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Ridership on Sound Transit’s Sounder commuter-rail service increased nearly 23 percent in the fourth quarter compared with the same period in 2001.



The agency attributes the increase to the addition of a third round-trip train between Seattle and Tacoma in September 2002, according to a prepared statement. For the year, Sounder carried 672,000 riders — a 16 percent jump compared with 2001.



"This steady increase in ridership shows the progress we are making in building a regional transit system," said Sound Transit Board Chair Ron Sims.