Tell Sound Transit: Consider automated light rail to deliver transit decades earlier for billions less

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Tell Sound Transit: Consider automated light rail to deliver transit decades earlier for billions less

Sound Transit

Automated light rail trains can complete Ballard/West Seattle as promised 20 years sooner for $15B less, while providing higher capacity and more frequent service.

Ask Sound Transit to issue a Request for Information to investigate this technology that has enabled cities global to deliver transformational projects at a fraction of Sound Transit's costs.

Sponsored by

Transportation Reform

Seattle, WA

To: Sound Transit
From: [Your Name]

Sound Transit's $34 billion shortfall is holding us back from getting light rail to Ballard and it doesn't have to be this way.

We have the vision for better high-capacity transit across our region. We have the route to Ballard identified. What Sound Transit hasn't found is a solution to overcome a $34 billion shortfall using business-as-usual approaches.

But there is a better way.

Sound Transit can reduce the cost of light rail to Ballard and West Seattle by at least $15 billion and save 20 years by adopting international best practices and building automated light rail from Ballard to West Seattle. Automated metro systems are successfully deployed in North America in Vancouver, BC and Montreal, as well as internationally in Copenhagen. This isn't theoretical, proven technology and approaches exist today.

We must stand up to those blocking smarter solutions.

Right now, some decision makers on the Board and in agency leadership are choosing business-as-usual over proven alternatives being used by peer regions. But they could take a different path: innovate in parallel, examining the opportunities to explore this better way alongside ongoing work. Instead, they're making empty promises about "future phases" and "someday service" rather than demanding the solutions our region deserves. Those who won't allow us to spend wisely and build smarter are the real barrier to getting to Ballard.

The solution is concrete and actionable: Sound Transit should issue a Request for Information to identify internationally proven approaches that deliver grade-separated transit within planned station envelopes while meeting capacity targets. Examine technical design, regulatory changes, federal funding implications, and infrastructure integration. And complete this work within six months in order to adjust without losing time on delivering the mass transit we want and need.

Show the Sound Transit Board that you won't accept the status quo. We need to Build Ballard Now. Support the Build Ballard Now proposal today at transportationreform.org

Your voice matters. Join advocates across the region demanding the innovation and commitment needed to build the world-class transit system the Puget Sound region deserves faster and more affordably.