2 Line Crosslake Connection opening set for 28 March

Sound Transit says the 2 Line Crosslake Connection opening is scheduled for 28 March, when the Sound Transit 2 Line will cross Lake Washington and connect to the 1 Line at International District/Chinatown Station, as outlined in a Sound Transit news release. The agency says the link will create one fully integrated regional light rail system.

This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

The Sound Transit 2 Line will operate between Lynwood and Redmond, adding trips alongside the 1 Line, which runs between Federal Way and Lynnwood; the same timeline and service concept were also noted by Railway Supply. With both services in place, Sound Transit expects added capacity and more frequent Link light rail service through the system’s busy core.

Don’t miss…Northumberland Line passenger journeys hit 100 million mark

Service hours, headways, and peak frequency

Sound Transit says journeys on the 1 and 2 Lines will generally run from about 05:00 to 01:00 Monday through Saturday, and from roughly 06:00 to 12:00 on Sundays. Peak service is planned roughly every eight minutes, with trains arriving every 10 to 15 minutes during most other times, as reported by Railway Age.

Where the two routes overlap, service is intended to be even more frequent. Sound Transit says combined 1 Line and 2 Line headways between Lynnwood and International District/Chinatown will be every four minutes, adding capacity through the busy core of the network.

2 Line Crosslake Connection opening milestone

Snohomish County Executive and Sound Transit Board Chair Dave Somers described the start of service as a significant milestone, saying it follows decades of effort, creative design, and world-class engineering to link the east and west sides of Lake Washington by rail. He also thanked those who worked on the project and the traveling public for its patience as the project moved through many barriers.

Somers added that Sound Transit is looking ahead to a time when Link light rail connects Tacoma, Seattle, Everett, and Bellevue in the not-too-distant future.

Designing light rail on a floating bridge over Lake Washington

Sound Transit said completing the Sound Transit 2 Line and connecting it to the Eastside required an entirely new process: designing light rail to operate on a floating bridge. Engineers, the agency said, developed innovative solutions to address the challenges of running electric trains over a body of water, and Sound Transit has released a video detailing the process.

With the 2 Line now fully complete, Sound Transit says it has begun operating six new light rail expansions over the course of five years. The agency also noted that Pinehurst Station is expected to open later this year.

News on railway transport, industry, and railway technologies from Railway Supply that you might have missed: