The Link light rail system serves the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington and is operated by Sound Transit. It consists of 43 stations on three unconnected light rail lines in King and Pierce counties: the 1 Line from Seattle to SeaTac; the 2 Line from Bellevue to Redmond; and the T Line in Tacoma.[1] [2]
The first Link segment began service on August 23, 2003, with the opening of five stations on the 1.6adj=midNaNadj=mid Tacoma Link (now the T Line).[3] The initial, 14adj=midNaNadj=mid segment of Central Link (now the 1 Line) with 12 stations was opened from Seattle to Tukwila on July 18, 2009, and was later extended 1.7miles to the Seattle–Tacoma International Airport on December 19, 2009.[4] [5] The first infill station of the Link system was Commerce Street/South 11th Street station on the T Line, which opened on September 15, 2011.[6] The 1 Line was extended north 3.15miles to the University of Washington on March 19, 2016, and 1.6miles south to Angle Lake station on September 24, 2016.[7] [8] A northern extension to Northgate station with three stations opened on October 2, 2021.[9] The T Line was extended 2.4miles in September 2023 with six new stations and one relocated stop.[10] The first section of the 2 Line opened on April 27, 2024, with eight stations in Bellevue and Redmond.[11] Four stations were added to the 1 Line on August 30, 2024, as it was extended to Lynnwood.[12]
, Sound Transit is building extensions of the Link network that will open between 2025 and 2027 with 12 new stations.[13] [14] Among these are extensions of the 2 Line to Seattle and Downtown Redmond and an extension of the 1 Line south to Federal Way.[15] These extensions are planned to add an additional 30miles to the light rail network, carrying an estimated 280,000 daily riders by 2030.[16] [17]
Further expansions approved by Sound Transit 3 in 2016 are planned to expand the light rail network by 58miles and 39 stations to a total of 116miles of track and 83 stations by 2044, carrying 500,000 daily passengers.[18] [19] The light rail network will include lines to Ballard and West Seattle in Seattle in 2039 and 2032, respectively; Kirkland and Issaquah on the Eastside in 2044; and extensions to Everett and Tacoma in 2041 and 2032, respectively. Three infill stations in Seattle and Tukwila will also be built as part of the Sound Transit 3 program.[13] [19]
All 1 Line and 2 Line stations are built with NaNadj=midNaNadj=mid, 14adj=midNaNadj=mid platforms, arranged in the center or sides of the two tracks, with capacity to handle a four-car train with 95adj=midNaNadj=mid vehicles;[20] [21] [22] T Line stations are built with 90adj=midNaNadj=mid, 8adj=midNaNadj=mid platforms that can accommodate a one-car train measuring 66feet in length.[23] The majority of stations are built at-grade on the surface, with the platform elevated slightly above street level; there are also elevated stations and underground stations that include mezzanines (with the exception of Mount Baker station) with access the platform from the surface as well as ticket vending machines and bicycle facilities.[24] [25] Only four current stations (Angle Lake, Northgate, Tacoma Dome Station, and Tukwila International Boulevard) have public park and rides;[26] [27] [28] planned stations on the suburban extensions of Link will incorporate new or existing park and rides.[17] [29]
All stations include works of public art as part of the "STart" program, which requires one percent of station construction funds go to art installations.[30] The stations are named in accordance to facility naming guidelines that include using surrounding neighborhoods and street names, avoiding words used by existing facility names, and being limited to 30 characters in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.[31] Stations are also required by state law to be identified by simple pictograms,[32] [33] known as "Stellar Connections", that are used in station signage, maps and other printed materials as a wayfinding aid; the icons are composed of points that correspond with local landmarks near Link stations, while also forming a picture that represents the station's identity.[34] [35]
| † | Terminal station |
| Line | scope=col | Location[36] | scope=col | Opened | scope=col data-sort-type="number" | Weekday ridership |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| scope=row | 6th Avenue | |||||
| scope=row style="background-color:#ddffdd" | Angle Lake † | SeaTac | 3,809 | |||
| scope=row | Beacon Hill | 3,151 | ||||
| scope=row | Bellevue Downtown | [37] | ||||
| scope=row | BelRed | |||||
| scope=row | Capitol Hill | [38] | 8,408 | |||
| scope=row | Columbia City | 2,961 | ||||
| scope=row | Convention Center/S 15th St | 564 | ||||
| scope=row | East Main | |||||
| scope=row | Hilltop District | |||||
| scope=row | International District/Chinatown | 7,461 | ||||
| scope=row style="background-color:#ddffdd" | Lynnwood City Center † | |||||
| scope=row | Mount Baker | 2,718 | ||||
| scope=row | Mountlake Terrace | |||||
| scope=row | Northgate | |||||
| scope=row | Old City Hall | |||||
| scope=row | Othello | 2,940 | ||||
| scope=row | Overlake Village | |||||
| scope=row | Pioneer Square | 4,764 | ||||
| scope=row | Rainier Beach | 2,235 | ||||
| scope=row style="background-color:#ddffdd" | Redmond Technology † | |||||
