Lynnwood Light Rail Link Extension Finally Opens – Find Out How You Can Use It

Ribbon cutting for new Lynnwood Link Light Rail station

The Lynnwood Link Extension is finally open, connecting Lynnwood with the rest of the light rail stops all the way down to the SeaTac airport.

Friday was the ribbon cutting ceremony, featuring many politicians and area leaders, including Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin and Representative Rick Larsen.

Residents have been paying hundreds of dollars a year in property taxes and car tab fees since 2008. Finally, Lynnwood will benefit from the light rail taxes.

The city of Lynnwood plans to add 6,000 dwelling units near the new light rail station over the next 20 years and Lynnwood city planners say they are already seeing new investments from private developers.

Some UW Football fans took advantage of the new stop on Saturday. The ride only took 20 minutes.

Everett will wait the longest for the northern expansion, with an expected opening sometime between 2037 and 2041.

With the light rail system, Sound Transit will discontinue routes to Northgate and Downtown Seattle (Routes 402, 405, 410, 412, 413, 415, 416, 417, 421, 422, 425, 435, 810, 821, 860, 871, 880). Routes 105, 107, 113, 227, and 247 will be removed, and new routes are also being added (Routes 103, 117, and 121). These changes will happen on 9/14. All changes listed here.

How to Use the Lynnwood City Center Station Link Light Rail:

To catch the Lynnwood City Center Station, head to the Lynnwood transit center next to the 44th street exit off I-5. There are 1,798 parking spaces, including 37 ADA spaces. Parking is free for now, but some day they may need to charge for parking if there isn’t enough capacity for the future popularity.

Many bus routes are changing to include the Lynnwood City Center on their routes (Routes 106, 120, and 130).

Ticketing machines are on the plaza level at both the north and south station entrances. Passengers can be dropped off north of the northeast station plaza to the east of 46th Avenue West. Restrooms are in the hallway to the north lobby, between the garage and the north plaza.

Trains run every 10 minutes. Southbound trains begin at 5:37 am until 11:08 pm. Return trains arrive as early as 5:35am (coming from SODO at 4:44am), with the last train returning to Lynnwood at 12:23 am. You can view the entire schedule here.

If you haven’t tried the light rail yet, some benefits vs a bus include:

• Less stops
• More capacity
• Smoother ride
• Unaffected by traffic
• Fastest way to get to any stop on the route

Some ideas on new uses of the Light Rail option:

• UW football games
• Seahawk football games
• Sounders games
• Mariners games
• Concerts
• Comedy Shows
• Theater
• Working in Downtown Seattle
• UW school attendance
• Transport to Seatac Airport

Eventually light rail will expand to Everett, Bellevue, Redmond, Federal Way, and Tacoma.