Sounder hits snag, so rides free today

David Quigg; The News Tribune

Rides aboard Sounder are free today. It's Sound Transit's apology for a snafu that delayed one of its Tacoma-to-Seattle commuter trains by 35 minutes Thursday.

The delay affected the second Sounder run of the day, which leaves Tacoma at 6:50 a.m. Officials said two problems made the train late: a truck accident in Auburn that knocked out power to the rail signal system and a glitch involving the Texas-based dispatchers who manage the flow of every train in America riding Burlington Northern Santa Fe's rails.

"We're investigating what we believe was a communication delay through our network control center," said Gus Melonas, a spokesman for the railroad.

Sound Transit immediately issued a press release apologizing for the delay. It was "by far" the worst since Sounder service started Sept. 18, said Sound Transit spokesman Clarence Moriwaki.

"We're hitting 95 percent on time," he said. "It's exceptional - especially for a start-up."

http://www.tribnet.com/news/local/0929a13.html

-- Doris (groomlk@bellsouth.net), September 30, 2000