SEATTLE — A new Link light rail station is officially open in North Seattle, giving riders another way to connect to downtown, the University of Washington, and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
Pinehurst Station, located along I-5 at Northeast 130th Street, opened Wednesday between the existing Northgate and Shoreline South stations. The station was originally planned to open in 2031, but Sound Transit accelerated the project by moving construction forward while work on the Lynnwood Link extension was underway.
The project was approved by voters as part of the ST3 ballot measure in 2016.
Pinehurst is Sound Transit’s first “in-fill” station, meaning it was built between two existing stations on an operating rail line.
“That just means you’re building a station in between two stations on an existing line,” Sound Transit Public Information Officer Henry Bendon said. “For a lot of what we do at Sound Transit, we’re still expanding outwards, and of course we have a long way to go on that front.”
New connections for North Seattle riders
Sound Transit says trains will serve the new station every four to 5 minutes, depending on the time of day, with service running through midnight.
The new stop also gives University of Washington students another transit option as they return to campus for the first day of school.
King County Executive Girmay Zahilay highlighted the station’s travel times during the opening.
“You deserve to be able to get to downtown Seattle in 15 minutes. You deserve to be able to get to the airport in 50 minutes,” Zahilay said. “People who are students at UW deserve to be able to get there in just four stops.”
According to Sound Transit, riders can travel from Pinehurst Station to Westlake in about 15 minutes and to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in about 53 minutes.
Unlike some transit stations, Pinehurst does not have a parking garage. The station was designed instead around connections for people walking, biking, rolling, or using public transportation.
The project includes upgraded bus stops and bike-lane improvements in the surrounding area.
King County Metro also launched the new Route 77 in August, providing an east-west transit connection to the station.
Sound Transit expects Pinehurst Station to see between 2,600 and 4,200 daily boardings.
The agency says its next in-fill station projects include Graham Street Station and Boeing Access Road Station.
A community celebration marking the Pinehurst opening is scheduled from 2 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, September 30, with live music, food, local organizations, and activities at the station.
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