Sounder Grand Opening Celebration in Puyallup May 5

A special community grand opening celebration of the Sounder commuter rail station in Puyallup will be Saturday, May 5 starting at 10:30 a.m.

The celebration will feature an art display, the Kalles Junior High School Jazz Band and Sound Transit and local officials. As part of the day's activities, a special Sounder train will depart the Puyallup Station at 11:45 a.m. to the King Street Station in Seattle for a celebration that includes a mariachi band in the Union Station courtyard. The train will be greeted by Zap Gridlock, Sound Transit's mascot. Due to the tremendous public response, the special Sounder train on May 5 is already full, but the public is invited to the celebration at the Puvallup Station. Sounder will depart the King Street Station for the return trip to Puyallup at 1:50 p.m.

Regular Sounder service began in Puyallup on Feb. 5 with two weekday round trips between Tacoma and Seattle. Trains leave Puyallup every weekday at 6:28 and 6:58 a.m. and return at 5:55 and 6:20 p.m. The Puyallup Station includes Sounder's high-tech ticket vending machines and 300 parking stalls.
The station in Puyallup is located between Meridian and Fifth streets and Main and Stewart avenues. A map of the Puyallup Station site can be found at www.soundtransit.org.

With seven stations open between Tacoma and Seattle, Sounder now averages more than 2,000 passengers a day, far exceeding the original ridership projections of 1,500 passengers a day.
In 2003, Sounder service is planned to extend north to Everett, Edmonds and Mukilteo and south of Tacoma to Lakewood.

Sounder's customer information line is 1-888-889-6368 and 1-888-713-6030 for TTY hearing impaired users. For general Sound Transit information please visit the Sound Transit Web site at www.soundtransit.org/, or call or write for more information at Sound Transit, Union
Station, 401 S. Jackson St., Seattle, WA 98104, 206-398-5000 or toll free 1-800-201-4900.
There are a limited number of seats on the special train for members of the media. Please RSVP Bob Wodnik at (206) 398-5332 or wodnikb ,soundtransit.org by April 30.
 

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Sound Transit plans, builds and operates regional transit systems and services to improve mobility for Central Puget Sound.