Sound Transit has, at last, fixed a date for the inauguration of service on the Redmond to Bellevue portion of its long-awaited East Link extension: April 27th!
On that day, the public will be able to start using the 2 Line to get around the Eastside, and enjoy commute times between Redmond and Bellevue’s downtowns that are half as long as a trip on Metro’s RapidRide Line B.
The debut of light rail in NPI’s hometown is a huge milestone and one we’ve been eagerly awaiting since this organization’s early years. The voters of this region backed the East Link project in 2008 as part of Sound Transit’s Phase II system expansion, and it’s taken over a decade and a half to design and build.
But our patience is being rewarded.
Opening Day will soon be here, bringing high capacity transit service to Overlake, Bel-Red, the Spring District, downtown Bellevue, Surrey Downs, and south Bellevue. On and after April 27th, here’s what Eastsiders and visitors to East King County can expect, according to Sound Transit’s communication team:
- Service will run from 5:30 AM to 9:30 PM seven days a week and will connect with the regional transit network at South Bellevue, Bellevue Downtown and Redmond Technology stations.
- Parking is available at South Bellevue, BelRed and Redmond Technology stations. Several stations are accessible from the Eastrail corridor and the regional trail network. Secure bike parking is available at every station.
- Everyone is invited to celebrate opening day with Sound Transit and its partners on Saturday, April 27th. The festivities will start with a ribbon cutting ceremony at Bellevue Downtown Station at 10 AM. Link service will begin operating after the ribbon cutting at approximately 11 AM.
- Following the ribbon cutting and throughout the day, all eight of the new stations will feature different activities, exhibits and entertainment. Anyone who participates in a Discover.Stamp.Win activity and visits all eight stations will be eligible to enter a prize drawing.
“The opening of the 2 Line on the Eastside took the vision, creativity and tireless work of many people to make good on the promise we made to voters in 2008,” said Sound Transit Boardmember and King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci. “I pushed to open this 6.5‑mile, 8‑station starter line to connect some of the region’s largest employers, growing neighborhoods, and incredible destinations. Today we’re setting the stage for the Eastside’s continued transformation and connecting people to opportunity now. I can’t wait to ride it!”
“With the opening of the 2 Line on the Eastside this spring, and our major expansion into Snohomish County this fall, we’re bringing the convenience of light rail to hundreds of thousands more people across the region. That means more people will be able to use Link light rail to skip the traffic and parking hassles and get to school, work, games, concerts and more, inexpensively and on time, every time,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine, the chair of ST’s board.
“We are thrilled to celebrate the 2 Line opening at Bellevue Downtown Station,” said Bellevue Mayor Lynne Robinson. “Bellevue’s partnership with Sound Transit has been guided by a shared vision to improve mobility and access for everyone who lives, works and plays in Bellevue and the region. This opening brings us even closer to a future with a multitude of effective transportation options to get where you need to go on the Eastside and beyond.”
“Light rail’s arrival to Redmond is monumental, as our region is undergoing rapid transformation,” said Redmond Mayor Angela Birney, who recently joined the Sound Transit Board along with King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay. “We are grateful for our federal, state and local partners who have been with us for decades to get to this point, as well as to our voters who made this path a reality. I look forward to seeing our community celebrate on opening day and take a ride on this easy, traffic-free connection between Redmond and Bellevue.”
“The 2 Line is the product of the sustained commitment of project partners and community members, and years of hard work by Sound Transit staff and contractors,” said Sound Transit Interim CEO Goran Sparrman.
“Having worked on the East Link project with the City of Bellevue in the planning phase, I’m excited to see the project moving toward opening.”
When it opens, the 2 Line won’t serve its two westernmost stations (Judkins Park, Mercer Island) or connect to the 1 Line, because contractors are fixing defects on the alignment between Mercer Island and Seattle. Because Sound Transit built a train yard in Bellevue (the Operations & Maintenance Facility East), it doesn’t need working tracks across the lake to start up service in Redmond and Bellevue.
Sound Transit hopes to add the westernmost stations to the system in 2025. And by that time, two new eastern stations should also be ready to make their debut — Marymoor and downtown Redmond. Those four stations will complete the 2 Line, making it possible to travel by foot and train from NPI headquarters into downtown Seattle and many other destinations, like SeaTac Airport or the UW.
The agency has been simulating revenue service between Redmond Technology Station and South Bellevue for several weeks now, and to our knowledge, there have been no major issues. There are many cool vantage points where you can see trains gliding along through the Eastside at regular intervals, and you can also see them from parts of Interstate 405 and State Route 520, because the alignment either crosses or runs next to those highways.
If you’re as excited as we are about East Link’s debut, you may be interested in our bird’s eye tour of the East Link stations and our Trainspotting series, showing Link trains in action in Bellevue and Redmond.