Sound Transit light rail’s 15-hour suspension caused by train hatch failure
Jul 10, 2026, 9:31 AM
A Sound Transit light rail car traveling near the Stadium station. (Photo courtesy of Sound Transit)
(Photo courtesy of Sound Transit)
Link light rail service returned to normal after it was suspended between the Northgate and Capitol Hill stations for approximately 15 hours Thursday.
Service was suspended due to a power issue that was discovered just after 6:45 a.m. Thursday. It caused delays and ultimately a shutdown of both the 1 Line and the 2 Line. The suspension of service is not related to copper wire theft, according to Sound Transit, but rather to a failure of a train’s rooftop hatch on a Kinkisharyo light rail vehicle.
The hatch opened while the train was in service, damaging the overhead power system.
The damage occurred near the University of Washington (UW) Station. Service was suspended in Seattle between the Northgate, Stadium, Judkins Park, and Capitol Hill stations.
By 10 p.m., service along the 1 Line and 2 Line resumed.
“Repairs to the overhead power system are complete near the University of Washington Station, and regular Link service has resumed,” Sound Transit stated.
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