SEATTLE Rail & Bus

[mSeattle]

Can't find a Seattle transit thread so I'm creating this one.

Let's start with the last event I attended which is almost a year ago, the opening of the UW Medical Center/Husky Stadium station. The opening of this station extended the line north from Capitol Hill to the University of Washington campus. A more recent event was the opening of a station south of the airport, which I did not attend and have yet to visit.

Visual:
Sound Transit's "North Link" (upper three blue circles) and "University-Link" (lower two blue circles). Seattle "First Hill" Streetcar (Red)

Sound_Transit_Rail_UC_2014 by mSeattle, on Flickr


March 19, 2016


Step Up - DSCN2552-1 by Marcus Stringer, on Flickr


DSCN2550-1 by Marcus Stringer, on Flickr


DSCN2548-1 by Marcus Stringer, on Flickr


DSCN2557-1 by Marcus Stringer, on Flickr


DSCN2553-1 by Marcus Stringer, on Flickr


Train Station Opening - DSCN2555-1 by Marcus Stringer, on Flickr

[mSeattle]

Track expansion/improvements in 2016 for commuter rail, freight and Amtrak.

Originally Posted by Ginkgo

Originally Posted by Ginkgo

Still a way to go. Here's what it looked like yesterday.

[Hatman]

Great pictures!
How much of that is expansion, and how much is improvement? It looks like a new platform and a lot of new crossovers?

[mSeattle]

Great question. According to a post on SSC, three sets of tracks and a platform are being brought back that were lost over years due to idea of having employee parking.

April 12, 2016

Originally Posted by Ginkgo

Long-awaited track and signal improvements are starting at KSS. I think these are Tracks 7 and 8. Oldtimers might remember that these stub tracks once extended all the way to the station. Over the years they were truncated as more land became devoted to employee parking. That is finally going to be reversed and the tracks will once again abut the concrete end-of-track barrier near the station. And I have it from a good source (I hope, an Amtrak employee no less) who said electronic arrival/departure boards will appear in the fall with several screens (according to him) to be placed strategically inside the station. They will be stand-alone, as the city will not permit any "marring" of the walls by affixing signage on them. Note that there is a TSA film running perpetually and that screen is affixed to one of the pillars in a less visible part of the station. Perhaps what TSA orders happens regardless of "marring". And although the third floor has been turned over to art exhibitions, the city is still seeking retail on the second floor.



Tracks will end here. Those who go way back (not many, I'm sure) might remember that just to the left of this pic was a pleasant station masters garden. It of course disappeared decades ago. One hopes that it can be rebuilt, adding a little greenery and colorful flowers to the place. I think most would agree the plaza on the Jackson Street side has been a failure.

[mSeattle]

University District Stations

Part of boring machine at the UW Med Center station.

April 15, 2016


P4150023-1 by Marcus Stringer, on Flickr


Here are pictures of one of the University District stations. It will connect "North Link" which will reach Northgate to the rest of the line that now exists from the UW Med Ctr to the airport and south.

May 23, 2016


DSCN3065-1 by Marcus Stringer, on Flickr

June 15, 2016


DSCN3170-1 by Marcus Stringer, on Flickr

Aug 2, 2016


DSCN3340-1 by Marcus Stringer, on Flickr

Nov 16, 2016


PB160009-1 by Marcus Stringer, on Flickr


PB160010-1 by Marcus Stringer, on Flickr


PB160011-1 by Marcus Stringer, on Flickr

Dec 9, 2016


IMG_1322-1 by Marcus Stringer, on Flickr


IMG_1323-1 by Marcus Stringer, on Flickr

Feb 2, 2017

IMG_1429-1 by Marcus Stringer, on Flickr

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[Marshal]

So damn good to see Seattle working on all of this!

[mSeattle]

Agree. "All this" has been a vexingly long time in coming.

Yay for the construction cam setup at the Northgate Station: http://video-monitoring.com/timelapse/emerge/northgate/

[mSeattle]

Northgate construction pics saved from today's cam. Today feels like the first real solid day of spring.

[mSeattle]

May 2, 2017
Utility work starts for Seattle streetcar
By JOURNAL STAFF
http://www.djc.com/news/co/12099972.html?cgi=yes

SEATTLE — Utility relocation will begin next month to prepare for construction of the 1.2-mile Center City Connector streetcar line.

Puget Sound Energy will relocate segments of a natural gas pipeline along First Avenue South and South Jackson Street, and do other related work.

[SpongeG]

Line 1 extension to Lynwood opened Aug 30.

• Video Link

• Video Link

[jmecklenborg]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but it appears that all of the system's grade crossings were built during the first construction phase south from the old bus tunnel that opened in 2009. I'm not seeing any grade crossings at all in any of that line's northward or southward extensions, nor am I seeing any grade crossings on the new #2 line east of the lake.

Since the #2 will interline from downtown northward on the existing line to U Washington, Northgate, etc., it will be an entirely grade separated line, whereas the original line (now #1) will continue to have no fewer than 18~ grade crossings south of its junction with the #2.

