Sound Transit to open new light rail station 5 years ahead of schedule

Sound Transit isn’t known for being on time or on budget with its light rail projects, but it’s about to open a new station way ahead of schedule.

The Pinehurst Station along I-5 at 130th in north Seattle is set to open on Sept. 30, about five years ahead of the original schedule.

When promised to voters under ST-3 in 2016, the light rail station wasn’t supposed to open until 2031, but the Sound Transit Board decided to accelerate the project so it could be built while the extension to Lynnwood was under construction.

“Here we are, five years early,” Sound Transit spokesperson Henry Bendon said. “Pretty big in terms of time savings, and that’s five years of extra service for this neighborhood. That’s going to be a big benefit.”

By building most of the station before the line to Lynnwood opened, Sound Transit was able to speed up construction.

This is the first in-fill station for light rail, providing a stop between the Northgate Station and the Shoreline South Station at 145th Street.

“When you look at walking, biking, rolling access to Northgate and to Shoreline, there’s plenty of service, but there’s this whole area that we can now capture near the station that radiates out to schools, to communities, to businesses,” Bendon said.

What this light rail station means for the neighborhood

Sound Transit expects 2,600 to 4,200 boardings a day at this station, once ST-3 is completely built out, which is more than a few years out, but it does open up a new neighborhood to light rail.

It will also make for way faster trips for transit riders in that neighborhood that currently have to ride to Northgate or Shoreline to catch the train.

“It’s going to be a whole lot faster,” Bendon said. “We’re not talking like two or three minutes, but really meaningful time savings for travel to and from that neighborhood.”

The new King County Metro Route 77 will provide direct access to this station.

Pinehurst Station. (Photo: Chris Sullivan, KIRO Newsradio)

No parking, by design

There is no garage at this station, so there is no parking, but that is by design.

“Pinehurst was just not envisioned as a station with a garage,” Bendon said. “It’s really a neighborhood station. I like to think of it a lot, like any one of those stations along the Rainier Valley, like a Columbia City or an Othello. At full build-out, the envisioning of the system is a Seattle neighborhood train station that will serve thousands of nearby residents.”

Sound Transit also has long-range plans to build in-fill stations near the Boeing Access Road and Graham Street.

The station will open without much fanfare at 5 a.m. on Sept. 30, but there’s a big party planned for later in the day, between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.

“People who live in the neighborhood who’ve been dealing with construction, who’ve been seeing this go up, come out and celebrate this new massive investment into their community and change to their lifestyles,” Bendon said.

There will be music, food, and most importantly, Sound Transit merchandise. If you’re looking for a holiday gift for that light rail fan in your life, this will be the place to be.

Chris Sullivan is a traffic reporter for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here. Follow KIRO Newsradio traffic on X.

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