When Seattle’s next light rail station will open

Sound Transit will wrap up its two-year binge of grand openings on Sept. 30, when trains pick up their first passengers at Pinehurst Station, along Interstate 5 in North Seattle.

Light rail riders can brace for a new addition at the busiest stations in Seattle: turnstiles. The mechanical gates will require people to pay a fare or tap their ORCA card to get in and out of the train platforms, starting in a few years.

The agency uses performance data, predictive analytics and risk assessments to determine optimal schedules for intervention, improving reliability, extending the life of system components and minimizing unnecessary maintenance.

The West Seattle Link light rail extension, part of Sound Transit’s ST3 plan, now aims to open in 2035 due to changes to address a $34.5 billion funding gap.

The Sound Transit board’s Rider Experience Committee unanimously approved a motion that would create a program to retrofit Link light rail stations with fare gates, a move intended to bolster fare revenue, reduce vandalism, and increase safety on train platforms.

After months of uncertainty, Sound Transit now says it could deliver light rail to Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood by 2042. But that depends on whether the agency can find billions of dollars over the next seven years.

The Sound Transit Board of Directors voted Thursday to authorize a pair of contracts targeting the West Seattle Link Extension, fulfilling a promise to get that project moving quickly after a major update to the Sound Transit 3 (ST3) system plan last month.

More than half a million riders boarded light rail trains over a two-day period last week, setting ridership records on back-to-back days. Sound Transit reported roughly 280,000 riders boarded the light rail June 19, shattering the previous single-day record of 236,000 set just a day before.

Should Seattleites be despondent about Ballard light rail, in the wake of a newly adopted Sound Transit system expansion plan that leaves much of the long-promised line unfunded? The regional transit agency’s top leadership say no.

Terri Mestas, Sound Transit’s Deputy CEO in charge of capital project delivery, announced her departure from the agency Monday, effective in early July. Brad Owen will take over the role as Chief Capital Delivery Officer in an acting capacity.