Link light rail is a regional light rail system operated by Sound Transit in the Seattle metropolitan area of the U.S. state of Washington. The network consists of three lines with 51 total stations in three counties. The 1Line runs from Lynnwood through Seattle to Federal Way; the 2Line from Lynnwood through Seattle and Bellevue to Redmond; and the TLine runs entirely in Tacoma. The 1Line and 2Line are sometimes described as a light metro system due to their long trainsets, large stations, and higher capacities; the smaller TLine operates more like a streetcar. In 2025, the system carried 37.8 million passengers, or approximately 117,200 on an average weekday in early 2026.

The first Link segment began service on August 23, 2003, with the opening of five stations on the Tacoma Link (now the T Line). The initial, segment of Central Link (now the 1 Line) with 12 stations was opened from Seattle to Tukwila on July 18, 2009, and was later extended to the Seattle–Tacoma International Airport on December 19, 2009. The first infill station of the Link system was Commerce Street/South 11th Street station on the T Line, which opened on September 15, 2011. The 1 Line was extended north to the University of Washington on March 19, 2016, and south to Angle Lake station on September 24, 2016. A northern extension to Northgate station with three stations opened on October 2, 2021. The T Line was extended in September 2023 with six new stations and one relocated stop. The first section of the 2 Line opened on April 27, 2024, with eight stations in Bellevue and Redmond. Four stations were added to the 1 Line on August 30, 2024, as it was extended to Lynnwood. Three more stations were added to the 1 Line on December 6, 2025, extending the line South to Federal Way. Two more stations opened on the 2 Line on March 28, 2026, connecting that line to the 1 Line across Lake Washington. An infill station at Pinehurst opened on September 30, 2026.

Further expansions approved by Sound Transit 3 in 2016 are planned to expand the light rail network by and 39 stations to a total of of track and 83 stations by 2044, carrying 500,000 daily passengers. The light rail network will include lines to Ballard and West Seattle in Seattle in 2039 and 2032, respectively; Kirkland and Issaquah on the Eastside in 2044; and extensions to Everett and Tacoma in 2041 and 2032, respectively. Three infill stations in Seattle and Tukwila will also be built as part of the Sound Transit 3 program.

All 1 Line and 2 Line stations are built with , platforms, arranged in the center or sides of the two tracks, with capacity to handle a four-car train with vehicles; T Line stations are built with , platforms that can accommodate a one-car train measuring in length. The majority of stations are built at-grade on the surface, with the platform elevated slightly above street level; there are also elevated stations and underground stations that include mezzanines (with the exception of Mount Baker station) with access the platform from the surface as well as ticket vending machines and bicycle facilities. Only four current stations (Angle Lake, Northgate, Tacoma Dome Station, and Tukwila International Boulevard) have public park and rides; planned stations on the suburban extensions of Link will incorporate new or existing park and rides.

All stations include works of public art as part of the "STart" program, which requires one percent of station construction funds go to art installations. The stations are named in accordance to facility naming guidelines that include using surrounding neighborhoods and street names, avoiding words used by existing facility names, and being limited to 30 characters in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Stations are also required by state law to be identified by other symbols, excluding those on the T Line. Initially these were simple pictograms, known as "Stellar Connections", that are used in station signage, maps and other printed materials as a wayfinding aid; the icons are composed of points that correspond with local landmarks near Link stations, while also forming a picture that represents the station's identity. They were replaced by three-digit station codes that were implemented with the opening of the Lynnwood extension in August 2024.

Link stations

+ Terminal station * Future infill station ^ Future provisional station

Current stations

+ Code Station Line(s) Location Opened Dailyridership Connections and notes 6th Avenue Angle Lake SeaTac RapidRide Beacon Hill Bellevue Downtown RapidRide BelRed Capitol Hill Columbia City Convention Center/S 15th St Downtown Redmond Redmond RapidRide East Main Federal Way Downtown Federal Way RapidRide Hilltop District International District/Chinatown Amtrak Judkins Park Kent Des Moines RapidRide Lynnwood City Center Lynnwood Swift Marymoor Village Redmond Mercer Island Mercer Island Mount Baker Mountlake Terrace Mountlake Terrace Northgate Old City Hall Othello Overlake Village Pinehurst Pioneer Square RapidRide Kitsap Fast Ferries King County Water Taxi Rainier Beach Redmond Technology RapidRide Roosevelt SeaTac/Airport SeaTac RapidRide Shoreline North/185th Shoreline Swift Shoreline South/148th Shoreline SODO Tacoma South Bellevue Spring District St. Joseph Stadium Stadium District Star Lake Kent Symphony RapidRide Tacoma Dome Tacoma Sounder Amtrak Tacoma General Theater District Tukwila International Boulevard Tukwila RapidRide U District Union Station/S 19th St University of Washington Westlake Seattle Center Monorail Wilburton RapidRide

Former stations

Theater District/South 9th Street station was closed in 2022 as part of the Hilltop extension of the TLine, which relocated the platform to Old City Hall station.

+ Code Station Line(s) Location Opened Closed

Planned stations

The Sound Transit 3 program, approved by voters in 2016, is planned to expand the Link light rail network to over and 70 stations when completed in 2050.

+ Station Line(s) Project Location Projected completion Ainsworth TCC Link Extension Tacoma 2043 Alaska Junction West Seattle Link Extension 2035 Ash Way Everett Link Extension North Lynnwood 2037 or 2041 Ballard Ballard Link Extension 2042 or 2060 Boeing Access Road * Tukwila 2031 Central Issaquah South Kirkland–Issaquah Link Extension Issaquah 2050 Delridge West Seattle Link Extension 2035 Denny Ballard Link Extension 2042 Eastgate South Kirkland–Issaquah Link Extension 2050 Everett Station Everett Link Extension 2037 or 2041 Fife Tacoma Dome Link Extension Fife 2035 Graham Street * 2031 Interbay Ballard Link Extension 2042 or 2060 Lakemont ^ South Kirkland–Issaquah Link Extension Bellevue TBD Mariner Everett Link Extension Everett 2037 or 2041 Midtown Ballard Link Extension 2042 Pearl TCC Link Extension Tacoma 2043 Portland Ave Tacoma Dome Link Extension Tacoma 2035 Richards Road South Kirkland–Issaquah Link Extension 2050 Seattle Center Ballard Link Extension 2042 Smith Cove Ballard Link Extension 2042 or 2060 South Federal Way Tacoma Dome Link Extension Federal Way 2035 South Kirkland South Kirkland–Issaquah Link Extension Kirkland 2050 South Lake Union Ballard Link Extension 2042 Sprague TCC Link Extension Tacoma 2043 SR 99/Airport Road ^ Everett Link Extension Everett TBD SR 526/Evergreen Everett Link Extension Everett 2037 or 2041 Stevens TCC Link Extension Tacoma 2043 SW Everett Industrial Center Everett Link Extension Everett 2037 or 2041 Tacoma Community College TCC Link Extension Tacoma 2043 Union TCC Link Extension Tacoma 2043 West Alderwood Everett Link Extension Lynnwood 2037 or 2041

Notes

References

External links

Sound Transit website