101-667: The Northgate Link tunnel is a light rail tunnel in Seattle , Washington, United States. The twin-bore Link light rail tunnel, built as part of the Northgate Link extension (formerly known as "North Link"), carries a section of the 1 Line and connects the University District to Northgate . The tunnel begins at University of Washington station (the north end of the University Link tunnel ) and travels northwest across
202-465: A bus-only lane on Northeast 43rd Street, serving a bus bay at the station's south entrance, was delayed to June 2022 due to the discovery of underground utilities during construction and supply chain issues. Sound Transit estimates that there will be 12,000 daily boardings at the station in 2030. U District station is located on the east side of Brooklyn Avenue Northeast between Northeast 43rd and 45th streets. The underground station has two entrances:
303-724: A "light rail" vehicle (it is a heavy rail vehicle), and is only included for comparison purposes. Low-floor LRVs have the advantage of a low-floor design, allowing them to load passengers directly from low-rise platforms that can be little more than raised curbs. High-floor light rail systems also exist, featuring larger stations. Historically, the track gauge has had considerable variations, with narrow gauge common in many early systems. However, most light rail systems are now standard gauge . Older standard-gauge vehicles could not negotiate sharp turns as easily as narrow-gauge ones, but modern light rail systems achieve tighter turning radii by using articulated cars . An important advantage of
404-719: A 12-story office tower above the station site. Construction on the building began in 2023 and is scheduled to be completed in late 2024; five stories will be occupied by the university's administrative offices, while the rest is leased for other clients. Proposals for rapid transit service to the University District date back to the early 20th century. In 1911, Virgil Bogue proposed an extensive rapid transit system, including an underground subway from Downtown Seattle and Eastlake to Latona (the present-day University District), following 10th Avenue Northeast and intersecting an east–west line on Northeast 45th Street. The proposal
505-458: A bus, there will be even more capacity when there is a combination of cars and light rail. Table 3 shows an example of peak passenger capacity. The cost of light rail construction varies widely, largely depending on the amount of tunneling and elevated structures required. A survey of North American light rail projects shows that costs of most LRT systems range from $ 15 million to over $ 100 million per mile. Seattle's new light rail system
606-403: A chaotic breakdown inflow and a dramatic drop in speed (a traffic jam ) if they exceed about 2,000 vehicles per hour per lane (each car roughly two seconds behind another). Since most people who drive to work or on business trips do so alone, studies show that the average car occupancy on many roads carrying commuters is only about 1.5 people per car during the high-demand rush hour periods of
707-1102: A common right-of-way (however, Link converted to full separation in 2019). Some systems, such as the AirTrain JFK in New York City, the DLR in London, and Kelana Jaya Line in Kuala Lumpur , have dispensed with the need for an operator. The Vancouver SkyTrain was an early adopter of driverless vehicles, while the Toronto Scarborough rapid transit operated the same trains as Vancouver, but used drivers. In most discussions and comparisons, these specialized systems are generally not considered light rail but as light metro systems. Around Karlsruhe , Kassel , and Saarbrücken in Germany, dual-voltage light rail trains partly use mainline railroad tracks, sharing these tracks with heavy rail trains. In
808-532: A day on weekdays and Saturdays, from 5:00 am to 1:00 am, and eighteen hours on Sundays, from 6:00 am to 12:00 am; during regular weekday service, trains operate roughly every eight to ten minutes during rush hour and midday operation, respectively, with longer headways of twelve to fifteen minutes in the early morning and at night. During weekends, Link trains arrive at U District station every ten minutes during midday hours and every twelve to fifteen minutes during mornings and evenings. The station
909-461: A fine. The rezone was approved in March 2017, taking effect shortly thereafter, allowing a maximum height of 320 feet (98 m) for residential use and 160 feet (49 m) for offices. As of 2021 , there are 20 high-rise buildings under development in the University District, including several above 20 stories in height. The University of Washington showed interest in developing an office tower over
1010-531: A larger federal contribution. One of the proposed lines, traveling between Downtown Seattle and Lake City , included a station at 15th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 45th Street adjacent to the Burke Museum . The plan was put before voters on two occasions, in February 1968 and May 1970, and failed to gain the needed supermajority to pass. In the 1990s, the formation of a regional transit authority (RTA) spurred
1111-416: A light rail train may have three to four cars of much larger capacity in one train under the control of one driver, or no driver at all in fully automated systems, increasing the labor costs of BRT systems compared to LRT systems. BRT systems are also usually less fuel-efficient as they use non-electrified vehicles. The peak passenger capacity per lane per hour depends on which types of vehicles are allowed on
