Link Light Rail

Link light rail is a light rail rapid transit system serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is managed by Sound Transit in partnership with local transit providers, and consists of two non-connected lines: the 1 Line (formerly Central Link) in King County, which travels for 26 miles (42 km) between Seattle and Seattle–Tacoma International Airport; and the T Line (formerly Tacoma Link) in Pierce County, which runs for 4 miles (6.4 km) between Downtown Tacoma and Tacoma Dome Station. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 23.9 million, or about 78,600 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2023, primarily on the 1 Line. Trains run at frequencies of 6 to 24 minutes. The Link light rail system was originally conceived in the 1980s following several earlier proposals for a heavy rail system that were rejected by voters. Sound Transit was created in 1993 and placed a ballot measure to fund and build the system, which was passed on a second attempt in 1996. Tacoma Link began construction first in 2000 and opened on August 22, 2003, at a cost of $80 million. Central Link construction was delayed because of funding issues and routing disputes, but began in November 2003 and was completed on July 18, 2009, for $2.4 billion. Central Link trains initially ran from Downtown Seattle to Tukwila International Boulevard station before being extended south to the airport in December 2009, north to the University of Washington in March 2016, and further south to Angle Lake station in September 2016. An extension to Northgate station opened on October 2, 2021. Sound Transit plans to expand the Link light rail network to 116 miles (187 km) and 70 stations by 2044, using funding approved by voters in 2008 and 2016 ballot measures. Suburban extensions to Bellevue, Redmond, Lynnwood, and Federal Way are scheduled to open between 2024 and 2026 after construction delays. Later projects will expand the system to cover the metropolitan area from Everett to Tacoma, along with branches to Kirkland, Issaquah, and the Seattle neighborhoods of Ballard and West Seattle.

2003–present

Sound Transit began using the Link brand with regular light rail service with Tacoma Link (later renamed to T Line) in 2003. Central Link (later renamed to 1 Link) began service from Westlake Center in Downtown Seattle to Tukwila International Blvd in 2009, expanding to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport later that year. As of 2021, the 1 Line operates from Northgate to Angle Lake. Series of extensions are soon to come including 2 Line launching 27 April 2024 from Redmond Technology to South Bellevue and Lynnwood Link, extending the 1 Line into Shoreline and Southern Snohomish County.

Link lines

1 Line: 2009–present

2021–present

The 1 Line launched as Central Link in 2009, coated red. In arrival for the Blue Line, it was renamed to the Red Line in 2019. The line would later be renamed to the 1 Line and recoloured to green in September 2021.

2 Line: 2024–present

The 2 Line (originally the Blue Line) launched 27 April 2024 at 11.34AM leaving from Bellevue Downtown Station with packed crowds aboard. The line currently provides service to from South Bellevue to Redmond Technology. From 2025, it plans to extend to travel from Lynnwood City Center to Downtown Redmond.

3 Line: 2032 (tentative)

The 3 Line is an upcoming line set to begin operations in 2032 from West Seattle, setting to expand to Everett between 2037–2041.

4 Line: 2041 or 2044 (tentative)

The 4 Line is an upcoming line set to begin operations between 2041–2044 from South Kirkland to Issaquah.

T Line: 2003–present

2020–present

The T Line was originally launched as Tacoma Link in 2003 and is the first Link service Sound Transit provided currently traveling from St. Joseph to Tacoma Dome with later extensions to Tacoma Community College coming in the future. In 2019, Tacoma Link was renamed to the Orange Line before becoming the T Line in 2020. It is the only Link service to not used numbers in it's name.