Tukwila, WA (TUK)

Ticket Revenue

FY 2011

$988,125

Station Ridership

FY 2011

26,549

Note: Fiscal year is from
October through September.

The unstaffed Tukwila station, opened in 2000, consists of a platform with a shelter, shared with Sound Transit. The transit agency is moving forward with plans to replace the existing shelter with a permanent commuter station that will be shared with Amtrak. The future station will include passenger platforms and shelters, security and safety features, accessible station access, approximately 350 parking spaces, bicycle storage, landscaping and public art. Currently, installations by Art Partners and Jerry Mayer add color to the temporary station platform.

Sound Transit is working on station planning in partnership with the cities of Tukwila and Renton and their long-range plans for redevelopment, transportation and traffic planning in the area. Amtrak, BNSF Railway, King County Metro Transit, Boeing and the Washington State Department of Transportation are also planning partners. The Sound Transit budget for the project is $16 million. Final design has begun (2009) and construction is expected to occur in 2010.

The station is also served by ST Express and Metro Transit busses, as well as Sounder Commuter Rail.

Tukwila, on the peninsula south of Seattle and just west of Renton, lies at the north-flowing conjunction of the Green and Black Rivers where they become the Duwamish. The area was named by the resident Duwamish peoples for the thick hazelnut forests that grew there. Non-native settlers first arrived in the 1850s via river and wagon to farm the rich soil of the Duwamish River Valley.

Tukwila’s location at the crossroads of historic rivers and trails – and highways and railroads today -- have made it a local center of commerce. In the 1860s, travel was by flat-bottomed river boat that ran from Seattle to Auburn and back, carrying coal, produce, and livestock as well as passengers. At that time, it took two days to get to Seattle from Tukwila.

Early electric trains provided an interurban line connecting to Renton and Tacoma, operating from 1902 to 1928, and travel to Seattle from Tacoma then took under an hour. The first macadam-paved road in the state was laid in Tukwila. In 1916, the first highway between Seattle and Tacoma made its way through Tukwila. The Pacific Highway section through Tukwila is known as Interurban Avenue.

In 1908, Tukwila incorporated as a city. Today, Tukwila is still a center of commerce, as it is home to several Boeing corporate facilities as well as a number of Internet and corporate data centers, including Microsoft, InterNAP and the University of Washington. Most are located close to the Tukwila Amtrak station on the Sabey Corporation’s Intergate.Seattle campus near Boeing Field and only a few miles from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

The Museum of Flight, the largest private air and space museum in the world, is located just north of Tukwila. The Museum has an outdoor, large aircraft display area featuring the prototypes of the Boeing 737 and 747, America's first jet Air Force One, an American Airlines 727-200, and a British Airways Concorde—the only one on display on the West Coast. The public can tour both Air Force One and the Concorde.

Tukwila was the birthplace of Nintendo America, as the company’s first U.S. warehouse was leased by landlord Mario Seagale, whose namesake is the world-famous video game pioneer.

Amtrak does not provide ticketing or baggage services at this facility.

Tukwila is served by eight daily trains.