Seattle light rail

Seattle Link

Basic data
Country	United States
city	Seattle
opening	July 18, 2009
Route length	32.8 km
Stations	16
Tunnel stations	7th
use
Passengers	67,174 per day
vehicles	62
operator	Sound transit
Power system	1,500 volts direct current

The light rail Seattle , English Sound Transit Link light rail , is a light rail system opened in 2009 in Seattle , Washington . The only 32.8 km long line so far runs from Angle Lake in the south via Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and downtown to the University of Washington . The network is to have a length of over 160 km in the future, extensions to Northgate and Redmond are currently (2017) under construction, more are being planned. The line is operated on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. and on Sundays from 6:00 a.m. to midnight. The operator is Sound Transit .

history

In November 1996, voters in King County , Pierce County, and Snohomish Counties approved a move that increased vehicle sales taxes and vehicle consumption taxes. The proceeds were used to finance a $ 3.9 billion transportation package, including $ 1.7 billion for a light rail system, including Central Link and the Tacoma Tramway .

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Sound Transit experienced a number of financial and political difficulties. The construction costs rose significantly and the federal government threatened to withdraw the necessary financial resources. In 2001, Sound Transit had to significantly shorten the line from the original plan, and the growing enthusiasm for the Seattle Monorail Project led to growing rejection of the light rail from residents of the greater Seattle area.

At the end of 2002, Sound Transit was able to determine the route and became financially more stable. On August 22, 2003, the Tacoma Link , a streetcar in downtown Tacoma, opened and soon met the expected number of passengers. On November 8, 2003, construction began on the Seattle light rail (“Central Link”). The route opened between Westlake Station and Tukwila on July 18, 2009 and extended to SeaTac / Airport on December 19 of the same year.

In November 2006, the US Federal Transit Administration approved a northern extension to the University of Washington . Construction began in December 2008 and the opening on March 19, 2016.

The southern end of the line was also extended by one station to Angle Lake on September 24, 2016.

Line course

Map of the Seattle light rail showing the extensions currently under construction.

The northern end of the route is the University of Washington , next to Husky Stadium , where the extension to Northgate is currently being built. From here it runs through a tunnel to Capitol Hill Station on Broadway. This tunnel turns into the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel at Westlake Station , near the intersection of Pine Street and 4th Avenue .

Within the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel, the light rail vehicles share the route with hybrid buses . After leaving the southern end of the tunnel at the International District / Chinatown Station , the route runs on its own track along the SoDo Busway (formerly 5th Avenue S.) and has priority switching at all intersections. This is followed by a stretch of route through the SoDo district, which is routed as an elevated railway .

The route then runs again in the tunnel below Beacon Hill and has an underground station there. After the tunnel, a short section is designed as an elevated railway before the route then runs on the Martin Luther King Jr. Way S. and serves three stops in the Rainier Valley .

South of Martin Luther King Jr.Way S., the route is now again designed as an elevated railway without intersections and runs along Boeing Access Road, E. Marginal Way S., Interurban Avenue S., SR 599 and Interstate 5 . Immediately north of the SR 518 , the line swings westwards parallel to the SR 518. After Tukwila International Boulevard Station, it crosses International Boulevard and runs in the middle of the North Airport Expressway to the SeaTac / Airport Station . From there the route leads along the Cargo Ramp and 28th Avenue South to the terminus at Angle Lake .

• 

  West portal of the Beacon Hill Tunnel

• 

  Ramp from the elevated railway bridge over Martin Luther King Jr.Way S.

