Trips to the airport will get quicker for public transit riders in five weeks. Since Sound Transit opened its first light-rail line in summer, riding “light rail from downtown to the airport” has involved a bus ride—a few minutes to the parking lot, a five-minute wait, and a five-minute bus ride—from the terminus of the rail line in Tukwila to Sea-Tac. But that 12-minute trip will shrink on December 19 when Sound Transit opens the final leg of the route—reducing the final part of the trip to two glorious minutes. The entire trip from Westlake Station will take 36 minutes.
The Sea-Tac station is about 1,000 feet from the terminal, connected by a pedestrian bridge though the parking garage. There will be luggage carts, rain protection, cheerful gnomes, and a Manhattan bar, officials promise. It is pure magic.
The final leg of the light-rail journey took longer to open because the Port of Seattle revamped its station plans in 2001, following the 911 attacks, says Sound Transit spokesman Bruce Gray. Sea-Tac officials scaled back plans for a terminal expansion, so Sound Transit couldn’t begin designing the last part of the light-rail line for about two years after the rest of the project was underway.
The light-rail line opens in entirety at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 19. Operating hours run from from 5:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday and from 6:00 a.m. to midnight on Sundays. Here’s the schedule.
Gnomes?! Sha-wing!
So we’re finally getting what we voted for back in 1996? Talk about delayed gratification.
Here’s hoping Metro or ST will add express, point to point busses all day to the light rail line, from places such as the 65th/I 5 park and ride, the Alaska Junction (that’s a quick trip to Beacon Hill station….), from the Tukqila station to Southcenter, and from say the Federay Way transit center to the airport station.
We can expand the usability of the light rail line dramatically, using resources we have.
No, what we voted for back in 1996 was a light rail line going to UW. We’re not getting that until, oh about 2015? Or was it 2016?
Wow we are world changers all rights, taking 1996-2009 thirteen years to built part of the first line, another five or six years to finish part of the first line, that’s about 19years, when other cities built complete multi line systems in 25 years and are now adding the 10th line.
Maybe putting $4 billion into a two mile highway project has something to do with this?
Welcome to the good life, Seattle.
Now, for those of you who actually live on, or near the line: There may be an adjustment period where you’re just going to sound like a dick for suggesting that instead of giving your friend or relative a ride to the airport they take the train, but give in time. Soon, they’ll sound like a dick for asking.
Ever been to Copenhagen? The doors of the train there open directly in the terminal, about ten feet from customs. It takes less than 36 minutes to get from the AIRPLANE to downtown. Sigh.
We of the Front de Liberation des Nains de Jardins are affronted by your sizeist and racist impositions.
Set the gnomes free!
no complaints here. HOORAY!
Yes, hooray! We are one step closer to being an actual city.
oh fnarf, really? it takes 36 minutes to get from one end of seatac to the other. would you like the train to stop at each gate for your convenience? or just arrive at the gates you personally use?
Fnarf … Copenhagen does not have to deal with the TSA or Dept. of Homeland Security
@fnarf.
Lots of major international airports dont have trains right at the terminal and one must get to them. Sure it would have been nice if the Port of Seattle would have been smarter and allowed them to put the train closer but that didn’t happen.
Suck it up and walk the distance (although it would have been nice if they had put in some moving sidewalks)
it would’ve been amazing if they built the seatac Light-Rail stop on the top floor of the parking garage….
I took the train to and from the airport just last week, I LOVE IT. Rode the 18 from Ballard to 1st and Pine walked to Westlake…can’t wait for the last leg to be done. About $5 round trip…no $70 cab ride, no bugging friends for a ride…YES!
“Manhattan” as in bourbon/vermouth with a cherry? I’m going to the airport to get drunk come christmastime! and there’s your next,and my first, SLOG happy hour. make it happen.
@5 I’ve been sounding like a dick for years, telling people to take the damned bus (totally easy despite what Dan says). The people who refused to do that are currently refusing to take Light Rail, and sadly I don’t see adding the last leg to LR is going to change it.
Quicker for who? Not for anyone on the Northside. I’ll keep driving thanks.
“telling people to take the damned bus”
To the airport? Sorry, unless you’re a 20-something backpacker, there’s no way. For business travel, holidays with my kids, you think I’m gonna take a bus to the train and then drag all our bags to Seatac when I can drive from the Northside and be there in 20 minutes?
@10, just take me to the main terminal building, thanks. Link Light rail gets you within a quarter mile, which is a LONG WAYS.
Very cool…definitely need to take a trip to visit. Easy access to downtown via transit always makes for a happier vacation.
@2, don’t worry, Denver’s having to wait until 2014 before we can catch light rail to DIA…ugh.
ha ha ha give it 50 years and it might work as well as the bart or max
seattle pop 598,541 slur in 03 17 miles
portland pop 557,706 max in 86 52 miles
sanfran pop 808,976 bart in 72 104 miles
what is wrong with us we are libral? ecofreaks? no mass transit and duwash still one of the dirtyst places in the world? On top of that we have very high taxes…. for what?
Luggage carts? Real luggage carts, or those buck-a-pop ones they have elsewhere in the airport?
