Light Rail Will Shut Down In Seattle Over 3 Fall Weekends

SEATTLE, WA — Seattle commuters need to prepare for a big light rail service disruption this fall that will make way for an even bigger light rail service disruption beginning in January.

Over three weekends in October and November, light rail will not run between Sodo and Capitol Hill. That's because Sound Transit crews will be building a temporary boarding platform at the Pioneer Square station.

Why are they building a temporary platform? In January, Sound Transit will start a major construction project inside the downtown transit tunnel to connect existing light rail tracks to the new Eastlink line.

For about 10 weeks, anyone headed northbound or southbound will have to transfer at Pioneer Square. For example: if you're traveling from Capitol Hill to Beacon Hill, you'll have to get off at Pioneer Square to catch another train southbound. If you're traveling from Othello to the University of Washington, you'll have to stop at Pioneer Square to catch a train to continue northbound.

That new center platform will allow you to transfer trains without having to go up the escalators and over the top of the station. The platform construction will happen over the weekends of Oct. 12, Oct. 26, and Nov. 9.

On top of that transfer disruption, Sound Transit will run trains every 12 minutes instead of every 6 minutes. And, bicycles won't be allowed in the Pioneer Square station. Bicyclists will be asked to leave trains before they hit Pioneer Square.

You can learn more about the service changes at the Sound Transit Connect 2020 website.