Stations

	Surname	opening	City / district	location	Art	Remarks
Line end; future Northgate Link Extension
University Link Tunnel
	University of Washington	2016	University District, Seattle	under Montlake Blvd NE & NE Pacific St	Central platform
	Capitol Hill	2016	Capitol Hill, Seattle	under Broadway & E John St	Central platforms	Transfer to the Seattle tram .
Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel
	Westlake	1990	Downtown Seattle	under Pine Street, between 3rd, 4th and 5th Avenues	Side platforms	Transfer to Seattle Monorail and Seattle Tram .
	University Street	1990	Downtown Seattle	under 3rd Avenue, between University Street and Seneca Street	Side platforms
	Pioneer Square	1990	Pioneer Square, Seattle	under 3rd Avenue & James Street	Side platforms	Transfer to Colman Harbor ( Washington State Ferries ) and King County Water Taxi .
	International District / Chinatown	1990	International District / Chinatown, Seattle	under Union Station on 5th Avenue S&S Jackson Street	Side platforms	Transfer to Seattle Tram and King Street Station ( Amtrak & Sounder ).
Connection to the future East Link Extension
surface
	stage	2009	SoDo, Seattle	SoDo Busway & S Royal Brougham Way	Central platforms	Connection to Greyhound . Larger platforms for handling larger crowds at events at T-Mobile Park and CenturyLink Field .
	SODO	2009	SoDo, Seattle	SoDo Busway & S Lander Street	Side platforms
Beacon Hill Tunnel
	Beacon Hill	2009	Beacon Hill, Seattle	under Beacon Avenue S&S Lander Street	Central platforms
Elevated railway
	Mount Baker	2009	Mount Baker	Martin Luther King Jr.Way S & Rainier Avenue S	Side platforms
Surface ( Martin Luther King Jr. Way )
	Columbia City	2009	Columbia City, Seattle	MLK Jr.Way S between S Edmunds & S Alaska Streets	Side platforms
	Othello	2009	New Holly , Seattle	MLK Jr. Way S between S Othello & S Myrtle Streets	Side platforms
	Rainier Beach	2009	Rainier Valley, Seattle	MLK Jr.Way S&S Henderson Street	Central platforms
Elevated railway
	Tukwila International Blvd.	2009	Tukwila	SR 518 & Tukwila International Blvd	Side platforms	600 parking spaces
	SeaTac / Airport	2009	SeaTac	East of the airport parking garage	Central platforms	Pedestrian bridge to the main terminal and kiss-and-ride on International Blvd.
	Angle Lake	2016	SeaTac	S 200th St & 28th Ave S.	Side platforms	1,120 parking spaces
Line end; future Federal Way extension

Development of the number of passengers

Annual passenger numbers
year	Passengers	% ±
2009	2,501,211	-
2010	6,989,504	+176.5%
2011	7,812,433	+ 11.8%
2012	8,699,821	+ 11.4%
2013	9,681,432	+ 11.3%
2014	10,937,883	+ 13.1%
2015	11,530,411	+ 6.9%
2016	19.121.621	+ 65.8%
Source: Sound Transit The count is carried out by means of infrared sensors on the car doors.

business

The operation takes place according to the following schedule:

	North direction		South direction
	Period of time	Tact	time	Tact
Mon-Fri	5:00 a.m. - 5:48 a.m.	12	4:45 a.m. - 6:27 a.m.	12
	5:48 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.	6th	6:27 a.m. - 9:21 a.m.	6th
	9:30 a.m. - 2:50 p.m.	10	9:21 a.m. - 2:51 p.m.	10
	2:50 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.	6th	2:51 p.m. - 7:21 p.m.	6th
	6:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.	10	7:21 p.m. - 10:21 p.m.	10
	10:00 PM - 1:00 AM	15th	10:21 a.m. - 12:36 a.m.	15th
Saturday	5:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m.	12	4:45 a.m. - 7:51 a.m.	15th
	8:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.	10	7:51 a.m. - 10:21 p.m.	10
	10:00 PM - 0:45 AM	15th	10:21 p.m. - 12:36 a.m.	15th
Sunday	6:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m.	12	5:45 a.m. - 7:51 a.m.	15th
	8:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.	10	7:51 a.m. - 10:21 p.m.	10
	10:00 PM - 11:45 PM	15th	10:21 p.m. - 11:36 p.m.	15th

Travel times

The total travel time between the University of Washington and Angle Lake is 48 minutes. All travel times are shown below; Specification in minutes.

University of Washington
4th	Capitol Hill
6th	2	Westlake
8th	4th	2	University Street
11	7th	5	3	Pioneer Square
13	9	7th	5	2	International District / Chinatown
15th	11	9	7th	4th	2	stage
17th	13	11	9	6th	4th	2	SODO
20th	16	14th	12	9	7th	5	3	Beacon Hill
22nd	18th	16	14th	11	9	7th	5	2	Mount Baker
25th	21st	19th	17th	14th	12	10	8th	5	3	Columbia City
29	25th	23	21st	18th	16	14th	12	9	7th	4th	Othello
32	28	26th	24	21st	19th	17th	15th	12	10	7th	3	Rainier Beach
41	37	35	33	30th	28	26th	24	21st	19th	16	12	9	Tukwila International Blvd.
44	40	38	36	33	31	29	27	24	22nd	19th	15th	12	3	SeaTac / Airport
48	44	42	40	37	35	33	31	28	26th	23	19th	16	7th	4th	Angle Lake

Rates

Light rail train testing in SoDo.

Central Link uses a proof of payment system. Passengers must purchase a ticket before starting their journey. Passengers using the ORCA system must scan their ticket before boarding and after disembarking. Sound Transit ticket inspectors or police officers regularly check this on trains selected at random. Dodging is punished with a payment of 124 US dollars.

The tariffs depend on the distance: $ 2.25 base price plus 5 cents per mile, rounded to the nearest 25 cents. The maximum price for a single ticket is $ 3.25, for example for a trip between the University of Washington and Sea-Tac Airport .

