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A Tacoma Link vehicle is parked in the Operations and Maintenance Facility.

Fresh pics: Final new light rail vehicle arrives for Hilltop Tacoma link

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The final light rail vehicle to support Sound Transit’s T Line Hilltop Tacoma Link Extension has arrived in Tacoma!

The car, the last of five new vehicles, is part of a $26.5 million contract with Brookville Equipment Corporation that doubled the existing fleet.

The first of the five arrived in March.

Read on for more details about the new vehicles! 

A Tacoma Link vehicle. The headsign reads 'test train.'

Each car:

  • Is eight feet wide
  • Is 66 feet long
  • Has seating for up to 26 passengers
  • Is designed to carry more than 100 passengers
  • Has accessibility seating for passengers using wheelchairs and mobility devices and space for bikes

Our T Line staff did the math, and each train can hold either 88,242 bananas; or one to three orcas (depending on how much each whale weighs). 

A view of the side of the Tacoma Link vehicle, with the signature Sound Transit blue and green wave painted on.

The new vehicles are needed to expand the capacity of the system. 

The 2.4-mile Hilltop extension includes seven new stations, relocates the Theater District station and will bring light rail from downtown Tacoma to the Stadium business district and Hilltop neighborhood.

Major destinations include Wright Park, MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital, Stadium High School and St. Joseph Medical Center.

The project also includes an expansion of our Operations and Maintenance Facility in Tacoma. 

The Operations and Maintenance Facility for the T Line in Tacoma.

Hilltop Tacoma Link is scheduled to open for service in the first quarter of 2023.

In the next weeks, crews will be performing rail grinding and testing cars on the new track.

In you're in the area, remember to use crosswalks and not shortcuts to cross the street and tracks! Visit our website for more safety tips. 

A shot of Tacoma, with trees with changing leaves and a cloudy sky.

If you enjoy these photos, follow us on Instagram and tune in on Fridays for our regular "Field Trip Friday" stories where we visit Sound Transit construction sites around the region. 

And of course, subscribe to The Platform to get the latest news and photos delivered to your inbox!

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