On March 28, a train rode across the largest lake in King County.
At 10:27 a.m. on a sunny spring Saturday, Sound Transit’s 2 Line began passenger service with speeches and celebration. After a ceremony at the new Judkins Park station, a string of light rail vehicles packed with politicians and revelers crossed the former express lanes of the I-90 floating bridge and headed East to Mercer Island, where another celebration was being held.
After a brief stop to drop off and take on revelers, it continued eastward across the East Channel and Mercer Slough to connect with the rest of the 2 Line, already operating for a year now, shuttling commuters between Bellevue and Redmond. The traversal was a first of its kind and the culmination of decades of design, disappointment, and determination.
Former SC teacher and current Washington State Senator Patty Murray spoke at the opening ceremony: “Folks, we are going to be able to ride the world’s first train on a floating bridge — that is pretty cool. Sound Transit is delivering the most ambitious expansion of public transit in America.”
The regional transportation network already connects Shoreline North and South stations to Lynnwood City Center station, North of us, and to the recently completed expansion, from Angle Lake to Downtown Federal Way in the South. The new 2 Line not only connects Lynnwood to Redmond, but also nearly doubles passenger capacity between Lynnwood and the International District station where it begins its journey eastward.
“The completion of the 2 Line exponentially expands employment, housing and recreation opportunities for people on the East and West sides of Lake Washington,” said King County Executive Girmay Zahilay at the opening event.
Shoreline’s light rail stations only take a 10- to 20-minute King County Metro ride on the Route 333 bus line to get to them. Taking the 333 either North or South from campus will connect travelers to either the Mountlake Terrace station or the Shoreline South station. The northern route takes a bit longer to arrive at a light rail station than the southern route, but both will get travelers connected to a light rail station. Shoreline North station access is via the 348 bus Line from Richmond Beach.
Once at the station, it’s important to be mindful of which train one is boarding. The 1 Line is the North/South line, and the 2 Line is the East/West line, but both share North/South tracks North of downtown Seattle. The International District station is the last stop for the 2 Line before turning eastward, towards Judkins Park and across the lake.
Sound Transit CEO Dow Constantine reminded celebrants that the accomplishment was the result of collective effort, “We all share in this achievement — from the regional leaders who had the foresight to plan for future transit, to the voters who put their support behind those plans, to the thousands of people who have worked to bring the vision to life.”
Photos/videos from Sound Transit
https://soundtransit.photoshelter.com/galleries/C0000o_lBWcrn8sA/G0000Knq92l6XMRM/Crosslake-Connection
Quotes from
https://www.soundtransit.org/get-to-know-us/news-events/news-releases/link-light-rail-opens-across-lake-washington