The following fares apply to adults (prices in US dollars):

University of Washington
2.25	Capitol Hill
2.50	2.25	Westlake
2.50	2.25	2.25	University Street
2.50	2.25	2.25	2.25	Pioneer Square
2.50	2.25	2.25	2.25	2.25	International District / Chinatown
2.50	2.25	2.25	2.25	2.25	2.25	stage
2.50	2.25	2.25	2.25	2.25	2.25	2.25	SODO
2.50	2.50	2.25	2.25	2.25	2.25	2.25	2.25	Beacon Hill
2.50	2.50	2.50	2.50	2.50	2.50	2.25	2.25	2.25	Mount Baker
2.75	2.50	2.50	2.50	2.50	2.50	2.25	2.25	2.25	2.25	Columbia City
2.75	2.50	2.50	2.50	2.50	2.50	2.50	2.50	2.50	2.25	2.25	Othello
2.75	2.75	2.50	2.50	2.50	2.50	2.50	2.50	2.50	2.50	2.25	2.25	Rainier Beach
3.00	3.00	3.00	3.00	3.00	3.00	2.75	2.75	2.75	2.75	2.50	2.50	2.50	Tukwila International Blvd.
3.25	3.00	3.00	3.00	3.00	3.00	3.00	2.75	2.75	2.75	2.75	2.75	2.50	2.25	SeaTac / Airport
3.25	3.00	3.00	3.00	3.00	3.00	3.00	3.00	3.00	3.00	2.75	2.75	2.75	2.50	2.25	Angle Lake

Sound Transit also offers discounts for the following passengers (prices in US dollars):

group	Tariff
Seniors (65+) / Disabled / Medicare	1.00
Low income (ORCA LIFT card required)	1.50
Adolescents (6-18 years)	1.50
Children (0-5 years, accompanied)	Free

vehicles

Depot

The Japanese consortium Kinki Sharyō & Mitsui received an order in 2003 to develop and produce low-floor light rail vehicles (LRVs) for the Seattle light rail system. A total of 62 bidirectional vehicles were delivered, 35 of them between November 2006 and September 2008 and 27 more from August 2010. One vehicle has three double axles, with two end cars resting on a short middle car with built-in seats. A vehicle is 29 m long and 2.7 m wide, 200 passengers can be carried (74 of them seats).

Originally the route was operated exclusively with double traction, since 2016 triple traction has also been used in rush hour and on weekends. All train stations are theoretically designed for quadruple traction. The platforms are designed to be 380 feet / 120 meters across.

The top speed is 89 km / h (55 mph).

In September 2016, Sound Transit agreed with Siemens Mobility to manufacture 122 Siemens S70 light rail cars , which are to be delivered for the Northgate , Lynnwood and East extensions from 2019 . The new vehicles will triple the vehicle fleet to 184 and cost a total of approximately 554 million US dollars.

The railways are supplied with electricity via overhead lines and 1,500 volts direct current . This differs from the control voltage of US light rail systems (750 volts) and was the first light rail in North America with a voltage of 1,500 volts.

Planning

In two referendums in 2008 (Sound Transit 2) and 2016 (Sound Transit 3), a majority voted for the extensive expansion of the light rail system in the Seattle metropolitan area .

Project name	status	description	length	Planned opening
Northgate Link Extension	under construction	Extension from the University of Washington Station via the University District west of the campus, the Roosevelt district to Northgate , a major transport hub with a shopping mile .	6.9 km	2021
East Link Extension	under construction	Route from downtown Seattle via Judkins Park , Mercer Island , Bellevue , Overlake to the Microsoft campus in Redmond . In addition, preliminary planning for a further extension to downtown Redmond is to be started.	23 km	2023
Lynnwood Link Extension	in the final planning stage	Further extension from Northgate (northern end point of the Northgate Link Extension) via North Seattle, Shoreline , Mountlake Terrace to Lynnwood .	13.7 km	2023
Federal Way Link Extension	in environmental review	Extension from the current endpoint Angle Lake to Kent / Des Moines (station between I-5 and Highway 99 near Highline College ). The project also includes preliminary planning for a later extension to Federal Way with stations on S 272nd Street and the Federal Way Transit Center .	7.7 km	2023
Tacoma Dome Link Extension	in planning	Further extension from the Federal Way Transit Center to Tacoma Dome Station , via Fife and East Tacoma.	24 km	2030
West Seattle Link Extension	in planning	Southwestern extension from Downtown Seattle to West Seattle .	7.6 km	2030
Ballard Link Extension	in planning	Northwest extension from Downtown Seattle to Ballard via South Lake Union and Lower Queen Anne . The project includes a second inner city tunnel.	11.4 km	2035
Everett Link Extension	in planning	Further extension from Lynnwood to Everett Station via Paine Field .	24 km	2036
South Kirkland - Issaquah Link Extension	in planning	Route from East Link in Bellevue to Issaquah , mainly along Interstate 90 , with stations in Eastgate , and Factoria . In addition, a northern extension to South Kirkland Park and Ride is being planned.	14 km	2041

See also

• Seattle Tram
• Tacoma Tram
• Seattle monorail

Individual evidence

1. ^ David Schaefer: Voters Back Transit Plan On Fourth Try . In: The Seattle Times , November 8, 1996. Retrieved February 26, 2007. 
2. ↑ Light-rail cost soars $ 1 billion . In: The Seattle Times , December 13, 2000. Retrieved February 28, 2007. 
3. ^ Andrew Garber: Federal aid in jeopardy for light rail . In: The Seattle Times , March 30, 2001. Retrieved April 21, 2007. 
4. ↑ Michael Grass: With Seattle's Long-Awaited Transit Expansion Now Reality, It's Full Steam Ahead . In: Route Fifty , Atlantic Media , March 23, 2016. 
5. ^ Sound Transit: Tacoma Link . Archived from the original on October 24, 2008. Retrieved January 6, 2009.
6. ↑ Countdown to a new era: all aboard Link light rail starting July 18 . Sound transit . April 20, 2009. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
7. ↑ Countdown to airport connection: Link light rail to Sea-Tac Airport starts Dec. 19 . Sound transit . November 13, 2009. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
8. ^ William Yardley: Seattle continues quest to get greener as it grows with 'transformative' light-rail expansion . In: Los Angeles Times , April 4, 2016. 
9. ^ New Angle Lake light-rail station to open Sept. 24 . September 25, 2016.
10. ^ Quarterly Ridership Report . Sound transit. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
11. ↑ Mike Lindblom: Light rail averaging 12,000 riders per weekday so far . In: The Seattle Times , July 30, 2009. Retrieved August 25, 2016. 
12. ↑ ^{a b c} Link light rail - Link weekday schedule . Sound transit . Retrieved November 22, 2016.
13. ↑ ^{a b} SoundTransit - Link light rail fares - Adult Fares . Sound transit . Retrieved August 25, 2016.
14. ↑ Board Adopts fares for Link light rail; adult trips will range from $ 1.75 to $ 2.50 . Sound transit . March 26, 2009. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
15. ^ ^{A b} Sound Transit (ST), Seattle, Washington . Kinkisharyo. Archived from the original on March 31, 2016. Retrieved on August 16, 2016.
16. ↑ Mike Lindblom: Sound Transit keeping close eye on crowded light-rail trains . In: The Seattle Times , August 8, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2016. 
17. ^ Four new light rail cars proposed for Sound Transit's Airport Link extension . Sound transit. October 20, 2005. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
18. ↑ ^{a b} Central Link Initial Segment and Airport Link Before & After Study . Washington State Department of Transportation. February 2014.
19. ^ The Light Rail Train . The Seattle Times. July 2009. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
20. ↑ 122 Siemens S70 LRVs for Sound Transit . In: Railway Age , September 29, 2016. 
21. ^ Daniel Demay: Sound Transit places $ 554M order for more light rail cars . In: Seattle Post-Intelligencer , September 22, 2016. Retrieved September 29, 2016. 
22. ↑ Sound Transit to order 30 additional light rail vehicles . Sound transit . April 27, 2017. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
23. ↑ Adopted 2009 Budget (PDF) Sound Transit. December 2008. Archived from the original on May 25, 2013. Retrieved on August 25, 2016.
24. ^ Taplin, Michael (October 2009). "Miraculous in Seattle" (feature article on Central Link at the time of its opening). Tramways & Urban Transit magazine, pp. 380-381. UK: LRTA Publishing. ISSN 1460-8324.
25. ^ William D. Middleton: Sound Transit Builds for LRT . Railway Age . Pp. 43-45. April 2006. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
26. ^ Sound Transit 3 wins, despite rejection from Pierce County . In: The Seattle Times , November 10, 2016, p. B6. 
27. ^ Northgate Link Extension . Sound transit . Retrieved March 24, 2016.
28. ^ East Link Extension . Sound transit . Retrieved March 24, 2016.
29. ^ Lynnwood Link Extension . Sound transit . Retrieved March 24, 2016.
30. ^ Federal Way Link Extension . Sound transit . Retrieved March 24, 2016.
31. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Sound Transit 3 Draft System Plan .

Web links

Commons : Sound Transit Link Light Rail  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Sound transit cards
• Central Link Cab Ride , The Seattle Times .
• Sound Transit Official Website
• Photos on Flickr
• Kinkisharyo Technical specs for Link Light Rail vehicles