Washington State Ferries says the Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth route returned to normal service two weeks early on Tuesday morning, Feb. 5.

The 124-car Chelan, which went into drydock at Todd Shipyard on

in mid-January was completed ahead of schedule and returned

to the Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth route on Tuesday morning,

giving the route itsnormal three boat schedule.

"The impact to our customers over this last three weeks has been

tremendous," says Traci Brewer-Rogstad, Deputy Director of Washington

State Ferries. "We certainly appreciate their patience as we work

through what must be the most ambitious ferry maintenance program in

the history of the system.

"We have committed to our customers that schedule changes and vessel

changes will be announced as early as possible so our customers can

rearrange their schedules if possible. We fell short on our customers'

expectations both on the Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth and on

Seattle/Bremerton. We are happy to be delivering some good news today,

and we appreciate how resilient our customers have been."

For schedule information, visit Washington State Ferries website at

www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries or call 1-888-808-7977.