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Burlington Northern rail, mudslide
Hell has frozen over, as Luke Burbank and Dori Monson actually agree on something: Both calling for an end to Sounder north line train service after another round of mudslides. (Sound Transit images)

Another mudslide brings avalanche of calls to kill Sounder north train service

BY Josh Kerns  on January 8, 2013 @ 1:21 pm (Updated: 10:51 am - 1/25/13 )

It's like Groundhog Day for Sound Transit. Another day, another round of mudslides forcing the cancellation of the Sounder north commuter line between Everett and Seattle. The latest hit Monday night, halts service until at least Thursday. And more KIRO Radio hosts are getting on board with calls to kill the service for good.

It's old hat for Dori Monson, who's been critical of the line since Sound Transit first paid $368 million for rights and upgrades to tracks, stations and trains. That's after officials initially estimated the costs at $65 million.

"Here's the problem. The numbers were a lie. They lied to us to get the money. They knew they weren't going to have riders," says Dori.

Ridership remains far below initial projections, with a mere 1,125 passengers making the trip each day as of October. Officials had estimated between 2,400 and 3,200. With taxpayers subsidizing each passenger trip to the tune of $29, Dori says it's time for leaders to simply pull the plug.

"Take like one-one thousandths of the Sound Transit employees and tell them 'Hey, it's your job every morning go up to Everett, pick these people up in a mini-van and drive them to work.' It will save hundreds of millions of dollars for people."

He's not alone in calls to kill the service. Even staunch transit supporters Luke Burbank and Dave Ross now say the floundering service should be scrapped, mudslides or not.

"It pains me to agree with Dori Monson on something like this, it does, I don't like this feeling. But I feel like this is just a boondoggle right now," Luke says.

But Sound Transit continues defending the service, and insists it isn't going anywhere. Spokeswoman Kimberly Reason argues ridership in October saw a 33 percent increase in October over the same month the prior year, and passengers are slowly but surely taking to the train.

"As the economy has recovered, slides not withstanding, people have been hopping back on board the train," Reason says. "It's not a waste of money. We are going to continue to operate the service, period. We need to figure out how do that."

It's hardly a compelling argument for Dori.

"If you have three riders and you go to four that's a 33 percent increase. Pretty good. Yay."

Reason says mudslides have forced the cancellation of 134 Sounder north line trips since November, by far the most ever.

"Our last record in terms of number of trips canceled was about two years ago and it was only 70 and in previous years it's been far less than that."

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Temporary fix but no solution in sight for Sounder mudslide mess

Josh Kerns, MyNorthwest.com Reporter
Josh Kerns is co-host of KIRO Radio's Seattle Sounds (Saturday nights 7-8) and a digital content producer for MyNorthwest.com.
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Comments (17)


  • Add A Comment

  • clevesside wrote...
    Call it the Irony of North Sounder Project.....
    January 8, 2013 5:54 pm
    .....and you fund it by selling muni bonds to the Chinese and our friends (as they are) in the Middle East and elsewhere. Aren't there enough people to displace for a mythical project like this?! Trouble is, someone will believe this as real and, um, "sensible". Uh oh.....
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  • Mike in Pioneer Square wrote...
    Nonsense
    January 8, 2013 8:18 pm
    Yes, this is the main line between Seattle and Canada, and we should definitely NOT end the Sounder's north line. They need to find a better way to respond to the mudslides.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • soo purletiv wrote...
    A quote from Kimberly Reason
    January 8, 2013 8:57 pm
    After writing this: Sound Transit said the cancellations have not hurt its bottom dollar since it is paid, in large part, by subsidized dollars and most riders are pass holders. komonews.com included these words from our girl: "So in fact, we save money by not operating Sounder, which is not our goal; our goal is to be a reliable service for our passengers," said Reason.

    I couldn't make that one up if I tried!

    In other news Boeing announced a breakthrough cost cutting method; They found that if they don't actually build planes, fire all of their employees and close all of their facilities and receive subsidies and grants they would actually save money as opposed to their traditional methods of business. Brilliant!

    Who'da thunk it?

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  • logical open mind wrote...
    that is a statement that makes one shake your head in frustration.
    January 9, 2013 2:45 pm
    Glad Im in Costa Rica in 3.5 years!!!!
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  • soo purletiv wrote...
    Better solution
    January 8, 2013 8:59 pm
    Install heavy duty high speed mud scoops (much like the snow removal trucks) on the front of the trains...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • sportsguru wrote...
    Didn't they
    January 9, 2013 4:40 pm
    Do an environmental impact before they completed the work, how much did it cost to do the environmental impact and should they be asking for there money back at this time?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Ironhdron wrote...
    They Lie...............
    January 17, 2013 1:57 pm
    These Sound Transit people came from the original rip off group for transit. Yes Metro Transit they saw a federal fund going un wasted. It is time to stop the whole sound trnsit farce. Give the monies back to each county and let them have more bus service. An express bus on a regular route could attrack many more riders and pay for itself. Wheres Tim Eyman we need an inititive put Sound Transit out of its misery. They also do not want bus or train fares inforced.
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