Many Seattle Seahawks fans can avoid holiday gridlock and take Sound Transit’s popular event trains to the 5:20 p.m. game against the San Francisco Forty-niners on Sunday, Dec. 23. Special Sounder trains – in addition to regular Link light rail service – will run to and from the stadiums to serve crowds – but are the Seahawks Eastside Fans to be left out in the cold again?
The event trains may be a good option for fans traveling from their service areas – but what about Eastsiders? In the past, Sound Transit has done a terrible job of planning around sporting events for people attending from the Eastside. Want to get home after the game? Just try to get on a bus – just try it. They are usually delayed, and then packed – and then more delays. Sound Transit would be smart to actually ADD more buses to and from downtown for these types of sporting events – but have failed to do so in the past. Tell them to fix it by contacting Kimberly Reason — (206) 689-3343 or kimberly.reason@soundtransit.org.
Back to the more special areas of Sound Transit service:
Inbound Sounder trains from the south will depart Lakewood at 1:50 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. The 1:50 p.m. train will operate to South Tacoma, Tacoma and Puyallup stations only before proceeding to King Street Station. A third south line train will depart Sumner Station at 2:37 p.m. and stop in Auburn, Kent and Tukwila before arriving in Seattle.
Link light rail will also run two-car trains to accommodate crowds. Passengers are dropped off at Stadium Station just a half block from Century Link field. Link light rail serves 13 stations in downtown Seattle, SODO, Beacon Hill, Rainier Valley, Tukwila and SeaTac.Inbound trains from the north will leave Everett 2:15 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Return trains to Lakewood depart 10, 20 and 45 minutes after the end of the game. Return trains to Everett depart 15 and 35 minutes after the game. Some trips may leave King Street Station early if the train is full.
Complete game day train schedules are available at http://www.soundtransit.org/Schedules/Event-services.xml.
Regular fares will apply for all Sound Transit services. ORCA and all standing transit passes will be accepted. Getting an ORCA card is a great way to skip lines at ticket vending machines. Cards only cost $5 for adults, plus whatever amount a rider chooses to load in the card’s E-Purse or the cost of a pass that is good for unlimited transit trips. ORCA works on trains, buses and ferries throughout the region. More information is available at www.orcacard.com.