Lynnwood Light Rail Link Extension to open Aug. 30

SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. — After years of waiting, light rail service is finally coming to Snohomish County.

Starting Aug. 30, Sound Transit is opening four new stations from Shoreline to Lynnwood.

The new 8.5-mile stretch of tracks in Snohomish County stations will include:

· Shoreline South/148th Station

· Shoreline North/185th Station

· Mountlake Terrace Station

· Lynnwood City Center

“Getting to downtown Seattle from Lynnwood is going to be about half an hour. Easy to get to SeaTac without having to deal with that soul crushing traffic on I-5,” said John Gallagher, Spokesman for Sound Transit.

Gallagher told KIRO 7 these stations will be the first for Snohomish County. During peak hours, the Link light rail will run every 8 minutes along the new stations.

It’s an extension that’ll help cut commute times for many riders.

“I take the light rail and then I take a couple buses up north,” said bus rider Tayveaon Jones.

Jones travels from Seattle to Lynnwood every day. He’s looking forward to saving some time and money.

“It’s gonna help a lot with time and money. It’s just not an extra bus you have to take and just more convenient. That light rail is really fast, extremely fast,” Jones explained.

It doesn’t end there; Sound Transit is planning to take the light rail up to Everett.

“That’s another 16-mile stretch so that would be our longest extension ever,” said Gallagher.

Those plans will take a few more years with some hurdles along the way.

“It was pretty jarring to see lines drawn through the back of our auditorium,” said Josh Bishop, Executive Administrator for Alderwood Community Church.

Tracks were originally heading through Alderwood Community Church which would potentially shut them down.

KIRO 7 spoke with the church in February 2023 when the plans were first rolled out.

Since then, the Alderwood Community Church says it’s working closely with Sound Transit. Although they are still in the planning phases, they’re finding a way around the problem.

“A lot of people in our community they need access to affordable transit and so we’re a big fan of it, we just at this point would love to see it move past our property without disrupting it,” said Bishop.

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