Link light rail service disrupted through Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel
Passengers will need to transfer to shuttle train at Capitol Hill or Stadium stations; service disruption necessary due to damage to Westlake station structure at street level
Passengers traveling through the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel should prepare for additional travel time to continue to their destination for two weeks starting tonight due to damage caused by street-level construction at the Westlake station last Tuesday.
During this period, passengers traveling southbound will need to transfer at Capitol Hill station to another train to continue their trips, while passengers traveling northbound will need to transfer at Stadium station. Trains through the tunnel will run in each direction every 30 minutes. Trains between Northgate and Capitol Hill stations and between Stadium and Angle Lake stations will run every 10 minutes.
Because trains will be single tracking through the tunnel, the northbound platforms at Westlake, University Street, Pioneer Square, and International District stations are closed. Only the southbound platforms at those stations will be open for trains traveling in either direction.
During this time, passengers should pay extra attention while they travel so they don’t get on the train going in the wrong direction and don’t stay on the train when they need to transfer.
Sound Transit personnel will be at affected stations tomorrow to assist passengers. As the situation evolves, Sound Transit will be working to provide the most service possible given constraints.
The closure is necessary to allow Sound Transit to investigate the damage caused last Tuesday when a construction crew attempting to remove a clock at street level broke through the roof of the tunnel. While no one was injured at the time, subsequent examination of the damage showed that it was more significant than originally thought, necessitating the emergency service disruption for the safety of passengers.
The closure of the northbound platform will allow Sound Transit personnel to more closely examine the damage and determine what repairs will be necessary.
Passengers traveling through the area should allow for additional time for their trip. Information about alternative routes that passengers may want to consider is available on our website.
A language line is available to provide translation assistance for limited English proficiency persons at 800-823-9230.
Sound Transit remains committed to working closely with its partners to continue serving the public. Efforts will continue to prioritize serving riders who depend on Sound Transit’s services, including seniors, people with disabilities, Title VI protected populations (race, color, national origin), low-income and limited-English-proficiency populations.
Riders can sign up to receive automatic email service alerts for Link light rail, ST Express, T Line, Sounder N Line and Sounder S Line. Rider Alerts provide information about schedule changes and help riders plan trips around inclement weather. Just go to soundtransit.org/Subscribe-to-alerts.