Reflecting on the Link Light Rail Shutdown, and What to Expect Going Forward

Reflecting on the Link Light Rail Shutdown, and What to Expect Going Forward

by Michael Munoz

After the recent light rail shutdown that occurred shortly after the conclusion of the Apple Cup, many are anxiously waiting to hear about the reasoning behind it. Since the light rail is meant to be a dependable, efficient way for citizen transportation, many are left wondering: what was it like for passengers onboard the train during the incident, and how reliable is the Link light rail system?

The Seattle light rail, like most if not all public transportation systems, has experienced delays and disabling in the past. However, this shutdown in particular was different due to the accident that caused it.

In a statement released by Sound Transit Public Information Officer John Gallagher, it was revealed that the train traveling between the UW and U District Link stations was disabled due to the severing of an electronic cable between the first car and the three cars behind. The absence of this cable then prevented communication between the operator and the train’s passengers, resulting in mass confusion among those onboard the train.

However, an accident of this scale has never occurred in the past. According to Gallagher, an investigation is currently being conducted by Sound Transit Chief Safety Officer David Wright in order to discover the reasoning behind the incident. Sound Transit hopes to report their findings in about 30 days and is looking into improving their communication systems and evacuation procedures across all departments.

“This was an unprecedented event for Sound Transit. We’ve never had a severed train line before,” Gallagher said. “This was not up to our standard of passenger care. We are fortunate that no passengers were injured, as safety is a top priority for us.”

As soon as the train’s cable was damaged, all communication was cut off and the cars’ lights went out, leaving only the tunnel lights to illuminate the area. Without any instruction or briefing from the operator, passengers used the train’s emergency exits in order to self-evacuate on their own accord.

Gallagher wished to make it clear that in the event of a disabled train, the safest place for passengers to be is on the train. Without assigning blame to the passengers, he stated that tunnels present the potential for further danger, and that Sound Transit’s goal is to keep passengers informed of safety procedures in a timely manner in the future.

Sound Transit was immediately aware of the situation as it occurred, instituting safety protocols and sending a rescue train in order to aid those stranded by the incident. A lack of instruction resulted in some passengers navigating their own way through the tunnels, with some walking back towards UW station. The disabled train was later towed, and all trains behind were stalled until this could be accomplished.

UW student Audrey Vida, a passenger at the time of the shutdown, expressed frustration as a result of the lack of communication. After searching online for any updates from Sound Transit and finding none, she stated that the passengers became divided over how to handle the situation.

She described the passengers as being “on edge,” especially without any idea of how long they would be stuck in the tunnel. While they were eventually led through the tunnels towards the rescue train, some passengers exited in the opposite direction in order to avoid waiting any longer.

“Without any announcement, it was kind of a free-for-all,” Vida stated. “I would’ve been more understanding if I had known what happened.”

Vida went on to suggest solutions to this, including announcements over an intercom system or online updates in real time in order to keep passengers informed and alleviate stress.

Another passenger and UW student, Sydney Floth, echoed frustrations towards a lack of information after enduring the long process to get home. However, Floth stated that she was a frequent user of the light rail and was more forgiving of the situation.

“I’ve been stuck on the light rail before due to congestion at different stations, but I still rely on it for transportation around the city, Floth said. “I guess it’s just the reality of public transport. Things will go awry.”

Floth also made suggestions for potential changes going forward, such as backup power of some kind in order to keep air circulation in the train and to restore communication with the train operator.

Luckily, Gallagher assured that communication with riders would be improved going forward, and safety procedures will be made clearer in order to prevent confusion of this degree from happening again.

“We’re conducting a very thorough investigation, not only looking at the cause [of the accident] but also looking at our performance across departments including communications, operations, and passenger experience to determine what went wrong to make sure it won’t happen again,” Gallagher stated. “We have a lot of lessons to learn here so we can take care of our passengers and we’re really dedicated to do that going forward.”