From April 14 to April 23, 1 Line service will experience a major disruption between Westlake and Stadium stations to accommodate critical infrastructure repairs in the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel (DSTT).
During the disruption, crews will be replacing a cracked rail in the southbound tunnel bore between Pioneer Square Station and International District/Chinatown.
Passengers may not know that the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel is a piece of legacy infrastructure that comes with some unique design constraints. The tunnel was designed for buses first and continued to support bus service for more than a decade after light rail service began.
To support both vehicle modes, rails in the downtown portion of the tunnel are embedded into the floor, requiring an extended closure while both the rails and road are excavated, repaired, and then rebuilt for service.
Another DSTT feature that limits service through the tunnel is the location of our existing crossovers. Crossover tracks are located north of Westlake and south of Stadium stations – allowing both to serve as temporary terminuses for disruption service – but between the two stations trains must share one track the entire way.
During previous delays, we have operated service that shares the single track – but doing so requires significantly longer headways – as low as trains every 30 minutes instead of their scheduled 8- or 10-minute intervals.
To improve frequencies for passengers during this disruption, Sound Transit has identified and implemented an alternate service plan to better move the travelling public. Instead of operating infrequently and travelling the length of the system, trains will operate every 12 minutes from Lynnwood south to Westlake and from Angle Lake north to Stadium.
A shuttle train will operate every 25-30 minutes between Westlake and Stadium, utilizing the northbound track and northbound platforms in both directions. Passengers should also consider transferring to local Metro and ST Express services, including routes 101/102,150, 590, and 594/595 which will operate with much greater frequencies than the shuttle train can offer.
More information about how to ride King County Metro buses is available here.
In addition to scheduled service, King County Metro will be providing a downtown circulator bus in the evening commute to help reduce crowding. Transfers from Link to local buses are free, but passengers are reminded that they must tap onto the bus while boarding, and should tap again if connecting to another train at the end of their ride.
Passengers traveling from Snohomish County should consider other transit options, including the N Line, Route 510, and 515 on weekdays, to avoid the disruption entirely. For additional flexibility, Community Transit has added trips to the 515 during the tunnel closure.
Staff ambassadors will be available at all downtown stations to help passengers identify the right local bus service to help reach their destination.
We know this disruption will be inconvenient, especially for passengers travelling through Downtown Seattle, and we greatly appreciate your patience as we work to repair and prepare our network for the future.
Replacing this cracked rail is an essential step both for bringing our system into a state of good repair and to preparing for East Link train testing: once completed, passengers can expect a faster, smoother ride between Pioneer Square and the International District and eventually up towards Judkins Park and beyond.