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Sound Transit’s Sounder commuter trains carried 17.4 percent more passengers in second-quarter 2003 compared with the same 2002 period.

The increase is partially attributed to three additional trains running northbound from Tacoma, Wash., in the mornings and southbound from Seattle in the evenings, according to a prepared statement.

Sound Transit officials expect ridership to continue growing. Tacoma Link light-rail service is scheduled to begin this week, and the agency plans to launch service between Seattle and Everett by year end.

Sound Transit also plans to begin construction on the Central Link light-rail system this fall, when Federal Transit Administration is expected to award the agency a $500 million full funding grant agreement for the project. The system is scheduled to be complete in 2009.