Seattle’s Sound Transit board of directors approved an order for five additional light rail vehicles from Brookville Equipment Corp. for the Tacoma Link Extension. The new cars will begin arriving in the third quarter of 2020 and complete delivery by the first quarter of 2021.

The five new light rail vehicles will supplement the existing fleet of three vehicles that now operate on a 1.6-mile, six-station line between the Tacoma Dome and Theater District. The 2.4-mile extension will expand service to the Stadium and Hilltop neighborhoods, serve six new stations and one relocated station, and include an expanded Operations and Maintenance facility (OMF) where cars will be stored. Construction on the extension begins next fall, with service starting in 2022.

“Ordering more light railcars for the Tacoma Link Extension will ensure sufficient fleet capacity to run trains on the expanded line,” said Sound Transit Vice Chair and Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland. “By ordering these cars now, we will have the equipment we need to begin service to the Stadium and Hilltop communities when construction is complete.”

“This order for five new light railcars is an exciting milestone for a project that has undergone years of planning and community input and is now in the final stages of design,” said Sound Transit CEO Peter Rogoff. “As Sound Transit works hard to bring more regional mass transit to Pierce County, the investments we’re making now to help Tacoma residents and commuters get around the city will serve many generations to come.”

The $26.5 million contract with Brookville Equipment Corp. includes options to procure up to five additional LRVs. The amount approved under this action does not include funding for these options.

Trains on the Tacoma Link Extension will travel at-grade, in-street with traffic along Stadium Way, North 1st Street, Division Avenue, and Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Service will run every 10 minutes during peak periods and 20 minutes during nonpeak periods. The project was approved by voters in 2008.