1 Line (Sound Transit)

1 Line
A four-car Series 1 train on the 1 Line approaching SeaTac/Airport station
Overview
Other name(s)	Central Link Red Line
Owner	Sound Transit
Locale	Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Termini	Northgate (north) Angle Lake (south)
Stations	19
Website	soundtransit.org
Service
Type	Light rail
System	Link light rail
Operator(s)	King County Metro
Rolling stock	62 Kinkisharyo-Mitsui LRVs 152 Siemens S700s
Daily ridership	78,944 (2023, weekdays)[1]
History
Opened	July 18, 2009 (2009-07-18)
Technical
Line length	24.65 mi (39.67 km)
Number of tracks	2
Character	At grade, elevated, and underground
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	Overhead line, 1,500 V DC
Operating speed	55 mph (89 km/h)
Route map Legend Lynnwood Link Extension (2024) Lynnwood City Center Mountlake Terrace Shoreline North/185th Shoreline South/148th Northgate Roosevelt U District University of Washington Montlake Cut Capitol Hill Westlake University Street Pioneer Square International District/Chinatown East Link Extension (2025) Stadium SODO SODO Operations and Maintenance Facility Beacon Hill Mount Baker Columbia City Othello Rainier Beach Duwamish River Tukwila International Boulevard SeaTac/Airport Angle Lake Federal Way Link Extension (2026) Kent Des Moines Star Lake Federal Way Downtown All stations are accessible This diagram: view talk edit

The 1 Line, formerly Central Link, is a light rail line in Seattle, Washington, United States, and part of Sound Transit's Link light rail system. It serves 19 stations in the cities of Seattle, SeaTac, and Tukwila, traveling nearly 25 miles (40 km) between Northgate and Angle Lake stations. The line connects the University District, Downtown Seattle, the Rainier Valley, and Seattle–Tacoma International Airport. The 1 Line carried over 26 million total passengers in 2023, with an average of nearly 80,000 daily passengers on weekdays. It runs for 20 hours per day on weekdays and Saturdays, with headways as low as six minutes during peak hours, and reduced 18-hour service on Sundays and holidays.

Trains are composed of two or more cars that each can carry 194 passengers, including 74 in seats, along with wheelchairs and bicycles. Fares are calculated based on distance traveled and are paid through the regional ORCA card, paper tickets, or a mobile app. Sound Transit uses proof-of-payment to verify passenger fares, employing fare ambassadors and transit police to conduct random inspections. All stations have ticket vending machines, public art, bicycle parking, and bus connections, while several also have park-and-ride lots.

Voters approved Central Link in a 1996 ballot measure and construction began in 2003, after the project was reorganized under a new budget and truncated route in response to higher than expected costs. The light rail line, which followed decades of failed transit plans for the Seattle region, opened on July 18, 2009, terminating at Westlake in the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel and Tukwila International Boulevard near Sea–Tac Airport. It was extended south to SeaTac/Airport in December 2009, north to the University of Washington in March 2016, and south to Angle Lake in September 2016. The line was temporarily renamed the Red Line until its designation was changed to the 1 Line in 2021, coinciding with an extension to Northgate.

Further extensions to Lynnwood and Federal Way are planned to open in 2024 and 2026, respectively. The 2 Line, connecting Seattle to the Eastside suburbs, will form a multi-line network via its connection with the 1 Line in 2025. Further expansion under Sound Transit 3 will divide the current corridor between two lines, the 1 Line from Ballard to Tacoma and the 3 Line from Everett to West Seattle.