SoundTransit Central Link

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The Central Link is one of the two operational Link Light Rail routes in the Puget Sound Region, Washington (hence the name SoundTransit, make sure you check the website out, one very interesting thing I find about the Central Link is that each station has their own unique logo). It is operated by King County Metro and runs between downtown Seattle from Westlake Station in the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel and the Seattle Tacoma International Airport. The Central Link was opened in full in December 2009 and it only took about half an hour for the entire trip to Sea-Tac with a top operating speed of 55 mph. Its route traverses through downtown, SODO, Beacon Hill, Rainier Valley, and Tukwila. The equipment currently being used on the Central Link is low-floor LRVs manufactured by Kinkisharyo-Mitsui from Japan with a top speed of 65 mph. Trains run in two-car sets and are planned to expand up to four cars in the coming years.

Link LRT in the Transit Tunnel at Westlake Station

LRV at Othello Station
This post concludes my train adventures in the US for 2011. Hope you’ve at least somewhat enjoyed these brief reports. Oh, and this is the 100th post on Train of the Week!

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