Test trains running Northgate Link Extension before September opening
Jan 19, 2021, 5:12 PM
Test trains pass above one of the bus transfer stops at Northgate Station. (Photo courtesy of Sound Transit)
(Photo courtesy of Sound Transit)
Test trains have started running the length of the new Northgate Link Extension, set to open in September 2021.
The train really ties it all together at Northgate, don't you think? #Link21. pic.twitter.com/ks9BczpF1U
— Sound Transit #MaskUpWA – 🚆 🚈 🚍 (@SoundTransit) January 18, 2021
Testing is an important “next step,” says Sound Transit, as the new stations in Northgate, Roosevelt, and the University District prepare to open later this year. Once complete, trips from Northgate to Westlake will take 14 minutes, and University District to Capitol Hill will take six minutes.
From now until September, crews will test the power, communications, and safety systems at the stations and in the tunnels before the final safety certifications needed to open the route to the public.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there isn’t expected to be the same big public celebrations as in past years, but Sound Transit says instead it’ll “stretch out opening day excitement over a longer period.”
As for the other lines under construction, the extension to Lynnwood is expected to open in 2024, the same year that light rail should open to Redmond. There are four stations along the route, and Sound Transit says it should take you about 30 minutes to get from Lynnwood to downtown Seattle.
A tour of the completed Bellevue Sound Transit tunnel
The extension to Bellevue is set to open in 2023, but Sound Transit plans to open the parking garage at the future East Link South Bellevue Station in September.
“On-time construction and close collaboration with the City of Bellevue made it possible for Sound Transit to open the garage to bus riders nearly two years before the scheduled opening of East Link,” a release from Sound Transit reads, adding that bus stop and schedule information will be announced later this year as part of the September 2021 service change.
“Over the next few years, Sound Transit will be delivering 28 light rail stations across 40 new miles of light rail, along with three new bus rapid transit lines,” said Sound Transit Board Member Claudia Balducci. “South Bellevue Park and Ride’s early opening represents one of the very first steps in this major system expansion and demonstrates that, together, we will accomplish big things to make our region more livable and economically competitive via great transit.”
