A rider trying to use the 2 Line in Seattle on Nov. 10 found trip-planning information showing train service even as the line was not running, leading to a 30-minute wait before the trip had to be abandoned for another ride.

The most immediate problem was conflicting information. Station screens were showing shuttle-bus notices dated Nov. 14 to Nov. 15, while the rider was dealing with a disruption on Nov. 10. With dates that did not match the day's disruption, the screens offered no clear answer about whether trains were delayed, buses had replaced them, or the display itself was wrong.

The cause was unclear, too. Possible explanations included maintenance between Chinatown and Judkins Park and a recurring problem in Seattle light rail: drivers ending up on the tracks and disrupting service. Neither explanation resolved the immediate problem for riders, who had unreliable information and no clear sense of when a train would arrive.

That uncertainty has become a bigger frustration than the detour itself. Late alerts, vague station boards and trip planners at odds with conditions on the ground leave riders without dependable information for even a short rail trip. A long delay and an expensive change of transportation may follow before they know whether service will resume.