Sound Transit’s Sounder commuter rail system has been a huge success for the Seattle/Tacoma region since it began operations in just 2000 and expanded in 2003. While the Sound Transit agency in total covers several forms of mass transit, for purposes of this site we will highlight its commuter rail operations. The system has become so popular in the region, particularly its rail operations, that future plans are already being made to extend service into South Tacoma. A big reason why the Sounder commuter rail operation has been so successful is due to its excellent reliability, clean services, and an alternative to driving.

Sound Transit itself dates back to the early 1990s with the fist commuter rail service, which connects Seattle with Tacoma, Washington 39 miles to the south (known as, commonly enough, the South Line), began in 2000. Below is a brief history of the agency courtesy of Sound Transit:

In the early 1990s, the Washington State Legislature authorized King, Pierce and Snohomish counties to create a single agency -- The Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority (Sound Transit) -- to plan, build and operate a high-capacity transit system within the region's most heavily traveled corridors. The Sound Transit District includes the three-county area's urban centers and close to half of the state's population. In September 1993, the Sound Transit Board of Directors held its first official meeting.Sound Move

In May 1996, the Sound Transit Board adopted Sound Move. The plan includes a mix of transportation improvements: high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane access improvements, ST Express bus routes, Sounder commuter rail and Link light rail. The plan includes new community "gateways" -- connections in urban and suburban areas for communities to connect to the rest of the region. Sound Move is a comprehensive regional transit plan made up of almost 100 separate but interrelated capital and service projects.

For a complete history of Sound Transit and its Sounder commuter rail system please click here.

As popularity for Sounder soared after its initial opening in 2000, it added a northern extension which opened in 2003 called simply the North Line. This route extends to Everett, about 35 miles north of Seattle. In all the Sounder commuter rail systems extends 74 miles north and south of Seattle, operating over BNSF Railway trackage, although it does own its own locomotives and equipment. All of the system’s lines terminate at Seattle’s historic King Street Station.

King Street Station is Seattle's last reminder of what once was regarding intercity passenger trains. At one time Seattle was home to and served by two large stations; Union Station served by the Union Pacific and Milwaukee Road and King Street Station, served by the Great Northern and Northern Pacific. Today, both still stand and either have been or are in the process of being restored. However, only King Street still serves in its original capacity, as a functioning railroad station and is happily undergoing a multi-million dollar restoration that will see it returned to its original splendor. After Union Pacific abandoned Union Station in 1971 (the Milwaukee Road had quit 10 years earlier) the building’s staging tracks were torn up with the property now housing skyscrapers.

Of note, along with the Sounder commuter rail operations Sound Transit also operates a short, but popular, light rail transit system which connects Tacoma Dome Station with South 25th Street, runs north along Pacific Avenue to Union Station, further north to the Convention Center, and finally terminating at the Theater District. In all, this new mass transit operation, of which rail has only been in place for less than 10 years has been a resounding success. If you would like to learn more about the Sounder commuter rail system and Sound Transit’s LRT operation, or are perhaps considering using the system, please click here to visit their website.