Sound Transit announced Thursday the initial segment of the Link 2 Line will open to passenger service on Saturday, April 27.
The 6.5-mile segment of the East Link Extension includes eight new stations in Bellevue and Redmond, according to a news release. This initial segment will end at the South Bellevue Station at the west end, and the Redmond Technology Station on the east. Trains with two cars will run every 10 minutes for 16 hours per day. The announcement on the agency’s page about the Link 2 Line states the train will run from 5:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m.
“With the opening of the 2 Line on the Eastside this spring, and our major expansion into Snohomish County this fall, we’re bringing the convenience of light rail to hundreds of thousands more people across the region,” King County Executive and Sound Transit Board Chair Dow Constantine said in the press statement. “That means more people will be able to use Link light rail to skip the traffic and parking hassles and get to school, work, games, concerts and more, inexpensively and on time, every time.”
“Light rail’s arrival to Redmond is monumental, as our region is undergoing rapid transformation,” Birney said in the release. “We are grateful for our federal, state and local partners who have been with us for decades to get to this point, as well as to our voters who made this path a reality. I look forward to seeing our community celebrate on opening day and take a ride on this easy, traffic-free connection between Redmond and Bellevue.”
Redmond Mayor and Sound Transit Board Member Angela Birney expressed excitement about the opening and said she was thankful for the support the project has received over the years to get here.
This story was originally published on mynorthwest.com