During yesterday’s East Link / 2 Line preview ride, Sound Transit security staff were kind enough to open the door to the operator’s cab and allow photographers such as myself and The Seattle Times’ Ken Lambert to take photos over the operator’s head and shoulders. Normally, getting these sorts of snaps is darn near impossible due to agency safety and operating regulations — but the preview ride was a special occasion, and no regular passengers were on board, so we were treated to sights that usually only Amalgamated Transit Union members and Sound Transit personnel get to see.
With East Link opening tomorrow, it’s the perfect time to share my favorite photos from this vantage point during the preview ride so you can see some of what we saw during our 2 Line preview experience. I’ve selected one picture for each station. Enjoy!
This is the 2 Line’s southern terminus — for now. (When Link’s cross-lake segment opens, it will cease to be a terminus.) It has a large parking garage and has many bus connections. It is located near the confluence of I‑90 and I‑405 on Bellevue Way.
This station is located near several hotels just south of the financial and commercial core of downtown Bellevue, including the Red Lion and the Hilton.
This station is located next to Bellevue City Hall and across from the Meydenbauer Center. The Bellevue Transit Center — which should perhaps be renamed the Bellevue Bus Hub now that light rail is part of the transit mix — is diagonally opposite from its plaza.
This station is located near Lake Bellevue. It is adjacent to NE 8th Street and employs what used to be railroad right-of-way. It is the station nearest to Overlake Hospital and Kaiser Permanente’s main campus in Bellevue.
This station is located in between 120th Avenue NE and 124th Avenue NE in the booming Spring District neighborhood. Sound Transit’s Operations & Maintenance Facility East — the train yard where 2 Line trains are stored when not in service — is nearby.
This station is located in between 130th Avenue NE and 132nd Avenue NE in the Bel-Red corridor. The 2 Line makes its only at-grade street crossings before and after this station. All of those crossings have gates and flashing lights to minimize the possibility of a collision.
This station is located near 148th Avenue NE, alongside State Route 520, in the Overlake neighborhood, an area that is rapidly being transformed with the construction of new mixed-use buildings containing apartments and retail establishments.
This station replaced the Overlake Park & Ride in the heart of the area that houses the Microsoft campus. It will serve as the eastern terminus of East Link / 2 Line until the Downtown Redmond Station becomes the terminus sometime in 2025.
The wait is just about over… tomorrow, East Link / 2 Line opens to riders! If you’d like to join us for the festivities, they kick off at 10 AM at Bellevue Downtown Station. There will be activities at every station for much of the day, so even if you skip the ribbon cutting, there will be plenty to do. Come on down and have a good time! Parking near Bellevue Downtown Station will be limited — there will be street closures, too — so consider taking Metro or ST Express to reach the ribbon-cutting from either South Bellevue Station or Redmond Technology Station. The garages are open! You’ll later be able to use light rail for your return journey.
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