Light rail through downtown Seattle will be slowed for 10 days

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Light rail trains between Westlake and Stadium stations will arrive 25 to 30 minutes apart, instead of the usual 10-minute frequency, through Wednesday, April 23.

Crews will replace a 600-foot-long segment of worn-out southbound rails from Pioneer Square Station to International District/Chinatown Station.

During the 10 days, Sound Transit will divide its 1 Line into three parts:

• Trains between Lynnwood City Center and Westlake stations will run at near-normal conditions, arriving every 12 minutes.
• A separate downtown shuttle train will go back and forth, using only the northbound tracks between Westlake and Stadium stations, with 25 to 30 minutes between arrivals each direction.
• Trains between Stadium and Angle Lake stations will run at near-normal conditions, arriving every 12 minutes.

Thousands of riders will change trains at Westlake or Stadium to enter downtown by rail — or transfer twice if they’re going from Rainier Valley to the University of Washington.

Sound Transit timed its work for when the Mariners are on the road, and to follow its five severe weekend disruptions last winter.

Conflicts remain with the Sakura-Con anime festival at Seattle Convention Center from April 18-20, two Phish concerts at Climate Pledge Arena on April 18-19, and one game each for Reign FC, Sounders FC and the Kraken.

To finish rail replacement now, instead of waiting a few months, will prevent delays in connecting the Eastside’s 2 Line next winter from Bellevue across Lake Washington into Seattle, where test trains will soon need to enter the downtown tunnel, said spokesperson Henry Bendon.

The damaged Pioneer Square rails, on a curve, have been in service since 2009, and for 10 years also were pounded by buses within the shared tunnel.

Trains are currently under a 10 mph speed limit in that spot, and crews have sometimes closed that segment briefly to replace short lengths of broken rail. Such disruptions are one of several reasons light rail has been late for 10% to 20% of trips.

“This time, we’re replacing the entire rail itself, which should make it stronger and more resilient to breaks,” Bendon said.

King County Metro Transit will operate a temporary north-south bus stopping outside the affected stations, every 10 minutes, from roughly 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. weekdays. Paper train tickets will be accepted for free bus transfers. (ORCA fare cards always enable free transfers.)

Riders are urged to take regular bus routes, of which at least 12 pass the downtown train stations. In addition, south county routes 101, 102, 150, 590, 594 and 595 go through the Sodo busway to Stadium Station and downtown. Route 515 operates at peak morning and afternoon hours between Lynnwood City Center and Seattle.

Transit staff ambassadors will be at affected stations to help with transfers and bus connections.

Passengers might be better off if there were a crossover switch at Symphony Station, to allow nimble train maneuvers during maintenance work. A recent report by engineering firm HNTB, about how to improve the system’s lack of resilience, strongly recommended adding a downtown crossover switch — a concept leaders shunned for years because of cost (and havoc during installation) but may finally consider in the mid-2020s.