Opened Saturday. From the Seattle Times article "Seattle light rail crosses Lake Washington this weekend. What to know"
Sound Transit’s pioneering seven-mile segment, along with stations on Mercer Island and in Seattle’s Judkins Park neighborhood took 18 years from voter approval to completion, will fuse Eastside and Seattle routes into a 58-mile network, with tentacles stretching to Lynnwood, Redmond and Federal Way for a $3 standard fare.
... first-day ridership could surpass the 137,000 boardings when Taylor Swift performed here in 2023, though probably not the 225,000 who flooded the stations Feb. 11, the day of the Seahawks Super Bowl victory parade.
Each addition to the system leads to significant rises in ridership (e.g., way better than DC Metrorail's Silver Line). Current ridership is about 108,000 per day and will increase with the connection to Seattle from the East Side--in 2024 a partial Line 2 had been running, with a later extension in 2025, but not crossing Lake Washington.
It will also bring about big changes to many bus routes ("How Seattle light rail crossing Lake Washington will change bus service")--King County has one of the biggest bus systems in the US. But also for Community Transit in Snohomish County, where a terminal station will operate.
This is something I've long recommended for DC, to National Airport:
Unrelated to this weekend’s opening, Sound Transit is beginning a night bus pilot line that will run every half-hour between downtown Seattle and the airport. The overnight service on Route 570 will begin about 15 minutes after train service ends.
Seen from Mount Baker Beach, sprays of water from a fireboat greet a light rail train as it crosses Lake Washington on the first day of cross-lake service Saturday, March 28, 2026. (Bettina Hansen / The Seattle Times)
Seattle-Eastside light rail opening: Fun things to do along the 2 Line
ReplyDeletehttps://www.seattletimes.com/life/culture/seattle-eastside-light-rail-opening-fun-things-to-do-along-the-2-line/
Microsoft: Light rail across Lake Washington: A public‑private partnership that connected the region
ReplyDeletehttps://www.microsoft.com/en-us/corporate-responsibility/topics/microsoft/stories/sound-transit-light-rail/
Has a timeline
Microsoft embraced this vision early on, more than two decades ago, because we understood what it could mean for our employees and for the communities where we live and work.
This progress did not come easily or through the actions of any one organization. It required sustained public‑private partnership — a model that made today’s milestone possible.
Progress is not a solitary endeavor
2002: Microsoft donates 10 acres of land worth $8.7 million for a light rail station at Overlake, destined to become Redmond Technology Station.
This prime location next to Microsoft’s campus enables planning for the East Link station in Redmond at much lower cost.
2007: Microsoft steps up to support the ‘Roads & Transit’ campaign, Seattle Prop.1, the ballot initiative to expand light rail across Puget Sound.
The measure narrowly fails, but the big message is clear: the Eastside’s largest employer believes in light rail and will help turn a vision into reality.
2008: Microsoft doubles-down, providing funds and vocal public support for Sound Transit 2’s revised ballot measure campaign.
These major campaign contributions helped voters hear the plan for a more connected region: voters passed Sound Transit 2 with 58% approval.
2011: Progress on the East Link was nearly stopped due to Initiative 1125, which would have blocked light rail on I-90 and other transit projects across the region.
Microsoft jumps in as the biggest supporter of the “No” campaign to help raise awareness of the impacts on critical pieces of the project. Voters agreed and chose to reject I-1125, protecting critical funding and right-of-way for East Link.
2013: Microsoft funds the original design to build a pedestrian/cycle bridge over State Route 520 to the Redmond Technology Station.
2016: Microsoft steps up again to support the Sound Transit 3 (ST3) “Yes” campaign, to help spread awareness of the project. Microsoft is the biggest corporate donor to the campaign.
Voters pass ST3, affirming the region’s need for transit. This authorizes $54 billion for transit expansions, including extending East Link to Redmond’s Downtown and further regional lines.
2019: The project comes under threat again, this time from Initiative 976, which seeks to cut the vehicle excise taxes which are a key source of Sound Transit funding. Microsoft strongly opposes I-976.
2024: Light rail arrives on the Eastside. Tens of thousands of residents celebrate as the first light rail segment—the 2-Line—opens between South Bellevue and Redmond Technology Station.
Funded by Microsoft and delivered through a public‑private partnership, the 1,100‑foot white‑canopy pedestrian bridge connects the community to light rail with a safer, more accessible crossing. The bridge is owned by the City of Redmond, with Microsoft continuing to support its long‑term maintenance.
Through a unique partnership with Sound Transit, the City of Redmond, and Washington State, Microsoft has invested in enhancing connectivity around the rail line.
2026: A transportation victory for the community
After 24 years from the gifting of land to voter approvals and completion, light rail to the Eastside will transform how an entire region moves, connects, and grows together.
The project succeeded because Microsoft, Sound Transit, local governments, community advocates, engineering firms, other business leaders, and thousands of workers joined forces to achieve something never done before.
Microsoft has demonstrated its commitment to community development by contributing over $400 million towards regional infrastructure and growth initiatives. This significant investment showcases how partnerships with corporations can drive lasting, positive change within communities.
Microsoft: unwavering advocacy; boosting public perception; filling funding gaps; accelerating project development.
From 25 cent buses to light rail: Growing up with King County transit | Op-Ed
ReplyDeletehttps://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/from-metro-buses-to-light-rail-public-transit-helps-me-grow-and-go/
Growing up in South King County, independence started with a bus ride. Today, it looks very different.
I recently rode the light rail from the airport to Federal Way, and the smooth, quiet glide brought back a flood of memories. In the early 1980s, growing up in Kent, independence cost exactly 25 cents. My friends and I would climb onto those old white, brown and yellow Metro buses — always racing for the bendy middle seat — and ride the 174 up Pacific Highway to the airport. A quarter bought you a transfer, and that flimsy slip of paper was our passport to the whole region.
Our parents weren’t chauffeurs. They were working, tired and believed that if you wanted an adventure, you figured out how to earn the money for it. No cellphones. No tracking apps. Just daylight, trust and a promise to be home by dark. Freedom was earned one quarter at a time.
But the airport wasn’t the only place those buses carried us. One day, feeling braver than we probably should have, we stayed on after the airport loop and let the 174 take us into Seattle. From there we hopped on another bus, because at 12, we assumed every bus eventually circled back home if you just stayed on long enough.
That’s how we ended up in Kirkland. At one point, trying to get our bearings, we asked the driver if the water we were seeing was Puget Sound. He shook his head and said, “That’s Lake Washington.” I knew right then we were cooked. When we finally asked how to get home, he pulled over, turned around in his seat, and explained — slowly, like someone breaking bad news — that the last bus heading south was coming soon. If we missed it, we weren’t getting home that day.
The idea that a bus route could simply end had never crossed our minds. The world felt like one big loop, always returning you to where you started. Suddenly, it didn’t. We made it back — barely — but that moment stuck with me. It was the first time I understood that freedom wasn’t just about going wherever you wanted. It was also about knowing how to get yourself home.