Sound Transit to increase service on Link light rail effective September 19

In response to increases in ridership, Sound Transit is planning to add service across its system for its September service change. Trains on Link light rail will run every eight minutes during peak hours on weekdays. Trains will run every 15 minutes on weekends and off peak on weekdays, and every 30 minutes on evenings. 

In addition, Sounder South will add two roundtrips to its weekday schedule, and schedule adjustments will be made to a number of ST Express routes to better meet rider demand. 

Sound Transit hopes to continue to operate these levels of service stably through the next service change, in March of 2021. The agency will be launching public outreach for its proposed 2021 service plan in the coming weeks.

Additional service details follow. Passengers can see full details of the September service changes at www.soundtransit.org/servicechange

Sounder

Effective September 21, Sounder South weekday service will increase to nine round trips from seven round trips. The northbound trips that will be suspended are the 1514, 1518, 1520 and 1522 departures from Tacoma. The suspended southbound trips will be the 1501, 1505, 1507 and 1509 departures from Seattle. Passengers should note that in some cases the suspended trains will differ from the trains currently suspended and should plan their trips accordingly. 

There will be no changes to current Sounder North service. Sounder North weekday service remains reduced from four round trips to two round trips, with suspension of the 1701 and 1705 departures from Everett and the 1700 and 1704 departures from Seattle. 

ST Express

Routes 512 will increase to full service, reflecting ridership demand. Routes 541, 544, 555, 556 and 567 will remain suspended. Some of the 16 routes with partial service will have minor schedule changes. Changes on ST Express service will take place September 19-21, depending upon the routes’ operating partner.

At this time normal service will continue on Tacoma Link.

All Sound Transit passengers are directed to wear face coverings consistent with expanded public health directives. Riders should also follow social distancing and other critical health guidelines to protect the community.

Sound Transit services are subject to the possibility of further increases or decreases after September 2020 based on levels of future passenger demand and COVID-19 financial impacts. In order to maintain flexibility for potential future changes, Sound Transit will not be publishing an updated “Ride the Wave Transit Guide” booklet in printed form. In addition to accessing information electronically at www.soundtransit.org, passengers can request schedule information in print format by calling 800-201-4900, TTY Relay 711. For help with trip planning, passengers can also call Customer Service at 888-889-6368, TTY Relay 711. 

• A language line is available to provide translation assistance for limited English proficiency persons at 800-823-9230.

Sound Transit remains committed to working closely with its partners to continue serving the public. Efforts will continue to prioritize serving riders who depend on Sound Transit’s services, including seniors, people with disabilities, Title VI protected populations (race, color, national origin), low-income and limited-English-proficiency populations. To the greatest extent possible, we will continue to run trains and buses at our earliest and latest normal weekday hours. 

Riders should sign up for rider alerts to ensure that they receive up-to-date information about service changes, or visit www.soundtransit.org.