Sounder commuter rail

Sounder
Two Sounder trainsets at Tukwila station
Overview
Owner	Sound Transit
Locale	Seattle metropolitan area
Transit type	Commuter rail
Number of lines	2
Number of stations	12
Daily ridership	6,715 (2023)[1]
Annual ridership	1,755,751 (2023)[1]
Website	soundtransit.org
Operation
Began operation	September 18, 2000 (2000-09-18)
Operator(s)	BNSF Railway
Reporting marks	SDRX[2]
Number of vehicles	14 locomotives, 78 cars[1]
Train length	2–7 passenger cars[1]
Technical
System length	81.8 miles (131.6 km)[1]
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge)
Top speed	79 mph (127 km/h)
System map Legend Line Cascades to Vancouver, BC Empire Builder to Chicago Everett Mukilteo Edmonds Snohomish County King County Seattle Tukwila Kent Auburn King County Pierce County Sumner Puyallup Tacoma Dome South Tacoma Lakewood Future extension Future extension Tillicum (2045) DuPont (2045) Cascades to Eugene Coast Starlight to Los Angeles Line This diagram: view talk edit Show route diagram Show interactive map

Sounder (reporting mark SDRX)^[2] is a commuter rail system that serves the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is managed by Sound Transit and operated by BNSF Railway on 82 miles (132 km) of tracks, primarily owned by BNSF, using equipment maintained by Amtrak. Sounder is split into two lines that intersect at King Street Station in Seattle: the N Line to Everett and the S Line to Tacoma and Lakewood.

Trains typically operate during peak periods, with trains to Seattle in the morning and to outlying areas in the afternoon. Limited mid-day service is offered on the S Line and special weekend trips are run on both lines for sporting events and major events. Sounder has 12 stations that connect with local and regional bus systems; most also offer park-and-ride facilities and bicycle lockers. Fares are paid through ORCA cards, paper tickets, and mobile ticketing apps, and validated through proof-of-payment checks. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 1,630,000,^[3] or about 7,300 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2024.^[4]

The commuter rail system was preceded by mainline passenger railroad service that began in the late 19th century and two interurban railways that connected Seattle to Everett and Tacoma in the early 20th century. The Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle (now King County Metro) led studies into a modern commuter rail system in the 1980s that were later transferred to the Regional Transit Authority (now Sound Transit), created in 1993. A demonstration service from Everett to Tacoma ran in early 1995 ahead of an unsuccessful ballot measure to fund a regional transit system. A second ballot measure, Sound Move, was passed by voters in November 1996.

Sounder was among the first Sound Transit projects to be launched and construction on its stations began in 1998. The South Line (now the S Line) entered service on September 18, 2000, and was followed by the North Line (now the N Line) on December 26, 2003. Additional trips on both lines debuted in the 2000s after a series of signal and track improvements were completed. The South Line was extended from Tacoma to Lakewood in October 2012 and debuted the first mid-day Sounder trips in 2016. An extension of the S Line to DuPont was funded by the Sound Transit 3 package in 2016 and is expected to open in 2045.