Ex-monorail director to steer light rail

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

By JANE HADLEY
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

And the new director of operations for Seattle's light rail system is the former director of operations for the Seattle Monorail Project.

Austin Jenkins was one of 20 people laid off from the monorail project last week, but he became a candidate for the light rail job well before the monorail project's troubles surfaced publicly, said Kevin Desmond, general manager of King County Metro.

Sound Transit, which is building the light rail line, has contracted with Metro to operate the line from Westlake Center to Sea-Tac Airport. Metro also runs Sound Transit's bus service in King County.

Desmond said Metro conducted a nationwide search for the position and that the search firm contacted Jenkins, who was interested in the job.

He will start his new job at the beginning of September.

Jenkins made about $113,000 at the monorail project and will be paid about $120,000 at his new job, where he will have more responsibilities, Desmond said. Metro is negotiating with the city to operate the proposed new streetcar from downtown to South Lake Union, and Jenkins would be in charge of that, too.

Jenkins joined the monorail project in January 2004. Before that, he worked for about 30 years at the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority in San Jose, Calif. He began there as a bus operator and rose ultimately to become general superintendent of Rail Transit and Service Management at the agency. On his way up, he was in charge of training at one point and rail operations planning as well as rail activation.

"We were looking for someone who had done startup," Desmond said. San Jose launched its light rail line about 20 years ago.

"He also was very well-connected within the transit industry," Desmond said. Jenkins served on five national peer reviews, in which transit agencies ask other experts in the field, such as Jenkins, for advice on what they're proposing to do.

"That was a very important selling point," Desmond said.

Jenkins could not be reached yesterday. Desmond said he believes Jenkins is about 57 years old.

Sound Transit's 14-mile line from Westlake Center to South 154th Street in Tukwila is set to open in early 2009. The extension to the airport is expected to open about six months later.

Jenkins will begin hiring a management operations team. The first vehicles will arrive in 2006 and need to be tested.

Sound Transit participated in the selection panel, which ended up with three finalists. Jenkins and his team will initially work at Metro headquarters but will ultimately work at the operations and maintenance base being built on Airport Way South near South Forest Street.

P-I reporter Jane Hadley can be reached at 206-448-8362 or janehadley@seattlepi.com.

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