Local
Tukwila Substation Failure Disrupts 1 Line; Shuttle Buses Replace Trains Between Kent Des Moines and Rainier Beach
A power failure at Sound Transit's Tukwila traction substation early Sunday forced shuttle buses to replace 1 Line trains between Kent Des Moines and Rainier Beach, with no estimate for restoration. Planned 2 Line work and a Garth Brooks concert added to weekend transit strain.
A power failure at Sound Transit's Tukwila traction substation early Sunday morning disrupted service on the 1 Line, forcing shuttle buses to replace trains between Kent Des Moines Station and Rainier Beach Station in both directions, the agency said.
The disruption began before dawn. Sound Transit first posted an alert about delays at the Tukwila light rail station around 5:45 a.m., then issued a second alert around 6:20 a.m. announcing that buses would replace train service between Kent Des Moines and Rainier Beach.
Agency spokesperson Amy Enbysk said the outage was caused by a failure at the Tukwila substation. She said there was no estimate for when normal train service would resume.
Sound Transit advised riders to plan ahead and allow extra time, warning that trips could take longer than usual.
The 1 Line disruption came as the agency was already running shuttle buses on the 2 Line across Lake Washington. Buses were replacing trains between South Bellevue, Mercer Island, Judkins Park and International District/Chinatown stations through the end of the day Sunday because of planned work to strengthen light rail power-supply equipment. Trains were expected to run again Monday morning after the weekend repairs, which the agency said would help light rail travel faster across the lake.
Sound Transit also warned of possible delays near Seattle Center from 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday because of the Garth Brooks "Blame It All on My Roots" tour stop in the city.
The back-to-back disruptions put pressure on riders who rely on light rail for weekend travel, particularly those connecting between south King County and Seattle. The agency did not say how many riders were affected or whether the substation failure was related to the planned power-supply work on the 2 Line.
Riders were urged to check Sound Transit alerts for updates before heading out.