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- Link is a light rail system serving the Seattle metropolitan area and operated by Sound Transit. The network consists of 25 stations on two unconnected lines: nineteen on Line 1 and six on Line T in Tacoma. Link stations are located within four cities in King and Pierce counties: fourteen in Seattle, five in Tacoma, two in SeaTac and one in Tukwila. The two lines had a combined average weekday ridership of 82,783 and total ridership of 26 million in 2019, placing it seventh among the busiest light rail systems in the United States. The busiest station by daily ridership is Westlake station in Seattle, while the least busy is Convention Center/South 15th Street station in Tacoma. The first Link segment began service on August 23, 2003, with the opening of five stations on the 1.6-mile-long (2.6 km) Tacoma Link (now Line T). The initial, 14-mile-long (23 km) segment of Central Link (now Line 1) with 12 stations was opened from Seattle to Tukwila on July 18, 2009, and was later extended 1.7 miles (2.7 km) to the Seattle–Tacoma International Airport on December 19, 2009. The first infill station of the Link system was Commerce Street/South 11th Street station on Line T, which opened on September 15, 2011. Line 1 was extended north 3.15 miles (5.07 km) to the University of Washington on March 19, 2016, and 1.6 miles (2.6 km) south to Angle Lake station on September 24, 2016. A northern extension to Northgate station with three stations opened on October 2, 2021. As of 2022, Sound Transit is building five extensions of the Link network that will open between 2024 and 2025 with 25 stations: the Hilltop Extension of Line T, opening in 2023 with six stations; Line 2 with ten stations from Seattle to Bellevue and Redmond on the Eastside, scheduled to open in 2024; the Lynnwood extension of Lines 1 and 2, with four stations opening in 2024; the Federal Way extension of Line 1, scheduled to open in 2025 with three stations; and the Downtown Redmond extension of Line 2, with two stations opening in 2025. These extensions would add an additional 30 miles (48 km) to the light rail network, carrying an estimated 280,000 daily riders by 2030. Further expansions approved by Sound Transit 3 in 2016 are planned to expand the light rail network by 58 miles (93 km) and 39 stations to a total of 108 miles (174 km) of track and 70 to 75 stations by 2044, carrying 500,000 daily passengers. The light rail network will include lines to Ballard and West Seattle in Seattle in 2039 and 2032, respectively; Kirkland and Issaquah on the Eastside in 2044; and extensions to Everett and Tacoma in 2041 and 2032, respectively. Three infill stations in Seattle and Tukwila will also be built as part of the Sound Transit 3 program. All Line 1 light rail stations are built with 380-to-400-foot-long (120 to 120 m), 14-inch-high (0.36 m) platforms, arranged in the center or sides of the two tracks, with capacity to handle a four-car train with 95-foot-long (29 m) vehicles; Line T stations are built with 90-foot-long (27 m), 8-inch-high (0.20 m) platforms that can accommodate a one-car train measuring 66 feet (20 m) in length. The majority of stations are built at-grade on the surface, with the platform elevated slightly above street level; there are also elevated stations and underground stations that include mezzanines (with the exception of Mount Baker station) with access the platform from the surface as well as ticket vending machines and bicycle facilities. Only three current stations, Angle Lake, Tacoma Dome Station and Tukwila International Boulevard, have public park and rides; planned stations on the suburban extensions of Link will incorporate new or existing park and rides. All stations include works of public art as part of the "STart" program, which requires one percent of station construction funds go to art installations. The stations are named in accordance to facility naming guidelines that include using surrounding neighborhoods and street names, avoiding words used by existing facility names, and being limited to 30 characters in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Stations are also required by state law to be identified by simple pictograms, known as "Stellar Connections", that are used in station signage, maps and other printed materials as a wayfinding aid; the icons are composed of points that correspond with local landmarks near Link stations, while also forming a picture that represents the station's identity. (en)
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