Sound Transit's Operation and Maintenance Facility East Building a Foundation of Reliable Transit
by Kelli Refer; Edited by Maritza Lauriano
This Ride Transit Month the Move Redmond team had an amazing opportunity to tour Sound Transit’s Operation and Maintenance Facility East (OMFE) in Bellevue. Our team was joined by Mayor Birney and Amy Tsai, chief policy advisor for the City of Redmond. We left the tour with a deeper appreciation of all of the people and behind-the-scenes maintenance required to keep transit functional for riders.
The OMFE is a new facility that was completed in 2020 and designed to store up to 96 light rail vehicles that will serve East Link, Lynnwood, and Federal Way for operations and maintenance of the vehicles and stations. Without this facility, an East Side Starter Line would not be feasible. When the bridge is complete over I-90, this facility will ensure that Sound Transit is able to deliver frequent and reliable service to both the Lynnwood and Federal Way extensions.
The building is adjacent to the Eastrail and the new bike lane on 120th connecting people biking from Northup Way to the Spring District. The building is Leed Gold certified and many energy-saving features were highlighted to us during the tour. This included lots of natural daylight creating a more pleasant working environment, and rainwater collection that is used to wash light rail vehicles.
The facility where trains are worked on is a massive space, with rooms for many train vehicles to be worked on simultaneously. The trains that need repairs and tune-ups are brought into the facility and parked in spaces where mechanics can take stairs to check out the vehicles from below or above. It takes expertise and people power to run and operate light rail, everything from washing trains and replacing windows.
So many thoughtful details were brought into the design of this space that support the function of light rail. It can be easy to get frustrated when maintenance work impacts the service of trains, but it is critical to remember that real people are out there doing this very vital and time-consuming work. Without them, our trains wouldn’t run at all. The wheels need to be trued to run on the tracks, and parts need to be replaced on aging trains, like the windshield that we saw being repaired on a first-generation train.
On-site, there is a future area dedicated to Transit Oriented Development. In just a few years there will be more housing and amenities coming to this growing and changing area that will be well served by transit and the Eastrail. This kind of development shows the future of suburbs around the country, reorienting the built environment towards walkable, bikeable, and transit-oriented communities.
These places will not only provide more homes for people but were also built to be more energy efficient which will dramatically reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that our communities generate. In addition, people will not need to rely on driving everywhere to get their daily needs met as they will have light rail and other nearby transit providing them access to work, school, and healthcare.
As light rail expands, it is crucial that we continue to invest in the recruitment and training of individuals who can perform these highly technical and specific roles. Currently, we are in a tight labor market and it takes time to onboard and train people for these operations and maintenance jobs. Sound Transit works with King County for the hiring of these positions and there are job openings right now that need to be filled. You can learn more and apply to these positions here.
