This series, in its present limited current form, will
take the viewer along the line from north to south.
There are thirteen stations on the route. The first four, starting with Westlake, shown here under
downtown, are unique in our country's urban transit systems.
Light rail shares the same underground right of way, and the same
platforms, with the various bus lines which utilize the transit
corridor.The once-called Seattle Bus Tunnel opened in
1990, and marked a major advance in Seattle's transportation scene.
Tracks were in place from the beginning, in anticipation of future
service.
But that was long
before there were any sources of funding for light rail, or
an approved design. It's a
complicated, sad and expensive story, but the tunnel had to be closed entirely
for a couple of years so it could be completely retrofitted to
accommodate Central Link, including removing and replacing all the
rail.
The train in this scene was operating within the first hour of
the line's public opening. Rides were free that Saturday in
2009, as they were also all the next day. |