This means that people riding the network in and north of downtown will still have some trains in the event of an accident at one of the grade crossings, but those trains no doubt will become quickly overloaded during rush hour. But it's crazy that for such an expensive system that they chose to go cheap on the very first phase back in the late 1990s or early 2000s when that decision was made. It's inevitably going to cause scheduling problems since there is no guarantee that northbound #1 trains will reach the junction during their window. This means a 2-3 minute delay on the at-grade section will turn into a 5+ minute delay after waiting for a #2 train to clear the signaling block.



Maybe the #4 line will also have grade crossings.

[llamaorama]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but it appears that all of the system's grade crossings were built during the first construction phase south from the old bus tunnel that opened in 2009. I'm not seeing any grade crossings at all in any of that line's northward or southward extensions, nor am I seeing any grade crossings on the new #2 line east of the lake.

From what I can tell, there are no more grade crossings on the Lynwood or future Federal Way extension. All of that north south line going forward is being built to a kind of metro-like standard.

There's four grade crossings on the east side line, all concentrated in a roughly half-mile stretch near Bel-Red station, so east of Bellevue and before Redmond.

130th avenue and 132nd avenue grade crossings touch both sides of Bel-Red station, which is a flat station with side platforms so pedestrians use the sidewalks to cross the tracks anyways. I don't think that's a huge problem. Then about 300 feet later to the east it crosses Spring Blvd and then another quarter mile it crosses NE 20TH

https://maps.app.goo.gl/QeU6wf2N7E5u5ZoZ8

These all have conventional railroad crossing gates with arms and flashing lights rather than being a streetcar type alignment that exists in South Seattle, though. Why they didn't just make this a tunnel or trench like there is at Spring District station, I have no idea. They also cheaped out on Bellevue and didn't have a subway stations in the heart of it either. Probably just to keep the costs down and make the project actually feasible.

The upside is these are all east of the Eastside train yard and maintenance facility, so maybe if there was a crash between a train and a truck or something that closed the line, they could turn around trains there and keep the half the line between downtown Seattle and Bellevue open.

There is also a fenced emergency vehicle only access point on SE 4th in Bellevue but I doubt it poses any issues. There's a big metal gate that only opens for emergency vehicles and is closed most of the time.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/cLktb7WhD3dPZaoSA

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by llamaorama

From what I can tell, there are no more grade crossings on the Lynwood or future Federal Way extension. All of that north south line going forward is being built to a kind of metro-like standard.

I think what's crazy about this system is that the light rail mode choice was made in the 1990s, when the Seattle metro area was at 2.5 million. Growth was expected, but there was no way that it could be anticipated that Amazon would grow from a garage to a behemoth with tons of employees adjacent to DT Seattle in the previously low-rise South Lake Union. Other mid-sized metros haven't experienced similar growth (i.e. Portland).

The Seattle metro population recently zoomed past 4 million, with the light rail spine still incomplete between Tacoma and Everett. This 60-mile distance would have benefited from the higher speed of heavy rail (i.e. 70mph Washington Metro or BART trains as opposed to 55mph light rail trains) and the higher speed and reliability of full grade separation. A heavy rail train could make the trip between Tacoma and Everett about 15 minutes faster than LINK trains (and in fact the slower speed might explain the future routing strategy that will require a transfer).

A fully grade-separated express route could still be built by bypassing the existing 4-mile at-grade section on MLK through these industrial areas:


I just looked at a cab ride Link video and it takes trains about 25 minutes to negotiate the MLK route between the two junction points I drew. The express bypass, even with 2-3 new stations, would beat it by at least 10 minutes and introduce service whatever intermediate areas get stations.

There's four grade crossings on the east side line, all concentrated in a roughly half-mile stretch near Bel-Red station, so east of Bellevue and before Redmond.

Thanks for showing these. I agree that these don't appear to be particularly problematic.

It's just frustrating that for the extreme expense and extreme delay in construction of this system that there were still so many painful shortcuts made.

[electricron]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

I think what's crazy about this system is that the light rail mode choice was made in the 1990s, when the Seattle metro area was at 2.5 million.
This 60-mile distance would have benefited from the higher speed of heavy rail (i.e. 70mph Washington Metro or BART trains as opposed to 55mph light rail trains) and the higher speed and reliability of full grade separation. A heavy rail train could make the trip between Tacoma and Everett about 15 minutes faster than LINK trains.
A fully grade-separated express route could still be built by bypassing the existing 4-mile at-grade section on MLK through these industrial areas:
It's just frustrating that for the extreme expense and extreme delay in construction of this system that there were still so many painful shortcuts made.

