A journey right through the heart of Downtown Seattle on Sound Transit’s Central Link light rail line, beginning at Stadium station, next to Safeco and CentruryLink Fields, and ending at the northern terminal of the line, University of Washington.
Even at 50 mph through underground portions, the ride on Link remains incredibly smooth. It’s a stark contrast to how bumpy and rough BART feels.
Link Light Rail, operated by Sound Transit, is one of the newest light rail projects in the United States. The current system includes two lines – the Tacoma Link and the Central Link – but Seattle is already building massive extensions that will take this relatively small transit system all throughout the GreaterSeattle Area.
The Central Link and Tacoma Link never share track or cross paths once; in fact, they are 30 miles apart.
The Tacoma Link runs mostly in and around Downtown Tacoma, with six stops spanning from the Tacoma Dome to the Theater District. It was the first streetcar line in the Greater Seattle Area to open in 63 years.
The Central Link, opened in 2009, is the main light rail line of Seattle and runs between the University of Washington and Angle Lake Station, with major stops at Seattle/Tacoma International Airport, Stadium (at Safeco Field and CenturyLink field) and Westlake, right in the heart of Downtown Seattle.
Considering how new Seattle’s rail system is, it’s not surprising it still serves a relatively small area of the region. Seattle is not about to stop building more track, however, and there are several ambitious extension plans coming in the next several years.
The first extension to hit the Central Link occurred five months after the line initially opened, in December 2009, when the line was extended from Tukwila to Sea/Tac Int’l Airport.
Nothing happened for seven more years until March of 2016, when the line was extended from its northern terminus at Westlake to University of Washington, with one additional stop at Capitol Hill. Six months later, in September, the line was extended one stop south to Angle Lake.
On November 8, 2016, voters passed Sound Transit 3 measure, which granted .8 billion dollars to be geared towards extending light rail by five times its total track length (in miles) today, as well as improved BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) and Sounder commuter rail service.
Seattle is planning on extending both of the current light rail lines, as well as building an entirely new light rail line to Bellevue.
On the Central Link, Sound is already building the extension of the line north of University of Washington to the busy Northgate Transit Center, with stops at University District and Roosevelt. This extension should be open by 2021.
By 2023, Sound wishes to continue further north, past Northgate, all the way to Lynnwood. This would make the total track mileage of the Central Link at 33 miles, with 23 stations.
But that’s not all. Sound is currently planning to extend the Central Link from the current southern terminal, Angle Lake, to the cities of Des Moines and Kent by 2023. By 2030, the line could reach Federal Way Transit Center, near Tacoma, but this plan was dropped from the previously stated extension due to the Recession.
Heading east, Sound began construction of the “East Link”in 2016. This extension will introduce a brand new line, the Blue Line (the other Central Link line is called the Red Line, even though no one in Seattle calls it that), to the Link light rail system.
The Blue Line will travel alongside the Red Line from Northgate to International District/Chinatown, where it will split off and begin heading east. It will then travel under Lake Washington, to Bellevue, and terminate at Redmond Technology Center, home of tech giant Microsoft. Later on, the line could be extended further east to Downtown Redmond.
Moving to the Tacoma Link, the extension north of Downtown Tacoma to the city’s Stadium District and Hilltop is expected to open in 2022.
Seattle is one of many urban regions feeling a renaissance in rail-based transit options. In several years, Seattle’s rail-based transportation could be the envy of the West Coast. We will have to wait and see.
Our website: http://bayareatransitnews.weebly.com/
Download our app:
AppsGeyser: http://app.appsgeyser.com/Bay%20Area%20Transit%20News%202.0
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Bay-Area-Transit-News/dp/B01DTRGD06?ie=UTF8&keywords=bay%20area%20transit%20news&qid=1460170720&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bayareatransit1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bayareatransitnews/
Contact us at [email protected]
More info on Seattle: Sound Transit: Central Link Light Rail: Stadium – University of Washington
Seattle: Sound Transit: Central Link Light Rail: Stadium - University of Washington - BingNews Search results
-
Construction now underway on all parking and station structures for Lynnwood Link extension
Civil construction is now underway on all of the parking and station structures on the Lynnwood Link extension, as the project continues to progress steadily toward a 2024 opening. Overall, civil ...
-
Sound Transit’s East Link Extension Project, Washington
The extended route will start from Chinatown International District in Seattle, connecting with the existing Central Link light rail system ... Mercer Island to University of Washington within 20 ...
-
New U-District light rail station to open this fall, will serve students and surrounding community
The new U-District Link Light Rail station on Brooklyn Avenue is set to open this fall, connecting the neighborhood more easily with Seattle’s downtown corridor.
-
University Of Washington News
Holland America Line launched three new commuter “ships” Monday, Jan. 9, that will run on the Sound Transit Light Rail System in Seattle ... was held at the University of Washington Station ...
-
Transit train wreck: Here's how to do buses right
It needs new service to Bellevue and Redmond on the Eastside and to downtown Seattle, the University ... be done here to Sound Transit's now a-building Central Link light rail, connects to the ...
-
Taking The High-Tech Road
They set up two sound ... the Seattle area, King County Metro is in the process of taking ownership of MyBus on the Internet, a tracking system developed a decade ago at the University of ...
-
University District Station, Seattle
Sound Transit is constructing the University District (U District) station in Seattle, Washington in the US. The project is part of the $1.9bn Northgate Link light rail extension between ... while ...
-
Transit Outlook 2020: Funding, election concerns color expectations
Rogofff: In 2020, our focus will be on maintaining full-speed, advancing our voter-approved slate of light-rail, bus rapid transit ... be if the Seattle Seahawks gain home field advantage in ...
-
Will Up-Zoning Make Housing More Affordable?
Seattle is a small city, wedged between Puget Sound and Lake Washington on 83 square miles ... Much of the up-zoning will occur along Seattle’s Link light rail line and in what have long been ...
-
Saints Travel Guides | New Orleans Saints | NewOrleansSaints.com
Link light rail makes trips from Angle Lake Station to the University of Washington through downtown Seattle making 14 ... maps are available on the Sound Transit website. Taxis, limos, and ...
-
Progressive Railroading's Passenger Rail at a Glance 2017: Pennsylvania, Texas, & Washington
Dallas Area Rapid Transit ... rail, $10.58 for commuter rail • Northgate light-rail extension — A $1.9 billion project, the Northgate Link Extension travels north from the University of ...
-
Activating Public Spheres and Public Spaces in Seattle
According to Jeffrey Karl Ochsner, architecture professor at the University ... stadium, while his Vulcan Northwest Inc. contributed to the renovation of Seattle’s Union Station, now home to Sound ...