Sound Transit has announced that the new Crosslake Connection will open for passenger service on 28 March, completing the 2 Line that will cross Lake Washington and connect with the 1 Line at International District/Chinatown Station – creating one fully integrated regional light rail system.
Operating between Lynwood and Redmond; the line will run services in addition to the 1 Line between Federal Way and Lynnwood.
Four-car train sets cross the I-90 floating bridge during pre-revenue operations on 9 January
© Sound Transit
Journeys will run on the 1 and 2 Lines from approximately 05:00 and 01:00 Monday to Saturday and between 06:00 and 12:00 on Sundays. Services will operate roughly every 8 minutes during peak times, and between 10 and 15 minutes during the rest of the day.
Combined 1 Line and 2 Line headways between Lynnwood and International District/Chinatown will be every 4 minutes, providing additional capacity through the busy core of the system.
Snohomish County Executive and Sound Transit Board Chair Dave Somers, said:
After decades of hard work, creative design, and world-class engineering, we are finally linking the east and west sides of Lake Washington with rail.
I applaud all those who worked on this project, and I appreciate the patience of the traveling public as the project worked through many barriers. Today is a very important milestone, and we look forward to Link light rail connecting Tacoma, Seattle, Everett, and Bellevue in the not-too-distant future.
The completion of 2 Line and its subsequent connection to the Eastside necessitated an entirely new process – the design of light rail on a floating bridge. In order to carry out the move, Sound Transit engineers were required to provide innovate solutions to address the unique challenges of running electric trains over a body of water. The company has released a video detailing the process, here.
With the 2 Line fully complete, Sound Transit has begun operating six new light rail expansions over the course of five years – including Pinehurst Station, which is also expected to open later this year.