Sound Transit addresses recent post-World Cup service disruptions

Since smashing ridership records following its blockbuster round-the-clock service during the FIFA World Cup, Link light rail has been plagued by a myriad of disparate service disruptions. Just a few days after the July 9th USA vs. Belgium match, an open hatch door took down the catenary wire near UW Station, leading to service being suspended in the central core of the system for most of the day. Mechanical issues disrupted trains on July 10th and again on July 20th, when brakes on a train wouldn’t release. Then the following day on July 21st, a power outage resulted in a temporary suspension of service between Beacon Hill and Tukwila International Blvd stations.

In an emailed statement to Seattle Transit Blog, Sound Transit spokesperson Henry Bendon provided a deeper explanation of the recent issues:

Sound Transit identified a hatch door becoming unsecured on a series 1 LRV as the cause of the disruption on Thursday, July 9. After we addressed the disruption and identified the cause, we inspected all similar vehicles before clearing them for service and also changed our inspection protocol. That issue has not recurred and we do not anticipate it posing future problems. 

[The 7/20] service disruption was the result of an unrelated LRV mechanical issue. Service reliability continues to be a point of focus for Sound Transit. Our expanded monthly maintenance window program has dramatically cut down unplanned disruption time, and our incident response times have also improved. That maintenance program – and most of our planned work – was suspended for the duration of the World Cup. It will resume [the week of July 27th].

Although the recent disruptions all do seem to stem from disparate root causes, it appears that the suspension of the agency’s monthly maintenance program during the World Cup may have incurred some latent effects, compounding with existing known issues with the Siemens-manufactured Series 2 vehicles.

In response to criticism of perceived lackluster communication protocols during service disruptions, Sound Transit also highlighted both its digital and field efforts to keep passengers informed in real time:

We appreciate all public feedback and are constantly working to improve our operations and rider experience. In addition to web alerts, text alerts, and in-station screen announcements during an incident, Sound Transit deploys Fare Ambassadors, Staff Ambassadors, contracted security, and our Field Activity Specialist Teams (FAST) responders, all of whom are available to answer questions and who prioritize sharing information to keep passengers informed and moving safely to their destination.

Operators are also trained to deploy messaging informing passengers if a train is not moving for an extended period of time. Of note, operators, especially during a disruption, are monitoring and coordinating with Link Operations via radio, navigating changing schedules and routes in real time, and keeping passengers safe – all while incident conditions are constantly evolving.