This morning, with just forty-eight hours to go until the East Link / Line 2 extension opens to riders, Sound Transit gave the local press an opportunity to jump on the train and ride our region’s newest light rail line from end-to-end… twice! It was raining, but that didn’t dampen anyone’s interest or enthusiasm, nor did it affect our comfort in the slightest, because we were warm and dry while on the trains, and mostly dry on the platforms, which are largely covered to protect riders from the elements.
Sound Transit Interim CEO Goran (Jer-ahn) Sparrman and boardmembers Claudia Balducci, Ed Prince, and Angela Birney joined us for the preview ride, which lasted about two hours, including the stops we made at Bellevue Downtown, Spring District, and Redmond Technology. This was the third of three preview rides: I’m told King County Executive Dow Constantine and other boardmembers participated in a different preview ride yesterday, and Sound Transit staff were invited to one the day before that.
From start to finish, it was an incredible experience. Part of it felt very similar to riding the 1 Line: the rolling stock is the same, so there wasn’t the novelty of stepping onto a Puget Sound area light rail train for the first time, as there was in 2007 when I went on my first-ever Link preview ride. But gliding through the Eastside on a train was definitely a new experience. Much of the alignment is elevated — you actually get a great view of Bellevue as you’re moving between Wilburton and Bellevue Downtown Stations, for example. And there’s views of Overlake and beyond as you pass over 148th Avenue NE.
Rolling through the tunnel underneath downtown Bellevue was fun, too. Years ago, I had the chance to walk through the tunnel after it had been excavated (an experience I’ll likely never have again, so I’m glad I recorded it!) and it was great to go through the finished structure as a rider. Sound Transit staff kindly left the doors to the operator’s cab open so we could take photos and videos through the windshield.
For now, Line 2 consists of eight stations in Bellevue and Redmond:
Next year, four more stations are slated be added: two to the west and two to the east. The western stations will only be ready to serve riders after Sound Transit contractor Kiewit finishes fixing the problems with the track on the cross-lake segment. The eastern stations in NPI’s hometown of Redmond — Marymoor Village and Downtown Redmond — are on schedule and will be among the first ST3 (Phase III) projects to be completed.
We started our ride at South Bellevue and made two “in between” stops before reaching Redmond Technology Station. We did not get off at East Main, Bel-Red, or Overlake Village; I will be visiting those stations this weekend as part of our opening weekend coverage. However, we did travel from end-to-end twice, as I mentioned.
We didn’t get off during our return trip from Redmond Technology Station to South Bellevue, but the train stopped at every station just as it would in real service. The journey took a little over eighteen minutes.
Here’s a video showing the view of out the window:
You can have this same experience beginning this Saturday when East Link opens to everybody. Unlike for Central Link’s opening weekend in July 2009, Line 2 service will inaugurate as revenue service. So, bring your ORCA card and get ready to tap on — unless you’re under eighteen, in which case you can ride fare-free thanks to the Climate Commitment Act that Brian Heywood and Jim Walsh foolishly want to repeal.
The East Link opening festivities begin at 10 AM at Downtown Bellevue Station. There will be a speaking program and a ribbon-cutting, and then people will be able to get on the first trains that will carry riders. There will be two: one going to South Bellevue Station and one going to Redmond Technology Station.
If crowds aren’t your jam, you can always plan on trying out Line 2 later on Saturday or the next day, Sunday, because trains will be showing up every few minutes.
One of the great things about light rail is you don’t need a schedule to ride it. You just show up on the platform, and a few minutes later, you’ll be able to board. Sound Transit has real-time notifications operational for this opening, so you’ll be alerted when a train going either direction is a couple of minutes away. The overhead screens are also nicer and more colorful than the ones at most of the 1 Line stations.
Once you’ve watched all of the videos and enjoyed all of the photos in this post, you may also want to check out our bird’s eye aerial tour of the Line 2 stations, which we published back in 2021, and our Trainspotting with NPI series, which depicts East Link trains in various modes of testing. We have plans for more Trainspotting installments focusing on the Lynnwood Link extension, which will add four more stations to the 1 Line, between now and the grand opening of service on August 30th.
We’d love to hear about your experiences on Line 2 once you’ve had a chance to try it out. Comment threads on this post will remain open for several weeks, and you’re also welcome to stop by and join us for our opening weekend coverage this Saturday and Sunday. Stay safe out there and Travel Light!
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