Sound Transit is advancing potential designs for its next major set of light rail vehicle (LRV) purchases, train cars that will enter service in the early 2030s. After taking criticism for choosing vehicle designs in the past that have prioritized interchangeability over passenger capacity, these new LRVs are expected to be double-length train cars that would increase that capacity by 5-13% in order to better handle expected increases in ridership.
A briefing Thursday to the Sound Transit Board’s rider experience committee detailed the agency’s progress toward developing concept designs for the Series 3 vehicles, which will allow the agency to deliver the service promised to voters as part of the 2016 Sound Transit 3 (ST3) package. While most of the ST3 light rail projects remain mired in planning and budget battles now, the new train cars will remain an integral part of any future system expansion plans. Sound Transit faces a projected 20-25% funding gap over the next two decades as infrastructure costs skyrocket and expected revenues decline.
Purchasing 190-foot cars is expected to reduce direct capital costs by around 10% thanks to fewer operator cabins to build, and also translate to decreased maintenance costs over the long-term. The new design is also expected to translate to an improved passenger experience. Expanded capacity will be paired with the ability to move more easily within train cars to relieve overcrowding.
Additionally, the new cars are likely to include upgraded amenity areas including bike storage spaces, though those details are set to be negotiated with a final manufacturer, once one is selected. Other details, including seating layout and passenger information screens, remain to be determined.
Sound Transit expects to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) by the end of this year, with the goal of selecting a train builder by mid-2027. With a 36-month lead time expected for train car manufacturing, the first prototype car is not expected to arrive at a Sound Transit facility until early 2032, with an initial fleet entering service by the end of 2033. After that, Sound Transit plans to put 18 vehicles into service every year after that, with the final number of cars delivered expected to be anywhere from 118 to 140. For now, the initial order is expected to include a base order of 70 LRVs with an option to order 80 more.
Transit advocates have been pushing for a “Double Link” style vehicle in the Series 3 order since ST3 passed, pointing to 158-foot-long, four-segment vehicles operating on Ottawa, Ontario’s Confederation line. A decade ago, Sound Transit cited the lack of an ability to change out cars, along with barriers to using the existing maintenance facilities, as impediments to moving to a double-car design, but now it appears those considerations have taken a backseat to the potential benefits of decreased cost and extra capacity.
Sound Transit’s existing maintenance facilities in SoDo and the Spring District won’t be able to handle the longer LRVs, which means that the planned Operations and Maintenance Facilities (OMFs) in Federal Way and Everett will need to be customized to handle them. That could potentially raise issues down the line, with entire maintenance facilities matched to specific types of vehicles. With work on Everett’s OMF North happening much further down the line, it will be Federal Way’s OMF South that sets the template for how the maintenance facilities for these vehicles will be designed.
“The schedule for the Series 3 LRV and the OMF South project are going to be intertwined,” Shankar Rajaram, Executive Project Director for Revenue Vehicles at Sound Transit, told the committee. “So these two projects are very closely collaborating, both in scaling delivery milestones and also in the design philosophies.”
Sound Transit staff Thursday did flag a potential warning sign ahead for the Series 3 vehicles when it comes to costs. Covid-related cost increases have already added around 30% to the cost of light rail vehicles, with new tariffs instituted by the second Trump administration expected to add an additional 20% on top of that. That could end up making the procurement schedule for the Series 3 vehicles particularly ill-timed, but with such a long lead time needed to ensure that it receives a full fleet in time for planned expansion projects, the agency doesn’t have much wiggle room.
Sound Transit has already taken action to add additional capacity in the form of more LRVs, in the wake of recent system expansions and the planned start of service to Federal Way on December 6. Last year, it accelerated the delivery of 10 LRVs that had originally set to be part of this series 3 order, contracting with Siemens, which had produced the rest of the existing Series 2 vehicles that are in use today. Those vehicles aren’t expected to be in service until 2028, but are set to provide Sound Transit additional flexibility ahead of the delivery of the Series 3 vehicles.
While the next generation of light rail vehicles are poised to prioritize passenger experience and capacity, much is still left to be determined as Sound Transit continues the process of advancing the Series 3 vehicles.
Ryan Packer has been writing for The Urbanist since 2015, and currently reports full-time as Contributing Editor. Their beats are transportation, land use, public space, traffic safety, and obscure community meetings. Packer has also reported for other regional outlets including BikePortland, Seattle Met, and PubliCola. They live in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle.
