Sounder and Amtrak Trains in Tacoma, WA

On July 5th 2019, we visit both the Sounder Commuter Rail and Amtrak stations in Tacoma, Washington. The Sounder station is located on the former Milwaukee Road alignment, now only seeing commuter trains and occasional local freights, while the Amtrak station is located alongside the busy BNSF Seattle Sub.

The Amtrak station was slated to close in 2016, and operations moved to the Sounder station. Due to a fatal crash on the new route during the first run (owing to incorrect high speed around a curve), the previous station was reopened after just 24 hours, and remains open today. The new route through the Sounder station will reopen once PTC installation has been completed and tested on the line.