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#17328528123461212-435: A live rail. In outer areas, the trams switch to conventional overhead wires . The Bordeaux power system costs about three times as much as a conventional overhead wire system and took 24 months to achieve acceptable levels of reliability, requiring the replacement of all the main cables and power supplies. Operating and maintenance costs of the innovative power system still remain high. However, despite numerous service outages,
1313-536: A longer distance. Light rail cars are often coupled into multiple units of two to four cars. Light rail systems may also exhibit attributes of heavy rail systems, including having downtown subways, as in San Francisco and Seattle . Light rail is designed to address a gap in interurban transportation between heavy rail and bus services, carrying high passenger numbers more quickly than local buses and more cheaply than heavy rail. It serves corridors in which heavy rail
1414-570: A lower capacity and speed than a long heavy rail passenger train or rapid transit system. Narrowly defined, light rail transit uses rolling stock that is similar to that of a traditional tram, while operating at a higher capacity and speed, often on an exclusive right-of-way. In broader use, it includes tram-like operations mostly on streets. A few light rail networks have characteristics closer to rapid transit or even commuter rail , yet only when these systems are fully grade-separated are they referred to as light metros . The term light rail
1515-494: A maximum height limit of 340 feet (100 m) along NE 45th Street and 85 feet (26 m) in other parts of the neighborhood. The rezoning proposal ran into opposition from locals who filed an appeal to halt planning, citing a need for affordable housing and open space . A revised plan unveiled in September 2016 by Mayor Ed Murray requires new developments in the neighborhood to include rent-restricted affordable housing or pay
1616-631: A more diverse range of design characteristics than LRT, depending on the demand and constraints that exist, and BRT using dedicated lanes can have a theoretical capacity of over 30,000 passengers per hour per direction (for example, the Guangzhou Bus Rapid Transit system operates up to 350 buses per hour per direction). For the effective operation of a bus or BRT system, buses must have priority at traffic lights and have their dedicated lanes, especially as bus frequencies exceed 30 buses per hour per direction. The higher theoretical of BRT relates to
1717-635: A platform-level installation at the station that covers the west wall with depictions of architectural features. The piece primarily uses hammered aluminum for the fixtures, which includes windows with screens that display videos, fire escapes , and rooflines. The fixtures drew inspiration from buildings in the University District and Brooklyn, New York , as well as the phenomenon of "parasitic architecture" that Lead Pencil Studio researched using LiDAR scans of cities. The 20 windows display 100 total hours of looping videos that include inanimate objects as well as people engaging in daily activities. The station
1818-407: A result, has many of the operating characteristics of a metro system rather than a light rail system. A capacity of 1,350 passengers per train is more similar to the heavy rail than light rail. Bus rapid transit (BRT) is an alternative to LRT and many planning studies undertake a comparison of each mode when considering appropriate investments in transit corridor development. BRT systems can exhibit
1919-443: A set of stairs between the mezzanine and platform due to escalator issues at other stations. Construction of the station was declared substantially complete in February 2021 and street access on Brooklyn Avenue was restored two months later. Light rail service at the station began on October 2, 2021, and was celebrated with a street fair on Brooklyn Avenue along with live performances and food walk on University Way. The opening of
2020-438: A station on the north side, but other boardmembers sided with community and business groups who wanted a site on the south side. The station site was further complicated the following year by Safeco 's decision to expand its headquarters building on the west side of Brooklyn Avenue NE, impacting staging areas that were selected by Sound Transit. Ultimately, Safeco moved its headquarters to a downtown building in 2006, and sold
2121-530: A top speed of 55–71.5 miles per hour (88.51–115.1 km/h) depending on the system, while the trains on the all-underground Montreal Metro can only reach a top speed of 72 kilometres per hour (44.74 mph). LACMTA light rail vehicles have higher top and average speeds than Montreal Metro or New York City Subway trains. Many light rail systems—even fairly old ones—have a combination of both on- and off-road sections. In some countries (especially in Europe), only
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#17328528123462222-474: A tramway, a light metro, and, in a narrow sense, rapid transit. This is especially common in the United States, where there is not a popularly perceived distinction between these different types of urban rail systems. The development of technology for low-floor and catenary-free trams facilitates the construction of such mixed systems with only short and shallow underground sections below critical intersections as
