The Sounder Train.... changes a-coming? (Seattle, Bellevue: 2015, construction, university)

[sean98125]

They aren't going to do a whole lot with the north line since the plan is for a light rail route up the I-5 corridor within 10-15 years.

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by green_mariner

I'm wondering if Seattle today could build more monorails across the city.

Maybe now that the Sounder has proven itself, and light rail seems to be on the same track. But this has been floated as an idea so many times in the past, even before it was built for the World's Fair, and failed every other time. It seems to me there were serious considerations to do so as recently as the early 2000s.

The problem at this point though is that it'd have to be a totally different system. The current one is showing it's age and is only about a mile long. I personally think it'd be a great idea for Seattle to embrace the Monorail more - raised tracks still leave room for cars underneath, or parks. Or buildings in some areas, sort of like NYC's Highline.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by hamellr

Maybe now that the Sounder has proven itself, and light rail seems to be on the same track. But this has been floated as an idea so many times in the past, even before it was built for the World's Fair, and failed every other time. It seems to me there were serious considerations to do so as recently as the early 2000s.

The problem at this point though is that it'd have to be a totally different system. The current one is showing it's age and is only about a mile long. I personally think it'd be a great idea for Seattle to embrace the Monorail more - raised tracks still leave room for cars underneath, or parks. Or buildings in some areas, sort of like NYC's Highline.

I think the monorail should be embraced. It wouldn't hurt to build from the current system.

[Inkpoe]

Originally Posted by green_mariner

I think the monorail should be embraced. It wouldn't hurt to build from the current system.

Meh... I can't even say I'm a fan of the monorail that Seattle has right now. Its too slow and clunky. There's a point where the line is too narrow and I understand that at the time of building, there were constraints... but now you got an area where the monorail can't be passing each other at the same time or they'll be hitting each other. Not to mention, there's been a couple fires.

It would almost be a hard sell considering that people in Seattle consider the monorail to be a tourist thing and is waaay too expensive the way its set up now. [$2.25 one way... that's just one stop... One MILE. With light rail, it's 2.75 from the airport to DT... some 14 miles]

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by Inkpoe

Meh... I can't even say I'm a fan of the monorail that Seattle has right now. Its too slow and clunky. There's a point where the line is too narrow and I understand that at the time of building, there were constraints... but now you got an area where the monorail can't be passing each other at the same time or they'll be hitting each other. Not to mention, there's been a couple fires.

It would almost be a hard sell considering that people in Seattle consider the monorail to be a tourist thing and is waaay too expensive the way its set up now. [$2.25 one way... that's just one stop... One MILE. With light rail, it's 2.75 from the airport to DT... some 14 miles]

There is technology to make the monorail faster.

Shanghai Maglev Train - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Perhaps maglev should be considered. I would say that there should be more research to work out the bad parts and make it safer and more efficient.

[Xeon1210]

maglev omg lol maglev would get us from seattle to florida in about 30 minutes if we had maglev from west seattle to ballard we'd probably overshoot and end up in vancouver before the train stopped!!!!

but yes the seattle center monorail is so antiquated. Before last month the last time I rode it was about 4 years ago and it was rickety then. I brought a family member on there so that we could get to westlake center quickly. Wow what an awkward ride you could tell it was from the space needle era. Rickety and just plain trashy looking. The doors looked like they could pop off the hinges. If they would upgrade them/renovate them that would be something. Shoot Bill gates is right up the street giving billions to folks world wide maybe he could donate $250k to the monorail and brand the whole thing like the MS connector buses.

[BellevueNative]

Originally Posted by secret_squirrel

Additionally, the north line has problems the south line doesn't.
1) A couple times a winter, it is shut down from mudslides, or fear of mudslides, over the tracks.
2)It is also slower: Everett to Seattle takes 59 minutes. A similar distance from the south, Auburn to Seattle is 33 minutes.
3) Geographically, it is further from population density with less parking options. It doesn't make sense for a lot of potential riders to spend time getting west to Mukilteo or Edmonds to spend another 45 min on a train.

Going to the park and ride and taking the bus makes a lot more practical sense from the north.

