwood, Redmond, and Federal Way in 2024. Those expansions will more than double the Link light rail network, from 22 to miles to 50, while the new equipment will take the light-rail fleet from 62 to 214 vehicles.
Additional information, including a video on the building of the equipment, is available at Sound Transit’s blog.
DENNIS —– “Wider aisles” – well the photo says it all. Throwback to the New York City or Boston subways of decades ago.
I find it ironic that the new light rail vehicles were shipped by truck instead of rail. Houston’s METRORail received its first light rail vehicles by truck via I-10 from Siemens. Union Pacific would have gladly hauled them for less cost.
Sound Transit’s new light rail vehicles must be filled with the sweet scent that is soothing to the olfactory nerves. That is just how I remember the Siemens S70’s delivered to METRORail and inaugurated into service on 1 January 2004.
Good news for Seattle. My wife and I have ridden Sound Transit light rail while visiting the city and it’s very comfortable and clean. I hope to visit there again someday and ride the new cars.
Funny how the almost padless seating of new equipment makes the seats Pacific Electric installed in there blimps following WW2 seem luxurious.
More luggage space would sure be a welcome improvement!
Did they survey their passengers about side facing seats? Stupid idea just to save a few bucks and cram the cars full of standees.The people that ok’d them should have to ride them.