2323-533: A tunnel under Portage Bay towards Downtown Seattle and Rainier Valley , ending at the Seattle–Tacoma International Airport . Cost over-runs and withheld funding from the federal government led Sound Transit to truncate its initial light rail line to Downtown in 2001, with the segment north to the University District to be built at a later date. In 2004, Sound Transit selected a route for tunneled light rail extensions through Capitol Hill and
2424-561: Is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology while also having some features from heavy rapid transit . The term was coined in 1972 in the United States as an English equivalent for the German word Stadtbahn , meaning "city railway". Different definitions exist in some countries, but in the United States, light rail operates primarily along exclusive rights-of-way and uses either individual tramcars or multiple units coupled together, with
2525-462: Is a generic international English phrase for types of rail systems using modern streetcars/trams, which means more or less the same thing throughout the English-speaking world . Light rail systems can range from trams runnig in streets along with other traffic, to semi-metro systems having portions of grade separated track. People movers are even "lighter", in terms of capacity. Monorail
2626-565: Is a separate technology that has been more successful in specialized services than in a commuter transit role. The use of the generic term light rail avoids some serious incompatibilities between British and American English . The word tram , for instance, is generally used in the UK and many former British colonies to refer to what is known in North America as a streetcar , but in North America tram can instead refer to an aerial tramway , or, in
2727-602: Is a significant amount of overlap between the technologies; similar rolling stock may be used for either, and it is common to classify streetcars or trams as a subcategory of light rail rather than as a distinct type of transportation. However, some distinctions can be made, though systems may combine elements of both. Low-floor light rail lines tend to follow a reserved right-of-way and with trains receiving priority at intersections, and tend not to operate in mixed traffic, enabling higher operating speeds. Light rail lines tend to have less frequent stops than tramways, and operate over
2828-736: Is approximately 22 minutes from Lynnwood City Center station, 8 minutes from Westlake station in Downtown Seattle, and 44 minutes from SeaTac/Airport station . U District station is also served by several King County Metro and Sound Transit Express buses that provide onward connections to surrounding neighborhoods and regional destinations. The station has five bus bays, primarily on Northeast 45th Street and University Way, and an additional stop on 15th Avenue Northeast for regional routes. King County Metro operates 13 routes from U District station with connections to Ballard , Fremont , Green Lake , Roosevelt, Lake City , Sand Point , Montlake ,
2929-560: Is by far the most expensive in the US, at $ 179 million per mile, since it includes extensive tunneling in poor soil conditions, elevated sections, and stations as deep as 180 feet (55 m) below ground level. This results in costs more typical of subways or rapid transit systems than light rail. At the other end of the scale, four systems (Baltimore, Maryland; Camden, New Jersey; Sacramento, California; and Salt Lake City, Utah) incurred construction costs of less than $ 20 million per mile. Over
3030-472: Is dug southbound, starting from the Maple Leaf Portal, in three segments separated by stations, using a 21.5-foot (6.6 m) diameter tunnel boring machine . The machine digging the tunnel for northbound trains was named "Brenda" and the sister machine for the southbound trains was named "Pamela", but the names were dropped in March 2016 to reduce associations with the troubled " Bertha " machine used on
3131-426: Is especially important for wheelchair access, as narrower gauges (e.g. metre gauge) can make it challenging or impossible to pass the tram's wheels. Furthermore, standard-gauge rolling stock can be switched between networks either temporarily or permanently, and both newly built and used standard-gauge rolling stock tends to be cheaper to buy, as more companies offer such vehicles. Overhead lines supply electricity to
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3232-498: Is expensive. Similarly, the most expensive US highway expansion project was the " Big Dig " in Boston, Massachusetts, which cost $ 200 million per lane mile for a total cost of $ 14.6 billion. A light rail track can carry up to 20,000 people per hour as compared with 2,000–2,200 vehicles per hour for one freeway lane. For example, in Boston and San Francisco, light rail lines carry 9,600 and 13,100 passengers per hour, respectively, in
3333-575: Is hard to distinguish between what is called light rail, and other forms of urban and commuter rail. A system described as a light rail in one city may be considered to be a streetcar or tram system in another. Conversely, some lines that are called "light rail" are very similar to rapid transit ; in recent years, new terms such as light metro have been used to describe these medium-capacity systems. Some "light rail" systems, such as Sprinter , bear little similarity to urban rail, and could alternatively be classified as commuter rail or even inter-city rail. In