| scope=row | Roosevelt | |||||
| scope=row | SeaTac/Airport | SeaTac | 5,640 | |||
| scope=row | Shoreline North/185th | |||||
| scope=row | Shoreline South/148th | |||||
| scope=row | SODO | 2,552 | ||||
| scope=row | ||||||
| scope=row | Tacoma | 878 | ||||
| scope=row style="background-color:#ddffdd" | South Bellevue † | |||||
| scope=row style="background-color:#ddffdd" | St. Joseph † | |||||
| scope=row | Stadium | 1,287 | ||||
| scope=row | Stadium District | |||||
| scope=row | Symphony | 6,241 | ||||
| scope=row style="background-color:#ddffdd" | Tacoma Dome † | Tacoma | 2,110 | |||
| scope=row | Tacoma General | |||||
| scope=row | Theater District | 1,051 | ||||
| scope=row | Tukwila International Boulevard | Tukwila | 2,819 | |||
| scope=row | U District | |||||
| scope=row | Union Station/S 19th St | 1,433 | ||||
| scope=row | University of Washington | 11,200 | ||||
| scope=row | Westlake | 12,594 | ||||
| scope=row | Wilburton | |||||
| Line | scope=col | Location | scope=col | Opened | scope=col | Closed | scope=col data-sort-type="number" | Weekday ridership |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| scope=row | 995 |
, Sound Transit has two light rail projects under construction that will expand the network to 62miles by 2026:[14] the western segment of the 2 Line scheduled to open in 2025 with two new stations; the Downtown Redmond Link Extension, scheduled to open in 2025 with two stations in Redmond on the 2 Line;[15] and the Federal Way Link Extension, scheduled to open in 2026 with three stations on the 1 Line.[39]
| † | Terminal station |
| Line/Extension | scope=col | Location | scope=col | Began construction | scope=col | Projected completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| scope=row style="background-color:#ddffdd" | Downtown Redmond † | – Downtown Redmond Extension | Downtown Redmond | [40] | [41] | |
| scope=row style="background-color:#ddffdd" | Federal Way Downtown † | – Federal Way Extension | Federal Way | [42] | [43] | |
| scope=row | Judkins Park | |||||
| scope=row | Kent Des Moines | – Federal Way Extension | ||||
| scope=row | Marymoor Village | – Downtown Redmond Extension | Redmond | |||
| scope=row | Mercer Island | Mercer Island | ||||
| scope=row | NE 130th Street | – Lynnwood Extension | [44] | [45] | ||
| scope=row | Star Lake | – Federal Way Extension | Federal Way | |||
The Sound Transit 3 program, approved by voters in 2016, will expand the Link light rail network to over 116miles and 70 stations when completed in 2044. Other sections of the Sound Transit 2 program, approved by voters in 2008, are anticipated to be complete by 2024.[19]
| † | Terminal station | |
| Infill station |
| Line/Extension | scope=col | Location | scope=col | Projected completion[46] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| scope=row | Ainsworth | – TCC Extension | Tacoma | ||
| scope=row style="background-color:#ddffdd" | Alaska Junction † | – West Seattle Extension | [47] | ||
| scope=row | Ash Way | – Everett Extension | Lynnwood | ||
| scope=row | Avalon | – West Seattle Extension | |||
| scope=row style="background-color:#ddffdd" | Ballard † | – Ballard Extension | |||
| scope=row style="background-color:#ffdead" | Boeing Access Road * | Tukwila | |||
| scope=row style="background-color:#ddffdd" | Central Issaquah † | Issaquah | |||
| scope=row | Delridge | – West Seattle Extension | |||
| scope=row | Denny | – Ballard Extension | |||
| scope=row | East Tacoma | – Tacoma Dome Extension | Tacoma | ||
| scope=row | Eastgate | ||||
| scope=row style="background-color:#ddffdd" | Everett † | – Everett Extension | Downtown Everett | [48] | |
| scope=row | Fife | – Tacoma Dome Extension | Fife | ||
| scope=row style="background-color:#ffdead" | Graham * | ||||
| scope=row | Interbay | – Ballard Extension | |||
| scope=row | Lakemont | Issaquah | |||
| scope=row | Mariner | – Everett Extension | Everett | ||
| scope=row | Midtown | – Ballard Extension | |||
| scope=row | Pearl | – TCC Extension | Tacoma | ||
| scope=row | Richards Road | ||||
| scope=row | Seattle Center | – Ballard Extension | |||
| scope=row style="background-color:#ddffdd" | Smith Cove † | – Ballard Extension | |||
| scope=row | South Federal Way | – Tacoma Dome Extension | Federal Way | ||
| scope=row style="background-color:#ddffdd" | South Kirkland † | Kirkland | [49] | ||
| scope=row | South Lake Union | – Ballard Extension | |||
| scope=row | Sprague | – TCC Extension | Tacoma | ||
| scope=row | SR 99/Airport Road | – Everett Extension | Everett | ||
| scope=row | SR 526/Evergreen | – Everett Extension | Everett | ||
| scope=row | Stevens | – TCC Extension | Tacoma | ||
| scope=row style="background-color:#ddffdd" | SW Everett Industrial Center † | – Everett Extension | Everett | ||
| scope=row style="background-color:#ddffdd" | Tacoma Community College † | – TCC Extension | Tacoma | ||
| scope=row style="background-color:#ddffdd" | Tacoma Dome † | – Tacoma Dome Extension | Tacoma | [50] | |
| scope=row | Union | – TCC Extension | Tacoma | ||
| scope=row | West Alderwood | – Everett Extension | Lynnwood |
| Line/Extension | scope=col | Location | scope=col | Deferred/Deleted | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| scope=row | 220th Street SW | – Lynnwood Extension | Mountlake Terrace | [51] [52] | |
| scope=row | First Hill | – University Extension | [53] |