Sound Transit Link Light Rail is a rapid transit project in the Greater
Seattle region, originally approved by a ballot measure in November 1996. Two lines are currently operating as of 2009:
Tacoma Link, which uses 3 vehicles built by
Škoda, and
Central Link, which uses 35 vehicles built by
Kinki Sharyo. The
University Link Extension, extending Central Link northward from downtown Seattle to the
University of Washington, began preliminary construction work in late 2008 with service slated to start in 2016. In addition, voters approved a November 2008 ballot measure to extend Link light rail north via
Northgate to
Lynnwood (with planning and property acquisition to support later extension to
Everett), south to Redondo Heights Park & Ride in
Federal Way (with route planning to support later extension to
Tacoma and extensions of Tacoma Link to the east and west), and east via
Mercer Island and
Bellevue to
Microsoft's main campus in
Redmond (with route planning and right-of-way acquisition to support later extension to downtown Redmond).