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The opening heralds the start of an unprecedented period of transit expansion in the region. In just three years, the Link light rail network will nearly triple in reach, from 22 miles to 62 miles, with service to Tacoma’s Hilltop in 2022, East King County in 2023 and Lynnwood, Federal Way and Downtown Redmond in 2024.So will the East Line become the 2 line?
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In addition to service changes, riders will see changes in the way that Sound Transit lines are named. Link becomes the 1 Line, Tacoma Link becomes the T Line, Sounder South becomes the S Line and Sounder North becomes the N Line.
lpetrich wrote: ↑Wed Oct 06, 2021 8:40 pm So will the East Line become the 2 line?Yes, here is a gif outlining how the naming will progress:
Sound Transit receives new Sounder carsNews Release
The first two of 11 new cars for the Sounder S Line have arrived
The first two of 11 new cars for the Sounder S Line have arrived in Seattle. The two new cars, one cab and one coach, are part of an 11-car order approved by the Sound Transit Board in 2020 totaling three passenger cab cars and eight coach cars. All the cars were manufactured by Alstom (formerly Bombardier, which was acquired in 2021) under a $46.5 million contract.
For that contract, Sound Transit partnered with two other transit agencies, California’s San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission and North County Transit District, to reduce the unit price for each rail car with a larger order.
A second shipment of two more cars is expected in mid-September.
The 11 new cars will increase the Sounder passenger car fleet to 78, which includes both cab and coach cars.
All the cars being purchased include the latest safety design features known as Crash Energy Management (CEM), a technology designed to absorb energy in the event of a collision. Main elements include an “energy absorption zone” at each end of the car and couplers that can absorb energy between cars. Cab cars also feature a full-width windshield for enhanced sightlines.
All the new cars will go through inspections, systems testing and commissioning before being put in service. The first of the new cars are expected to be in service this fall.
The East Link line would open all at once.
- Lynnwood Link would remain on-time with an expected opening of mid-2024.
- The full East Link line (Judkins Park to Redmond Technology Station) would be delayed from mid-2023 to Spring 2025.
- Downtown Redmond Link (Marymoor Village and Downtown Redmond stations) would be delayed from late 2024 to open simultaneously with East Link in Spring 2025.
The starter line would be disconnected from the rest of the system, something that has happened with other urban-rail systems. Seattle's streetcar system is two disconnected lines, with its Center City Connector between them yet to be built. BART was also disconnected in its early years, its lines opening East Bay (1972-73), San Francisco (1973), Transbay Tube (1974).
- A partial East Link line (South Bellevue Park and Ride to Redmond Technology Station) could open in Spring 2024.
- As a result, Lynnwood Link would be delayed by approximately a quarter, from mid-2024 to late 2024.
- Downtown Redmond Link, as well as the remaining East Link stations, would still open in Spring 2025.
Wetlands bridge adds delay and $72 million to light-rail project
Sound Transit passengers will have to wait until 2026 to ride light rail between SeaTac and Federal Way, because contractors must build a 500-foot-long bridge over unstable wetland soil.
Transit staff reported Thursday that this new elevated trackway design, in a Kent segment of the project, will require $72 million extra. A long span is needed because the ground is too seismically unstable to support several ordinary columns.
The agency revealed an updated 2026 grand opening estimate this month after a long period of uncertainty, and it’s nearly two years later than the goal announced to voters during the ST3 tax measure campaign of 2016.
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lpetrich wrote: ↑Tue May 30, 2023 5:41 pm Looking at the Sound Transit extensions,West Seattle has a 2032 target. Eastlink may have a "starter line" soft launch between South Bellevue and Redmond Technology stations in 2024, but the board will make that decision in the fall. Tacoma Link is on track for this year, finally.
- Northgate - Lynnwood -- may open in 2024
- Lynnwood - Everett -- proposed: 2037 - 2041
- East Link: downtown - Redmond -- may open in 2025
- Angle Lake - Federal Way -- may open in 2026
- Federal Way - Tacoma Dome -- proposed: 2035
- Tacoma Link Hilltop: Theater District - St. Joseph -- may open this year
- Tacoma Link: St. Joseph - Tacoma Community College -- proposed: 2039
- West Seattle - Ballard -- proposed: W Sea 2037, Ballard 2039
- South Kirkland - Issaquah -- proposed: 2041
Leaked Everett Link Plans Heavy on Displacement, Light on Connectivity
The Sound Transit board is poised to vote on alternatives to be studied in the Everett Link Extension’s first round of environmental review. But the alternatives set to be incorporated into that review process evoke more the horrors of the 1950s and 1960s highway building era than a modern rapid rail transit system that belongs in urban communities.
Alternatives hand-picked by Snohomish County officials threaten to needlessly displace hundreds of families and jobs and provide far from ideal conditions for transit. Some of the harshest alignments and station locations are in areas under the purview of Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin and Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers. Both leaders have brushed off criticism and refused to consider alternative alignments and designs supported by the public throughout the process.
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Transit Advocates Push to Save South Lake Union Light Rail Station
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Mayor Bruce Harrell and Amazon have pushed to add a last-minute alternative for Ballard Link light rail that would drop a proposed station in South Lake Union in order to shift Denny Station west off Westlake Avenue. Transit advocates have condemned the idea for worsening transit connections and adding further delays to an already delayed study. The agency had once hoped Ballard Link could open in 2035, but it now says 2039 is the best case scenario as planning has stagnated.
Yesterday, the Transit Riders Union, The Urbanist, 350 Seattle, Feet First, Seattle Subway, and Sierra Club Seattle sent a letter (see below) to the Sound Transit Board of Directors urging that they maintain their selection of the Denny Westlake (DT-1) preferred alternative for the Ballard Link, which would save the neighboring South Lake Union station from the chopping block. They warn that dropping the station planned at Aurora Avenue and Harrison Street would erase a critical connection for tens of thousands of riders on the Aurora bus corridor and jeopardize ridership and lessen the climate benefits of the project. Sound Transit projects South Lake Union Station would attract more than 10,000 daily riders.
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