3434-549: Is impractical. Light metro systems are essentially hybrids of light rail and rapid transit. Metro trains are larger and faster than light rail trains, with stops being further apart. Many systems have mixed characteristics. Indeed, with proper engineering, a rail line could run along a street, then go underground, and then run along an elevated viaduct. For example, the Los Angeles Metro Rail 's A Line "light rail" has sections that could alternatively be described as
3535-472: Is located under the east side of Brooklyn Avenue Northeast between Northeast 43rd and 45th streets, at the heart of the University District urban village in northern Seattle . It is near the area's main commercial corridor, The Ave , which runs a block east on University Way Northeast. To the west of the station is UW Tower , a high-rise office building used by the University of Washington (UW); adjacent to
3636-410: Is one of the densest concentrations of housing and jobs in the region, with nearly 15,000 jobs and over 21,000 residents counted in 2013. The station is designed to support up to 240 feet (73 m) of transit-oriented development on top of the entrances and station box. The city of Seattle began developing a comprehensive rezoning of the neighborhood to allow for taller buildings in 2013, proposing
3737-480: Is one of the highest capacity ones, having been upgraded in a series of expansions to handle 40,000 passengers per hour per direction, and having carried as many as 582,989 passengers in a single day on its Line 1 . It achieves this volume by running four-car trains with a capacity of up to 1,350 passengers each at a frequency of up to 30 trains per hour. However, the Manila light rail system has full grade separation and as
3838-608: Is served by the 1 Line, which runs between Lynnwood , the University of Washington campus, Downtown Seattle , the Rainier Valley , and Seattle–Tacoma International Airport . U District station is the sixth southbound station from Lynnwood City Center and sixteenth northbound station from Angle Lake , the line's northern and southern termini, respectively. It is situated between Roosevelt and University of Washington stations. 1 Line trains serve U District station twenty hours
3939-636: The Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement tunnel project. Brenda was previously used on the University Link Tunnel from 2011 to 2012, digging both tunnels between Capitol Hill station and the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel . TBM #1 (formerly Brenda) began excavation of the northbound tunnel on July 9, 2014, and reached Roosevelt station on March 17, 2015. It later reached the U District station on November 6, 2015, and completed
4040-535: The Cádiz TramBahia , where trams share track with commuter and long-distance trains from the main terminus in the city and curve off to serve cities without a railway connection. Some of the issues involved in such schemes are: There is a history of what would now be considered light rail vehicles operating on heavy rail rapid transit tracks in the US, especially in the case of interurban streetcars . Notable examples are Lehigh Valley Transit trains running on
4141-735: The London Underground and the New York City Subway . Conventional rail technologies including high-speed , freight, commuter , and rapid transit urban transit systems are considered "heavy rail". The main difference between light rail and heavy rail rapid transit is the ability for a light rail vehicle to operate in mixed traffic if the routing requires it. The world's first electric tram operated in Sestroretsk near Saint Petersburg , Russia , invented and operated on an experimental basis by Fyodor Pirotsky in 1880. The first tramway
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4242-624: The Netherlands , this concept was first applied on the RijnGouweLijn . This allows commuters to ride directly into the city center, rather than taking a mainline train only as far as a central station and then having to change to a tram. In France, similar tram-trains are planned for Paris, Mulhouse , and Strasbourg ; further projects exist. In some cases, tram trains use previously abandoned or lightly used heavy rail lines in addition to or instead of still in use mainline tracks. In 2022, Spain opened
4343-831: The O-Train Trillium Line in Ottawa, Ontario , Canada, the River Line in New Jersey , United States, and the Sprinter in California , United States, which use diesel multiple unit (DMU) cars. Light rail is different from the British English term light railway , long-used to distinguish railway operations carried out under a less rigorous set of regulations using lighter equipment at lower speeds from mainline railways. Light rail
4444-673: The Philadelphia and Western Railroad high-speed third rail line (now the Norristown High-Speed Line ). Such arrangements are almost impossible now, due to the Federal Railroad Administration refusing (for crash safety reasons) to allow non-FRA compliant railcars (i.e., subway and light rail vehicles) to run on the same tracks at the same times as compliant railcars, which includes locomotives and standard railroad passenger and freight equipment. Notable exceptions in
4545-466: The University Street station in Downtown Seattle, to avoid confusion with the stations at U District and University of Washington. University Street station is planned to be renamed to Union Street/Symphony station in 2024 as part of preparations for the opening of the 2 Line. The contract for tunneling and station construction on the project, since renamed the " Northgate Link extension ",