Were they really shortcuts? That industrial area they bypassed using MLK runs around warehouses and industries mostly supporting the Boeing plant that builds about half all the jetliners in the world. Specifically the Boeing 737. Would saving 15 minutes of train travel, if really that much, be better for the local, state, and national economies than having a viable world wide jackpot of industrial activity? The citizens of that community, during the EIS, expressed their views on what they would accept. A street running light rail train on MLK is what they wanted, and that is exactly what they got. Why did they want it along MLK? Because MLK lies in the middle of a valley between two large hills. To bypass, the line would have been ran along the ridge of the hill, making it difficult to walk to get to any station. No one likes climbing when they don't have to.
For those in a hurry to get to Everett and Tacoma, there are both Sound Transit commuter and Amtrak Cascades trains. Everyone should be satisfied.

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by electricron

Were they really shortcuts?

By shortcuts I really meant bad station locations in highway medians or crammed next to them rather than building elevated or subway stations at existing neighborhood centers.

Stuff like this:


Obviously, digging a subway tunnel to the Seattle Fish Guys intersection would be much more expensive than going with the u/c station in the highway median, but...it would also get much higher ridership and motivate hi-rise construction, if zoning permits.

If there are 20 examples of this in a system, and building a subway or elevated station in a neighborhood's natural focus gets 1,000 more daily riders per station (2,000 daily rides), then we're attracting 40,000 more rides and 20,000 more people per day. Right now the ridership on the existing Link network isn't spectacular thanks in large part to the lackluster MLK section and outer stations that are park-and-ride oriented.

Also, Sounder is very slow:




It also doesn't serve the airport and none of its stations serve traditional neighborhood centers. It's all park-and-ride.

The citizens of that community, during the EIS, expressed their views on what they would accept. A street running light rail train on MLK is what they wanted, and that is exactly what they got.

I understand that citizen comment is part of the required process, but it's a waste of time since they only get the opinions of the busy-body people who show up and dominate every community meeting. When I worked in local news we had nicknames for a few of the especially insufferable ones.

[electricron]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

I understand that citizen comment is part of the required process, but it's a waste of time since they only get the opinions of the busy-body people who show up and dominate every community meeting. When I worked in local news we had nicknames for a few of the especially insufferable ones.

Have you ever read any EIS comments? True, unsufferable and uneducated people do comment, but so do educated and powerful stakeholders; including politicians, civic leaders, and industrialists. You know, the very people that actually run a city. It certainly are not the transit specialists who propose several options, but do not have the power to choose between them.
If you lived in a residential unit immediately adjacent to MLK would you like a train 25-30 feet in the air zooming by your home 8 times an hour?
It is one thing to build elevated guideways next to an existing freeway, another to do so over a neighborhood street. And MLK is a large neighborhood street.
Why build a subway when the locals were okay with the train at grade in the street?

[Nouvellecosse]

The main reason you'd grade separate a line segment when the locals are ok with at grade is because it isn't just the locals using a line. The light rail lines in Seattle are quite long and stretch across a large part of the metro area and therefore are of regional interest rather than just local. And if a line has any segments with grade crossings, it prevents the entire line from being automated, limits the maximum overall frequency, and introduces the risk of line-wide disruption in case of crossing conflicts. So it's important to make the best decision for the overall line, not just individual segments.

[electricron]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

The main reason you'd grade separate a line segment when the locals are ok with at grade is because it isn't just the locals using a line. The light rail lines in Seattle are quite long and stretch across a large part of the metro area and therefore are of regional interest rather than just local. And if a line has any segments with grade crossings, it prevents the entire line from being automated, limits the maximum overall frequency, and introduces the risk of line-wide disruption in case of crossing conflicts. So it's important to make the best decision for the overall line, not just individual segments.

Almost all light rail lines in the USA, trams for the rest of the civilized world, run some of their light rail system at grade. Even what is often called light rail metros in the USA, Honolulu being one example that has one at grade train station.

[WrightCONCEPT]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

By shortcuts I really meant bad station locations in highway medians or crammed next to them rather than building elevated or subway stations at existing neighborhood centers.

Obviously, digging a subway tunnel to the Seattle Fish Guys intersection would be much more expensive than going with the u/c station in the highway median, but...it would also get much higher ridership and motivate hi-rise construction, if zoning permits.

If there are 20 examples of this in a system, and building a subway or elevated station in a neighborhood's natural focus gets 1,000 more daily riders per station (2,000 daily rides), then we're attracting 40,000 more rides and 20,000 more people per day.

Right now the ridership on the existing Link network isn't spectacular thanks in large part to the lackluster MLK section and outer stations that are park-and-ride oriented.

It also doesn't serve the airport and none of its stations serve traditional neighborhood centers. It's all park-and-ride.

In the case with Seattle many of their regional stations sites served as existing transit centers so that ridership stays on par and even grows from what was then simple freeway express buses. This is borrowed from Calgary's C-Train LRT system approach where they started with high frequent high performing express/limited stop bus service before going to rail.

However this fixation of needing this line to be a tunnel versus something else always baffles me because the cost effectiveness to the tunnel should be proportionate to the demand of the service and area. Lets say they built a subway that costs 3 times the cost to only gain 2 times the ridership, I think that is a bad move because that limits how much more rail that can be expanded within the system.