The April 9th System Expansion Committee meeting video included a presentation of Sound Transit plans for Sounder. The S Line currently had 13 daily round trips between Lakewood and Seattle, the N Line, 4 between Everett and Seattle. Sound Transit contracted with BNSF Railway for Sounder operation, allocating 14% of its 2026 operating budget.
The presentation included the following agenda “Business Item”
B. Motion No. M2026-14: Authorizing the chief executive officer to execute a contract modification with David Evans & Associates to exercise a contract option for consultant services for the Sounder Rail Track & Signal Project’s Phase 3 Preliminary Engineering and Sounder Project Management Services in the amount of $12,680,410 with a 10% contingency of $1,268,041 totaling $13,948,451 for a new total authorized contract amount not to exceed $40,761,348.
One would think authorizing spending up to nearly $41 million adding service would be included in the agenda as a “For recommendation to the board”. The funding would extend Sounder Rail Track & Signal Improvement (SRTSI) planning from current Conceptual engineering & environmental review through Preliminary Engineering in 2028. However, the final design wouldn’t begin until 2038 with construction ending in 2045. The presentation took about 4 minutes, raised no questions, and was unanimously approved.
All three of the Enterprise Institute Capital Program approaches to reduce Sound Transit costs included maintaining the additional S1 routes and the affordable capital projects included the Sounder Maintenance Base. Though the number of additional routes or the costs of the maintenance wasn't clear.
The Sounder problem is the high cost per rider. Sound Transit’s Q4 Quarterly Financial Performance Report provides the data for 2025: cost per rider $49.16 budget, $45.22 actual cost. The 2025 ridership: 2,252 thousand budget, 1,988 thousand actual; fare revenue, $7,229 thousand budget, $6,839 thousand, actual. Thus, the average fare paid per rider, $3.21 budget, $3.44 actual, resulted in Sound Transit needing to spend $45.95 budget and $41.78 actual for each Sounder rider, total 2025 cost, $103,479 thousand budget, $83,058 thousand actual
The bottom line is Sound Transit has been authorized to spend up to more than $41million on preliminary engineering from 2023 to 2028 on a plan for constructing Sounder improvements that won’t be finished until 2045. Just the latest example of an operation currently costing more than $83 million a year. Another indication that Sound Transit’s Sounder boondoggle continues.
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