With the opening of the new Northgate light rail station on Oct. 2, people traveling from Snohomish County will have more travel options to and from destinations in Seattle, King County, and beyond. Taking the bus to light rail is easy, with frequent routes serving many areas of Snohomish County.
Community Transit and Sound Transit buses will bring riders right to Northgate Station, making the connection to the 1 Line (Link) light rail fast and easy. With over 48 new bus trips added to the routes serving Northgate Station, riders will enjoy more trip options and efficient transfers.
The 1 Line will serve 19 stops on a north/south route between Northgate Station and Angle Lake station, just south of SeaTac Airport. Along with Northgate, two other stations — Roosevelt and U District — will also open on Oct. 2. Learn more about Northgate Station and the bus connections to take you there by visiting communitytransit.org/northgate.
Whether riders are going to class at the UW, a job or event in downtown Seattle, or SeaTac Airport, a combined bus-light rail trip provides frequent, easy connections that may decrease overall travel time. With light rail’s fast connections, riders can get from Northgate to the University of Washington in 6 minutes, Northgate to Westlake in 14 minutes, and Northgate to SeaTac in 49 minutes — all without the added unpredictability of traffic.
People taking the bus will find their fare takes them farther, too. When paying with an ORCA card, a rider’s bus fare includes their light rail trip within a two-hour window. Riders will still need to tap their ORCA cards at the light rail station.
The 1 Line Northgate extension is the first step in expanded light rail service throughout the region. In 2023, riders will be able to travel directly from Northgate Station to Bellevue and the Microsoft campus. In 2024, light rail will expand north to Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, and Shoreline.
Community Transit is expanding bus service to meet light rail and to continue to provide fast, frequent service throughout Snohomish County. The new Swift Orange line bus rapid transit will launch in 2024 and connect with light rail at Lynnwood City Center Station. Learn more about Community Transit’s Swift Orange line at communitytransit.org/swiftorange2024.
To learn more about the bus routes serving Northgate Station, tips for taking the bus to light rail, and what you need to know before you go (don’t forget your mask!), visit: communitytransit.org/northgate.
— Sponsored by Community Transit
On your website, linked in the article that say 49 minutes, we are told that Northgate to SeaTac is 52 minutes.
This may not be a big difference, but can you explain what are the fastest and slowest times we can expect? Also, how long can we expect to wait for a train to leave Northgate?
Thanks!
Hello! Thank you for your questions. The travel time estimates have changed slightly as we have moved closer to the opening of the new station. The current estimate from Northgate Station to SeaTac is 49 minutes. We have updated our website to reflect this. We don’t anticipate that these estimates will have much variation thanks to the fact that light rail doesn’t have to compete with traffic and congestion in the same way that buses and cars do. You can count on these estimates to be reliable regardless of the time of day you travel.
Light rail trains run every 8 mins. during peak hours (morning and evening rush hour) and every 10 to 15 mins during non-peak hours. Between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. riders should expect to be able to catch a train at least every 10 minutes. You can check Sound Transit’s website for more specific schedule details at soundtransit.org.