Los Angeles has a new metro station closer to LAX airport, and a new north-south K line serving it. (Erik Em) Erik rides the C line from downtown Los Angeles west to Expo/Crenshaw station, and the new K line south to the airport. Here are system maps to show how the lines relate to the rest of the subway network and the region. The east-west C line with the old airport station is extended to the new station. Erik also discusses an airport peoplemover that’s under construction and will also serve the station.
There’s been some discussion about past plans such as Forward Thrust (1970s). However, many other plans were debated. The Link light rail could have ended up as a very different variant of light rail. This article will provide a brief overview of the past plans and some light commentary.
PSCOG 1986
The general alignments in the PSCOG 1986 plans aren’t too different from the eventual ST2 with a branched line heading from Lynnwood to Seattle and then either east via Bellevue to Redmond or south via Sea-Tac to Federal Way. However there are some notable differences with the exact route.
From Seattle to Tukwila, rather than running on Mlk Way, the light rail line ran on East Marginal Way then via the Interurban Ave S to reach Southcenter Mall. This route added stations at Boeing Field, South Park and Georgetown though at the expense of the Rainier Valley ones.
The Federal Way and Lynnwood Link segments generally are the same with an I-5 alignment. For East Link, the line was extended out to Sammamish past Redmond and there was an additional Bothell via Kirkland to Bellevue line.
Over the next few days, King County Metro is implementing Phase 2 of the East Link Connections route restructure. This phase includes updates to Dial-A-Ride-Transit (DART) routes 204, 930, and 931. Phase 1 changes started when the 2 Line extension to Downtown Redmond opened on May 10. Additional East Link Connections changes will launch August 30, 2025 and when the full 2 Line opens in 2026. Metro will announce more details later this summer. The full slate of East Link Connection route revisions was outlined in a previous post.
A DART bus that could be used for routes 204, 930, and 931 (Metro).
In April 2025, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) painted the Phase 2 bus lane for its Rainier Ave S Bus Lane project. This lane conversion extended the northbound bus-only lane from S Walden Street to S Grand Street. While the bus lane is the project’s flagship feature, SDOT is also repairing the sidewalk in various locations and adding 2 new crossings. Signals and crosswalks were recently added on Rainier Ave at Grand St and College St. This project, as well as other projects along Rainier Ave, have been previously covered on the Blog.
Crews installing Bus Only lane striping on Rainier Ave S near S Walden St. (SDOT)
Another Link reduction comes this weekend, to repair a section of rail that was identified in an inspection. The section is near Westlake station on the 1 Line.
On Saturday and Sunday, June 21-22, trains will run from Lynnwood to Capitol Hill every 15 minutes approximately, and from SODO to Angle Lake every 15 minutes. Between Capitol Hill and SODO, a shuttle bus will run every 30-60 minutes. The link above lists where the shuttle stops are, usually next to the station or within a block.
This is the lowest frequency a replacement shuttle has ever had!It makes Link in the central core essentially unusable.
[UPDATE 6/21 1:30pm: Ryan Packer said this morning that ST intends to run the shuttle closer to every 10 minutes rather than every 30-60 minutes as previously reported. He saw shuttles every 5 minutes at Capitol Hill station. (Ryan is a reporter at The Urbanist, not affiliated with STB.)]
Sound Transit has a chart of bus alternatives between each station pair. Most of these are King County Metro bus routes. We’ve put together our own route suggestions below.
Toronto’s GO commuter rail electrification and expansion has been downscaled and delayed. (RMTransit) Deutsche Bahn was going to make it like an S-Bahn, with all-day frequent service on several lines with electric trains, but the contract was canceled. This is a 24-minute rambling rant but there are several parallels with Pugetopolis and other American transit projects. E.g., planning taking a decade and letting inflation creep in, and officials who don’t understand the importance of frequency.
Bicycle Weekends are underway for Summer 2025. This year, Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) is hosting ten Bicycle Weekends between May 17 and September 21. During a Bicycle Weekend, Lake Washington Boulevard between Seward Park and Mount Baker Park’s Beach is closed to cars from 10am on Saturday to 6pm on Sunday. The Boulevard is open to people walking, rolling, and cycling.
People walking and cycling on Lake Washington Blvd (Bob Svercl)
Seattle is hosting six FIFA Club World Cup games between June 15 and June 23. These games are expected to draw 100,000 to 150,000 visitors to the City. Sound Transit and King County Metro are providing additional service around these games to ensure both visitors and residents can get where they need to go. In addition to the service changes outlined below, Sound Transit is partnering with local organizations in Pioneer Square and the Chinatown International District to encourage visitors to explore those neighborhoods. In addition to the Club World Cup games this year, Seattle is also hosting several FIFA World Cup 26 matches next summer.
Click on the matches listed below to skip to the service modifications for that match.
Congress might have just gutted WA’s phase-out of new gas-car sales, expected to go into effect in 2035, by revoking California’s ability to enforce more stringent pollution regulations than the national Clean Air Act (The Seattle Times, $)
