Sound Transit starts work to address light rail track noise
Written by jrood
Starting Dec. 7, Sound Transit contractors will begin smoothing the surface of the light rail tracks between Seattle and Sea-Tac Airport. The work will impact evening light rail service through the end of the month. The work is expected to reduce the high-pitched noise some residents near the tracks have expressed concern about.
Trains will run every 15-20
minutes from 7 p.m. – 1 a.m. until Dec. 30. Normally, trains run every 10
minutes until 10 p.m., and every 15 minutes from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. weekdays. No
work will occur on Sunday nights or Dec. 25 – 27. Trains will operate on
regular schedules those days.
Contractors will grind the
surface of the rails with machinery mounted on a railcar that slowly travels up
and down the tracks. The work will start after 7 p.m. and may continue till 4
a.m. Grinding along the section of tracks in the Rainier Valley is expected to
take up to a week.
