List of Link light rail stations

Link is a light rail system serving the Seattle metropolitan area and operated by Sound Transit. The network consists of 22 stations on two unconnected lines: sixteen on the Red Line and six on the Orange Line in Tacoma. Link stations are located within four cities in King and Pierce counties: eleven in Seattle, five in Tacoma, two in SeaTac and one in Tukwila.[1][2][3] The two lines had a combined average weekday ridership of 38,918 in 2015, placing it sixteenth among the busiest light rail systems in the United States.[4][5] The busiest station by daily ridership is Westlake station in Seattle, while the least busy is Convention Center/South 15th Street station in Tacoma.[6][7]

A map of stations on the Red Line, which runs between Angle Lake and the University of Washington in Seattle.

The first Link segment began service on August 23, 2003, with the opening of five stations on the 1.6-mile-long (2.6 km) Tacoma Link (now the Orange Line).[8] The initial, 14-mile-long (23 km) segment of Central Link (now the Red Line) with 12 stations was opened from Seattle to Tukwila on July 18, 2009, and was later extended 1.7 miles (2.7 km) to the Seattle–Tacoma International Airport on December 19, 2009.[9][10] The first infill station of the Link system was Commerce Street/South 11th Street station on the Orange Line, which opened on September 15, 2011.[11] The Red Line was extended north 3.15 miles (5.07 km) to the University of Washington on March 19, 2016, and 1.6 miles (2.6 km) south to Angle Lake station on September 24, 2016.[12][13]

As of 2016, Sound Transit is building three extensions of the Link network that will open between 2021 and 2023 with 13 stations:[14] the 4.3-mile-long (6.9 km) Northgate Link Extension to Seattle's Northgate in 2021;[15] and the 14-mile-long (23 km) Blue Line to Bellevue and Redmond on the Eastside in 2023.[16][17] Additionally, three extensions approved in the 2008 Sound Transit 2 ballot measure are scheduled to open by 2024:[18] the 8.5-mile-long (13.7 km) Lynnwood Link Extension to Lynnwood in Snohomish County;[19] the 7.6-mile-long (12.2 km) Federal Way Link Extension to Federal Way;[20] and a 2.4-mile-long (3.9 km) extension of the Orange Line to the Hilltop neighborhood to open in 2022.[21][22] These extensions would add an additional 30 miles (48 km) to the light rail network, carrying an estimated 280,000 daily riders by 2030.[17][23]

Further expansions approved by Sound Transit 3 in 2016 are planned to expand the light rail network by 58 miles (93 km) and 39 stations to a total of 108 miles (174 km) of track and 70 to 75 stations by 2041, carrying 500,000 daily passengers.[24][25] The light rail network will include lines to Ballard and West Seattle in Seattle in 2035 and 2030, respectively; Kirkland and Issaquah on the Eastside in 2041; an extension of East Link to Downtown Redmond in 2024; and extensions to Everett and Tacoma in 2036 and 2030, respectively.[2] Three infill stations in Seattle and Tukwila will also be built as part of the Sound Transit 3 program.[2]

All Red Line light rail stations are built with 380-to-400-foot-long (120 to 120 m), 14-inch-high (0.36 m) platforms, arranged in the center or sides of the two tracks, with capacity to handle a four-car train with 95-foot-long (29 m) vehicles;[26][27][28] Orange Line stations are built with 90-foot-long (27 m), 8-inch-high (0.20 m) platforms that can accommodate a one-car train measuring 66 feet (20 m) in length.[29] 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.[30][31] Only three current stations, Angle Lake, Tacoma Dome Station and Tukwila International Boulevard, have public park and rides;[32][33][34] planned stations on the suburban extensions of Link will incorporate new or existing park and rides.[23][35]

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.[36] 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.[37] Stations are also required by state law to be identified by simple pictograms,[38][39] 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.[40][41]