Link Light Rail
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Link Light Rail is a new transportation project for the Greater Seattle region. It is made of up two lines, Tacoma Link and Central Link. There are several other lines that are currently being considered, as well as an option to connect several lines to form one long line. Tacoma Link is currently running, while Central Link is in construction and is set to open in summer 2009. Much of it is getting federal funding, as the Seattle region ranks with several other
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[edit] Current Lines
[edit] Central Link
Construction is well under way on a new 14-mile Central Link light rail line that is a critical piece in this region’s transportation future. The trains will begin carrying passengers in 2009, stopping at 12 stations and running 4.4 miles on elevated tracks, 2.5 miles in tunnels and seven miles at grade. To support that line, Sound Transit is retrofitting the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel and four of its existing stations for joint use by both light rail trains and buses. Sound Transit is also building new light rail stations in the following locations (from North to South): Stadium (near the sports stadia), SODO (at Lander Street just south of downtown Seattle), Beacon Hill, Mount Baker (at McClellan and Rainier), Columbia City (at Edmunds and MLK), Othello, Rainier Beach (at Henderson and MLK), and Tukwila International Blvd. Soon after this initial segment of the light rail line opens, Sound Transit will extend the line another 1.7 miles to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, adding a thirteenth station. The Beacon Hill tunnel is one of the main components of Central Link. Its west portal, or opening, will be under I-5, east of Airport Way. The underground Beacon Hill Station will be located at the southeast corner of Beacon Avenue South and South Lander Street, approximately 150 feet below grade. The east portal, or opening, will be east of 25th Avenue South and south of South McClellan Street, where the light rail line will emerge to an elevated trackway as it approaches the Mount Baker Station near the intersection of Rainier Avenue South and South Stevens Street.
[edit] Tacoma Link
Tacoma Link is a free light rail line running through the densest parts of Tacoma. This light rail system connects the Tacoma Dome Station (a regional hub for local and express bus, and commuter train service) with downtown Tacoma. Link trains run every 10 minutes, Monday through Saturday, and every 10 to 20 minutes on Sunday. It has stops at Tacoma Dome, S 25th Street, Union Station, the convention center, and the Theater District. The Union Station stop is next to the University of Washington's Tacoma campus and several museums. Tacoma Link has a daily ridership of 3,000.
It currently runs on 750 volt power, while Central Link runs on 1500 volt power. It uses different types of cars, and different sized stations, as well. Sound Transit's Long Range Plan, published in July 2005, proposes a future goal of connecting Tacoma Link and Central Link, but this will not be possible unless Tacoma Link is retrofitted with Central Link technology.
[edit] Future Lines
The projects planned for the future are put under the name of ST2 (Sound Transit Phase 2). The lines listed are parts of a long-range plan that was published by Sound Transit in 2005. Sound Transit has announced that it will put several of the projects on the ballot in the fall of 2007. The projects on the ballot will probably be the extension north to Lynnwood, the extension south to connect with Tacoma, and the East link project.
[edit] North Link
North Link is a light rail project being considered as a future light rail segment. It would extend Central Link north through Capitol Hill, the University of Washington, the University District, Roosevelt, and Northgate. Downtown Seattle, Capitol Hill, the University District, and Northgate are all major urban centers in the region, and North Link would connect all of them. It is top priority for Sound Transit, as it would it would add 103,000 people to the daily ridership of Link Light Rail, which is about twice the projected daily ridership of the Central Link segment. It is divided into two sub-sections, University Link and North Link. University Link would extend north from Central Link's terminus, Westlake Center, to the University of Washington Station. North Link would go from University of Washington Station to Northgate. The funding that was requested for Central Link may have been overestimated, and if it is so, University Link will be built without an additional request for money. There will need to be a request for federal funding or a ballot proposal for the North Link sub-section.
[edit] Tacoma Link West Extension
Sound Transit is considering extending Tacoma Link Light Rail west to Tacoma Community College. The proposed route would be at grade, and would serve key destinations including Stadium High School, Mary Bridge Children's Hopspital, Tacoma General Hospital, and the University of Puget Sound. It is projected to boost the daily ridership of Tacoma Link by 8,000 people. There are two proposals for this route. One would have the extension use Central Link technology, and the other would use Tacoma Link technology.
[edit] Tacoma Link to Central Link connection
Sound Transit is considering connecting the south end of Central Link, SeaTac Airport, with the east end of Tacoma Link, the Tacoma Dome. The proposed route would have stations at Fife, South Federal Way Park-and-Ride, Federal Way Transit Center, Renodo Heights Park-and-Ride, Highline Community College, and South 200th Street. The length of this connection would be aerial, and would drop down to grade at the Tacoma Dome. It would mostly follow Highway 99. There are many stakeholders, so agreements must be made with all of these organizations, including the Washington State DOT, before it is built. There is a projected daily ridership of 38,000, and it would fulfill one of the main goals of Sound Transit: to connect Seattle and Tacoma via light rail.
[edit] Everett Link
Sound Transit is considering building a starter line through Everett. This line would be completely at grade, and would be built under the assumption that, in the future, North Link will be extended to Everett. It would have termini at Everett Station and Everett Community College. It would mostly go along Broadway, and is promoted as being good for the redevelopment of the Broadway Corridor. The main problems with it are that it would not serve the core of downtown Everett, and that would be at grade.
[edit] Everett Link to Central Link connection
The main purpose of Everett Link is to, in the future, be able to take light rail from Everett to Seattle and Tacoma. Therefore, the Everett Link to Central Link connection will be necessary if they Everett Link is built. Connecting Everett and Seattle by way of light rail is consistent with Sound Transit's long-range plan. The route has yet to be determined, but is expected to run along I-5 by way of Ash Way Park and Ride.
[edit] East Link
East Link is a potential second line of light rail. This line would split from North and Central Link just south of the International District Station in downtown Seattle. It would serve Redmond by way of Bellevue. It is divided in to three segments. The first would provide stations on I-90 at Rainier Avenue and Mercer Island. The second would include four stations in Bellevue: one at a regional park-and-ride, two in downtown Bellevue, and one at Overlake Hospital. This segment could be either elevated or underground. The third segment would continue east of downtown Bellevue to the Overlake Transit Center with a connection to a light rail vehicle maintenance facility. This segment of East Link would have three stations which would serve the Bellevue-Redmond Road corridor, the Overlake neighborhood, and the Overlake Transit Center.
Potentially, East Link would also include an extension to downtown Redmond with two stations, but that has not yet been established.
