Staff Report

Sound Transit has announced it will be ordering an additional 30 light rail vehicles to accommodate increased passenger loads for the Redmond and Federal Way stations.

The agency’s board of directors approved the purchase last week and the cars should arrive no later than 18 months after the final delivery of a previous order placed last fall.

The Federal Way and Redmond stations should be opened by 2024 and will connect to the light rail system bridging the greater Seattle area. Additional stations will also be added after the Sound Transit 3 expansion was approved by voters last November.

According to a press release from Sound Transit, the system will serve up to 188 million riders each year by 2040.

The light rail vehicles will feature 74 seats each with larger windows and extra standing room in the center aisle, as well as more space for luggage and bicycles. The 30 vehicles will join an additional 40, which were already ordered under last fall’s contract.

The purchase contract will cost $131 million and is being filled by Siemens and funding for the purchases was included in the Sound Transit 3 approval.

The total number of light rail vehicles, after this contract is filled, will be 152 across the system.

Some 94 miles of extensions were approved by area voters over the next 24 years and by 2041 the agency will operate more than 116 miles of light rail lines stretching up to Lynnwood and Everett, out to Issaquah and down to Tacoma.

According to the press release, light rail ridership has increased since the Capital Hill and University of Washington stations in Seattle were opened last year, and the Angle Lake station in SeaTac also came on line. An estimated 65,125 weekday riders took the light rail in February, an 81.5 percent increase compared to February 2016, the release said.