Celebration marks 60th birthday of Seattle Center Monorail

SEATTLE — It was a party on the platform Tuesday, as the Seattle Monorail celebrated six decades of service.

Generations of Seattle residents and visitors have special memories of the 90-second ride between Downtown and Seattle Center.

“I was here when the Sonics won the world championship,” said Richard Pieczynski, who first rode the monorail when it opened for the 1962 World’s Fair.

Despite an ill-fated attempt to expand the monorail in the early 2000s, it has largely been considered a tourist train.

But the recent renovation of the Westlake Center station means it moves people more efficiently to events at Climate Pledge Arena, and the Seattle Kraken include a transit pass with every ticket.

“Close to 25% of people coming to our games are riding this monorail,” said Tod Leiweke, CEO of the Seattle Kraken.

There’s still a bottleneck for people getting on the train at Seattle Center, which is why there’s a new push to renovate the station with more space for people to queue.

“The train is not the limiting factor, it’s getting people on and off and keeping the systems rolling,” said Tom Albro of Seattle Monorail Services.

Since the Westlake upgrade, the monorail now moves up to 4,500 passengers per hour in one direction.

That could reach 6,000 per hour if the Seattle Center station is expanded.

The state just allocated $5 million for the project.

KIRO 7 asked Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell if the city will fund the remaining $10 million.

“I never make financial commitments like that until I look at the whole picture and transportation budget,” Harrell answered.

Tuesday’s 60th anniversary celebration took a twist when the monorail’s red train broke down just after 5 p.m. while heading to Seattle Center.

Passengers, including a KIRO 7 crew aboard the train for a live shot, heard a thud, and the train came to a stop near the Museum of Pop Culture.

Monorail workers evacuated passengers onto a second train and brought them to Seattle Center.

No one was hurt and the cause of the mishap is under investigation.

In 2004, a fire broke out on the monorail, forcing workers and passengers to evacuate.

The next year, the two trains clipped one another on a curve, also requiring an evacuation.

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