SEATTLE — Reduction of Sounder commuter rail service will continue until further notice, Sound Transit has announced.
Two of the four round trips on the N Line between Seattle and Everett have been suspended, as have two of the 13 round trips on the S line between Seattle and Tacoma/Lakewood. The revised schedules are available here.
The news site The Urbanist reports the cancellations are because of issues with railcar inspection and maintenance provided by Amtrak. Sound Transit spokesman David Jackson told the site, ““The cars pulled from service lacked documentation of preventative maintenance that Amtrak provides under contract. We are investigating how this occurred.” Sixteen cars were originally found to be out of compliance, but some may have been cleared for return to service by Sunday. In addition to the suspensions, some other trains are also operating with shorter consists than usual.
The Washington State Department of Transportation has also permitted Sound Transit to extend its Rail Plus Program, which normally gives N Line passengers access to Amtrak Cascades trains, to include the S Line. That gives S Line passengers access to the Cascades service at five stops.
The Sounder issues began on Thursday, Feb. 13, with Sound Transit initially announcing that all morning trains would be suspended, but ultimately operating a limited schedule [see “Sound Transit cancels some …,” Trains News Wire, Feb. 13, 2025].
Yet another foobar between Sound Transit and Amtrak. “We blame Amtrak, but we are responsible” moment. Who is in charge over there?
“… We are investigating how this occurred.”
The old inspector wrote in cursive. The new Gen Z inspector couldn’t read it.
As a retired QMP and designated instructor this is utterly unacceptable.