Seattle light rail trains could start crossing Lake Washington in late April — but it's unlikely
Eastsiders anxious to ride light rail across Lake Washington to Seattle still have months to wait. Sound Transit has set an estimated start date in April 2026 — but that’s likely to change.
For months now, Sound Transit has told transit riders on Seattle's Eastside that light rail trains would start crossing Lake Washington on the I-90 bridge in "early 2026."
According to a June monthly status report published this week, April 25, 2026 is the estimated start date for the long-awaited “crosslake connection.”
But it’s unlikely that will be the exact day trains start crossing the lake.
A spokesperson for the transit agency wrote in an email that April 25 is a "conservative estimate — a date required by the terms of the agency's federal financing."
The opening of the East Link Extension has been pushed back multiple times since 2020 due to construction problems, labor strikes, and testing delays.
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Sound Transit is quickly approaching the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the soccer tournament expected to bring tens of thousands to the Seattle region next summer.
When completed, the 14-mile project will connect light rail in Seattle to tracks in Mercer Island, Bellevue, and Redmond.
Sound Transit estimates that by 2030, about 50,000 people will ride the route daily.
The next step towards starting service is live wire testing, the agency spokesperson said. That involves attaching train cars to overhead wires for power when crossing the I-90 bridge.
Crews are currently fine-tuning the system that protects the bridge from stray electrical current, the spokesperson said.
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"As eager as we are to move to the next phase, it’s important that this work be completed safely and properly," they wrote, "even if that takes a little extra time."
In May, the first test trains were pushed across the I-90 bridge.
There was some good news in the report for people in the South End: The Federal Way extension from Angle Lake is set to open December 13.
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Casey Martin
Reporter
Casey Martin is a general assignment reporter who has covered everything from political protests to electric scooters. He is almost always out in the field where the news happens. Casey has reported on extremism, homelessness, politics, and Seattle’s nightlife.
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