SOUND Transit, which operates the light rail network in Seattle, United States, opened its 11km Crosslake Connection on March 28 to join lines 1 and 2 for the first time.
The extension runs from International District/Chinatown on the 1 Line to South Bellevue on the 2 Line with new stations at Mercer Island and Judkins Park. The extension crosses Lake Washington on a 2km floating bridge shared with the I-90 highway.
Completion of the project means that LRVs previously operating between Downtown Redmond and South Bellevue can now run through to the centre of Seattle and then north on the 1 Line to Lynnwood City Center.
LRVs operate on both lines from about 05.00 to midnight seven days a week. Trains run approximately every eight minutes at peak times on the new section, and at 10-15 minute intervals off-peak. On the common section between International District/Chinatown and Lynnwood City Center, headways are every 4 to 5 minutes.
The opening of the Crosslake Connection completes the expansion of the network approved by voters in 2008 as part of the Sound Transit 2 ballot initiative. The 1 Line extension to Federal Way opened in December 2025, following the opening of the 2 Line to Downtown Redmond in May 2025. The initial section of the 2 Line on the east side of Lake Washington opened in April 2024 and the 1 Line extension to Lynnwood in August 2024. The network is now 101km long with 50 stations.
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