What you need to know about transit service and special events for the Northgate extension opening on October 2nd.
It’s a mere two and a half weeks to the opening of the 4.3-mile Northgate Link extension, which will add three more stations to Seattle’s light rail line. Riders will be able reach Downtown Seattle from Northgate in just 13 minutes. Sound Transit expects travel times end to end will be 53 minutes with airport-to-Northgate travel time being 49 minutes. All in all, the extension will be a gamechanger for many people in North Seattle and areas further north thanks to significant bus restructures funneling riders to and from the new stations.
However, there’s a lot more to the Central Link extension, or the 1 Line in Sound Transit’s new naming system. So we’ve put together a complete guide on everything you need to know and more.
Start of Service and Frequency
Riders who want to catch the maiden voyage are going to have to get up very early to do it. Sound Transit is going to inaugurate service on October 2nd like any other service change by simply starting service according to the regular schedule.
The first train to depart from Northgate Station will be at 4:51am followed by initial southbound stops at 4:58am for Roosevelt Station and 5:00am for U District Station. Conversely, the first trains to arrive at those stations in the northbound direction will be at 4:56am at U District Station, 4:58am at Roosevelt Station, and 5:01am at Northgate Station; that train will initially depart from SODO Station at 4:39am.
On weekdays and Saturdays the earliest starts of service northbound are at 4:25am from SODO and 5:00am from Angle Lake and southbound at 4:15am from Beacon Hill and 4:51am from Northgate. On Sundays, the earliest stars of service northbound are at 5:27am from SODO and 6:00am from Angle Lake and southbound are at 5:15am from Beacon Hill and 5:33am from Northgate. Most early northbound trips start at Beacon Hill while early southbound trips progressively start from more northern stations to stagger frequency and reduce deadheading.
As for the latest full trips, the service pattern is northbound at 11:45pm from Angle Lake and southbound at 12:28am from Northgate on weekday and Saturday nights and northbound at 11:15pm from Angle Lake and southbound at 11:28pm from Northgate on Sunday nights. Later trips still depart northbound from Angle Lake but terminate at Stadium, some with connecting bus service. A full schedule of service is now available.
Earlier this summer, Sound Transit improved frequency on the 1 Line. Trains are running as frequently as every eight minutes during weekday peak hours, every ten minutes during weekday off-peak hours and on weekends, and every 15 minutes during late evening hours. Sound Transit plans to maintain this service level into the fall. However, prior to the pandemic, service on the line had run every six minutes during weekday peak hours, every ten minutes during weekday off-peak hours and weekends, and every 15 minutes during late evening hours.