@12, if you don’t think other countries have airport security, you’re wrong.
@13, “other people are stupid, too, so there’s no way we could avoid imitating the stupid ones instead of the smart ones”.
@22, BART didn’t go to the main airport in the Bay Area for decades after it opened. Anybody else remember changing to those CHARMING buses in Daly City? Or, preferably, traveling via Oakland. BART, of course, still doesn’t go anywhere near the biggest city in the Bay Area.
Ha! I’ll still pay 25$ for a cab ride from downtown. Worth the lack of having to transfer and ride on the light(but till go thought traffic) rail.
1,000 feet is a block and a half. That’s basically the distance from a shitty parking spot in that garage, not that bad at all. The bus stop was nearly that far, depending on your terminal.
@17-you got a point, but the bus will always be weird and scary to some people… the train, I mean, there it is, there’s the tracks, here’s where it goes—lookit all the people with luggage already on it! Makes it easier to play hardball.
I still know people that beg for rides to SFO from San Francisco. I don’t get it. Even my mother who’s spent the last 50 years of her life in the suburbs offered to ride BART from the airport.
According to the Trip Planner on the King county site, the 194 bus takes 30min compared to 36min for the light rail. Is that for real? The bus is faster?
The trip from the international district to the airport via the 194 is faster than the trip from the international district to TUKWILLA via light rail by over 10 minutes. I did it on Monday.
You want to get to the airport, you 194 that shit. A wizard spell on everything else.
I love it.
San Francisco has 7 light rail lines, and that doesn’t include the 5 BART lines, which are rapid heavy rail.
We have half a light rail line, and another one (East Link) in planning.
@26, how do you figure? Most Seattle blocks are around 200 feet, so it’s a FIVE block walk, not 1-1/2. Transit planners will tell you that’s too far, it discourages use (similarly, the “Columbia City” stop is too far).
Don’t get me wrong; I’ll ride this train to the airport, even though it’s hugely inconvenient to do so (more than a half hour of horrendous bus just to get to it) — indeed, I already have — but it could have been so much better.
@31 – A city block is “technically” (meaning “only in Chicago” probably) an 1/8 of a mile, or 660 ft. I realize there’s no hard rule for this—looking at you Portland—but I think that’s the consensus.
Oh, but I agree on one point: If you’re gonna spend the money, don’t half-ass it. I’m not sure this is the case here, I don’t know WHY they chose to put the station there, but yeah, it’s an easier sell to riders the more convenient you make it.
It’s going to be great when Santarchy goes to Sea-Tac …
“Not for anyone on the Northside. I’ll keep driving thanks. “
No one cares about the northside. It’s corny.
@27, 28. Yes, the 194 bus flies down I-5. But the light rail is pretty…and will run more frequently.
If only we could get the airport to move closer to downtown we could really cut down on the commute time.
Yes, the 194 is faster *IF* it can fly down I-5. I’ve been on the 194 when it’s been stuck in I-5 (and related) traffic. Not fun. Link will take longer on the average trip, but there will be a lot less liklihood of you getting majorly delayed.
Ha Ha… Chicago has constant rapid train service to BOTH of our airports.
Suck it Seattle!!
I should point out the distance from the Alaska Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines gates is the same for the 194 bus as it is for the light rail, Fnarf.
And, no, neither has an automated pedestrian walkway to get you there.
Hell… About time. the First Transcontinental Railroad, which was Authorized by the Pacific Railroad Acts of 1862 and 1864 took less time to build. It opened for through traffic on May 10, 1869. It took Seattle how long to put rails from downtown to the airport?
@41 – yeah, but we had all these people to clear out with concealed weapons permits this time.
@19 – I’m no 20 year-old (or backpacker), but I’ll admit I don’t travel with kids and neither do my transit-resistant friends.
@26 – as I said, my bus-averse friends won’t ride light rail either. They aren’t swayed by the pretty pretty tracks or views. But interesting that you brought up luggage, because the first thing I noticed the one time I took light rail from the airport is that there is NOWHERE to put luggage. There’s even a riders’ code of conduct sign that says all belongings must be in your lap or under your seat (not enough room for luggage of any size). IMO that’s a bigger FAIL than putting the airport station in the garage.
I’ll be riding the 194 as long as it’s available – very bummed out Metro is pulling the plug on that route eventually.
I bet the 194 is still faster.
@fnarf damnit!
The average human walking speed is 3 miles per hour. Walking 1,000 feet equates to 3 minutes and 47 seconds. The horror…
I’ve skipped visiting cities in favor of other cities just because of the difficulties on getting downtown from their airports. So yeah. this is good. It will attract more young people to visit Seattle.
The 194 is going away in January. So, you all can keep trying to ride it, but it’ll be a long wait.
@47- I take the 194 all the time , between federal way and seattle. If by “going away” you mean “not bothering to stop at the airport” this is good news. But if all they’re leaving fedway commuters with is the 174… Holy goddamn shit. Thanks light rail!
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Also, generally agreed with fnarf. The bus pulls real close to a useful airport entrance. Having gone past the link terminal on the bus, I always thought “god, that looks like an unpleasant hike.”
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