Seattle light-rail riders: Get ready for 3 weeks of long delays
A light-rail train heads out of the Mount Baker station south toward Angle Lake, Feb. 11, 2022. (Genna Martin/Crosscut)
Link light-rail riders heading to or through Downtown Seattle will have to navigate significant delays for the next three weeks as Sound Transit repairs a section of worn track near Westlake Station and replaces signal boxes.
The work begins Jan. 13 and will continue through Feb. 4.
Monday through Friday during the work period, trains will run the full length between Northgate and Angle Lake Stations only every 26 minutes. Additional trains will run every 13 minutes between Northgate and University of Washington (Husky Stadium) stations and between Angle Lake and Stadium Station.
Those needing to ride to Capitol Hill, Westlake, University Street, Pioneer Square or Chinatown-International District stations will either need to wait and catch one of the every-26-minute full-service trains or transfer at University of Washington Station or Stadium Station and wait there for a full-service train.
Those boarding from a Downtown station can expect especially long waits for a train going the direction they need.
On weekends during the work period, trains will not run between SODO and Capitol Hill Stations. All stations from Stadium to Westlake will be closed. Trains will still run every 15 minutes north of Downtown between Northgate and Capitol Hill and south between SODO and Angle Lake.
A shuttle bus running every 10-15 minutes will take passengers through Downtown with stops at each closed station. Passengers going to or through Downtown will need to get on the shuttle bus at Capitol Hill or SODO.
The rail replacement is necessary to fix 500 feet of northbound track that curves sharply between University Street and Westlake. Currently the worn-down track makes for a bumpy ride, according to a Sound Transit spokesperson. Over time, the wear could have posed a safety risk.
The agency is also replacing 58 signal boxes that provide connections to the tracks. Sound Transit says the damage was caused by buses between 2009 and 2019 when the Downtown transit tunnel was shared by buses and trains.