Seattle light rail ridership takes US No. 1 spot

The full opening of Sound Transit’s light rail line 2 on 28 March brought a surge of new passengers to the 58-mile (92.8km) Seattle system, with 155 000 daily boardings recorded in April compared to 122 700 in February. Federal data shows 4.59M passengers travelled on light rail in Seattle during April, for the first time exceeding the patronage of other US light rail systems: Los Angeles carried 4.49M, Boston 3.82M and San Diego 3.62M. Figures for San Francisco and Portland were 3.4M and 1.9M respectively. 

 

Seattle line 2 was completed six years later than originally planned, but has been enthusiastically received by residents of Bellevue in the eastern suburbs, reached by the first light rail line to cross a floating bridge. Line 1 is worked by four-car LRV trains, while line 2 has two-car trains. Operator Sound Transit has an original fleet of 62 Kinkisharyo LRVs and 152 newer Siemens S700 cars, with 10 more on order for 2027. A new fleet is being planned to replace the original LRVs in the 2030s and allow for further expansion.