This.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by emerald_octane

maglev omg lol maglev would get us from seattle to florida in about 30 minutes if we had maglev from west seattle to ballard we'd probably overshoot and end up in vancouver before the train stopped!!!!

but yes the seattle center monorail is so antiquated. Before last month the last time I rode it was about 4 years ago and it was rickety then. I brought a family member on there so that we could get to westlake center quickly. Wow what an awkward ride you could tell it was from the space needle era. Rickety and just plain trashy looking. The doors looked like they could pop off the hinges. If they would upgrade them/renovate them that would be something. Shoot Bill gates is right up the street giving billions to folks world wide maybe he could donate $250k to the monorail and brand the whole thing like the MS connector buses.

If it is antiquated, then it needs to be updated. First there needs to be a way to sell this. A maglev monorail, to me, sounds like a very good idea. If places in Snohomish County will say yes to rail transit, it might also say yes to monorail if given the opportunity. However, there needs to be a way to sell this idea. People can come up with all of the maps they want. I could do that. First, the idea has to be sold, then the building might come. Money has to come as well. Bill Gates might be donating millions to charity, but will he donate to monorail. What some billionaire might donate to, there might be other things he or she won't donate to.

[BellevueNative]

Are you very familiar with Seattle? I think you're a little uninformed about our transit...

Originally Posted by green_mariner

I think the monorail should be embraced. It wouldn't hurt to build from the current system.

Monorail was the plan about 10-15 years ago. Plans were designed, appropriations were voted on by the public, taxes were charged to all living in the Seattle city limits. And then the plan revisions came...and it was discovered the costs presented to the public were waaaaaaaaaaay off. That pissed people off, and plans were scrapped. So can you really blame people for having a lack of trust in monorail and govt. transit?

Originally Posted by green_mariner

Is it possible to build new tracks?

I know it will be down the road in the future. That being said, light rail seems like a good idea.

This is how I look at Sound Transit, being an outsider. It started later, but I look at the Seattle area is being more progressive, and not having as much aversion to public transportation, as say, metropolitan Atlanta.

You seem to be confusing the Sounder Train with Sound Transit Link. The Sounder is heavy transit operating on the Amtrak tracks. THAT is why it has the route it does. No heavy rail lines will be built anywhere close to I-5. Sound Transit Link Light Rail will be extending to the north (it's in the final design stages and has already been voted on and approved) and opening in Lynnwood (the final north stop in the plans for now) in 2023...the same year East Link opens.

Meanwhile, the city of Seattle is planning to build in some streetcar lines to connect a few neighborhoods to the Link Light Rail stations.

The Rapid Ride bus routes are all designed to hook up with Link stops, too. They're basically building a central loop with many circle loops branching off of it. Long time coming, but when it's all in place I think it will work well.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by BellevueNative

Are you very familiar with Seattle? I think you're a little uninformed about our transit...



Monorail was the plan about 10-15 years ago. Plans were designed, appropriations were voted on by the public, taxes were charged to all living in the Seattle city limits. And then the plan revisions came...and it was discovered the costs presented to the public were waaaaaaaaaaay off. That pissed people off, and plans were scrapped. So can you really blame people for having a lack of trust in monorail and govt. transit?



You seem to be confusing the Sounder Train with Sound Transit Link. The Sounder is heavy transit operating on the Amtrak tracks. THAT is why it has the route it does. No heavy rail lines will be built anywhere close to I-5. Sound Transit Link Light Rail will be extending to the north (it's in the final design stages and has already been voted on and approved) and opening in Lynnwood (the final north stop in the plans for now) in 2023...the same year East Link opens.

Meanwhile, the city of Seattle is planning to build in some streetcar lines to connect a few neighborhoods to the Link Light Rail stations.

The Rapid Ride bus routes are all designed to hook up with Link stops, too. They're basically building a central loop with many circle loops branching off of it. Long time coming, but when it's all in place I think it will work well.

I lived in the Seattle area as a child many years ago, but I never took the buses. Me and my family used the car, and therefore, never did use transit. I was never given that opportunity to use it.

If no rail will be built close to I-5, then how do we build a north line that won't be prone to such problems such as low ridership?

I tend to get light rail and heavy rail mixed up because I've often thought they were the same thing.

As for the monorail, I'm looking at this from a very "just do it" mentality, mainly because I now live in a metro that has been slow to improve on mass transit. If the plans were way off before, how do we get the trust of the citizens back? If the trust of the people is regained, then things can move on from there. More research needs to be done.