What a day it was!
Drizzly April skies couldn’t dampen the excitement of the thousands of transit enthusiasts who rode the Link 2 Line for the first time on Saturday, April 27.
They might have come for the food trucks and live music, the free caps and bike helmets, the exhibits and family activities, or even the LRV-shaped bouncy house. But judging by the packed trains and plentiful smiles, most people came for the sweet ride between Bellevue and Redmond.
We had 35,000 boardings on the inaugural day, to which we can only say, “Wow!”
Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate this momentous day for transit on the Eastside.
Some fine-tuning
Opening the initial segment of the 2 Line happened through years of collaboration with community members and stakeholders, and the dedication of Sound Transit staff and contractors who worked up until the last minute to make sure the stations were safe and ready for opening day.
As is to be expected with any service launch of this size, there are a few non-safety-related details that still need to be worked out.
One of the most noticeable outstanding items is cellular service in the Downtown Bellevue tunnel. We are working to have cell service up and running in the tunnel by the end of the year, and in the meantime ask for your patience if your calls and data are briefly interrupted for the single station stop between East Main and Bellevue Downtown.
We also are working to make station announcements less disruptive in areas surrounding some of the new 2 Line stations. We have stopped platform announcements between 10 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. and are adjusting the volume levels of warning signals and platform announcements at several stations. Volume levels have already been reduced at East Main and Overlake Village stations. South Bellevue is next up.
If you notice anything that needs attention on station platforms or onboard vehicles, please let us know by calling or texting us at 206-398-5268.
We’re not stopping here
The 2 Line between South Bellevue Station and Redmond Technology Station expands people’s options to explore dining, shopping, housing, and work opportunities that are now accessible by light rail for the first time on the Eastside.
In another exciting first, the 1 Line will extend into Snohomish County with four new stations between Northgate and Lynnwood City Center opening this Aug. 30. People who have had to contend with the notoriously crushing traffic on I-5 will soon have an option to leave their cars behind and reach destinations throughout the region on Link light rail.
Next year will bring more 2 Line extensions, with the Downtown Redmond Link expected to open in Spring 2025, and the I-90 segment of East Link anticipated to extend across the floating bridge to connect the 2 Line to the 1 Line in downtown Seattle late in the year.
In 2026 the Federal Way Link Extension is expected to open, further expanding the regional transit network to the south, and bringing the total miles of light rail to 62.
And we can’t forget Stride BRT, which is expected to open for service starting in 2027.
So we have many more celebrations to look forward to. Hope to see you in Lynnwood this summer!