4646-604: The University of Washington campus . It serves intermediate stations at U District and Roosevelt before emerging on the east side of Interstate 5 at a portal in Maple Leaf . Light rail trains then continue on an elevated guideway to Northgate station , where the extension ends. The extension was approved in 2008 by voters in the Sound Transit 2 (ST2) package, began construction in 2012, and entered service on October 2, 2021. The extension cost $ 1.9 billion to construct. For
4747-399: The University of Washington station . It occupies 105,000 square feet (9,800 m ) and spans five floors, of which four are underground. Public art is integrated into the station's design as part of the "STart" program, which allocates a percentage of project construction funds to art projects to be used in stations. Lead Pencil Studio was commissioned to create Fragment Brooklyn ,
4848-530: The medians of roads . If run in streets , trains are usually limited by city block lengths to about four 180-passenger vehicles (720 passengers). Operating on two-minute headways using traffic signal progression, a well-designed two-track system can handle up to 30 trains per hour per track, achieving peak rates of over 20,000 passengers per hour in each direction. More advanced systems with separate rights-of-way using moving block signaling can exceed 25,000 passengers per hour per track. Most light rail systems in
4949-421: The mezzanine level. The south entrance also has 52 bicycle storage spaces in a covered cage with a bicycle pump , while the north entrance has bicycle racks and lockers. The mezzanine leads to two sets of escalators and stairs that travel down to the lone island platform , located 85 feet (26 m) below the surface. The station was designed by LMN Architects , a Seattle-based firm that also designed
5050-619: The 1970s was proven to have been a technical failure by the following decade. After World War II, the Germans retained many of their streetcar networks and evolved them into model light rail systems ( Stadtbahnen ). With the exception of Hamburg , all large and most medium-sized German cities maintain light rail networks. The concept of a "limited tramway" was proposed by American transport planner H. Dean Quinby in 1962. Quinby distinguished this new concept in rail transportation from historic streetcar or tram systems as: The term light rail transit
5151-483: The 4.3-mile (6.9 km) Northgate Link extension project, the paired tunnels constructed for University Link continue north to the University District and the Roosevelt neighborhoods before emerging at the surface along I-5 near NE 94th Street to serve the elevated Northgate station. The tunneled portion is 3.5 miles (5.6 km) long, while the elevated section is 0.8 miles (1.3 km). An extension north to Lynnwood
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#17328528123465252-566: The Brooklyn building to the University of Washington, and the staging areas remained available. During the planning process, the station was referred to as "Brooklyn", after the street and historic name of the neighborhood. Sound Transit adopted the name "U District" in 2012, after input from public surveys; the abbreviation of "University" was done to avoid re-using the name alongside the University of Washington station at Husky Stadium. The agency also received public comments recommending renaming of
5353-491: The French city of Bordeaux , the tramway network is powered by a third rail in the city center, where the tracks are not always segregated from pedestrians and cars. The third rail (actually two closely spaced rails) is placed in the middle of the track and divided into eight-metre sections, each of which is powered only while it is completely covered by a tram. This minimizes the risk of a person or animal coming into contact with
5454-642: The US are the NJ Transit River Line from Camden to Trenton and Austin's Capital MetroRail , which have received exemptions to the provision that light rail operations occur only during daytime hours and Conrail freight service only at night, with several hours separating one operation from the other. The O-Train Trillium Line in Ottawa also has freight service at certain hours. With its mix of right-of-way types and train control technologies, LRT offers
5555-455: The US as a whole, excluding Seattle, new light rail construction costs average about $ 35 million per mile. By comparison, a freeway lane expansion typically costs $ 1.0 million to $ 8.5 million per lane mile for two directions, with an average of $ 2.3 million. However, freeways are frequently built in suburbs or rural areas, whereas light rail tends to be concentrated in urban areas, where right of way and property acquisition
5656-634: The United States and in North America . In Britain, modern light rail systems began to appear in the 1980s, starting with the Tyne and Wear Metro from 1980 and followed by the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) in London in 1987, continuing into the 1990s including the establishment of the Manchester Metrolink in 1992 and the Sheffield Supertram from 1994. Due to varying definitions, it
5757-583: The United States are limited by demand rather than capacity (by and large, most American LRT systems carry fewer than 4,000 persons per hour per direction), but Boston's and San Francisco's light rail lines carry 9,600 and 13,100 passengers per hour per track during rush hour. Elsewhere in North America, the Calgary C-Train and Monterrey Metro have higher light rail ridership than Boston or San Francisco. