When the Lynnwood Link Extension and its four new light rail stations opened this past Labor Day weekend, we expected it to be popular. And sure enough, it has been very popular.
Depending on the time of day and day of the week, riders can experience crowded trains and limited parking.
To prepare for that expected popularity, Sound Transit built some additional redundancy into the trip between Snohomish County and Seattle. These other options to get to and from downtown include:
- Sound Transit Express 515: This a new route that runs in the peak direction from Lynnwood to downtown Seattle, with one stop at Mountlake Terrace Freeway Station before arriving in downtown Seattle. Northbound in the afternoon, it reverses the route with only the Mountlake Terrace stop prior to Lynnwood.
- Sound Transit Express 510: This is also a peak direction only route with stops in the morning in Everett, the South Everett Park and Ride, Mountlake Terrace and downtown Seattle. It does not stop at Lynnwood City Center Station. Additionally, schedule times have been changed to fill in the gaps between southbound Sounder N Line trains.
- Additional N Line Sounder trips: We’ve restored two trips to the N Line in the peak direction at new times to better meet rider demand. If the old schedule didn’t work for your schedule, check it out, it may now! It’s a comfortable ride with a good deal of elbow room. There’s also RailPlus, which provides ORCA card holders a couple of additional options via Amtrak.
A great way to avoid the stress of hunting for a park-and-ride spot is to take transit to transit. Following the opening of the 1 Line to Lynnwood, Community Transit bolstered their local bus service to regional transit connections, including Lynnwood City Center Station, Mountlake Terrace Station and Shoreline North Station on the 1 Line and to Sounder’s Edmonds and Mukilteo stations.
Finally, if you find yourself on a crowded train or platform here are a few tips that will make the ride better for everyone:
- Spread out on the platform, often there is more room in train cars away from the main entryways and in the first and last train car.
- Don’t crowd/block the doors, move to the middle to let others board, and step off if necessary to let others exit the train.
- Be patient, let people get off before you get on board, stand to the side to let people exit.
- Stow luggage under the seat when possible; also hang on, wheeled bags will move when the train is in motion.
We love that people love our new service, and we’re looking forward to increasing the frequency of trains late next year when 2 Line service begins across the I-90 bridge. Until then, take advantage of these options to find the trip that works best for you.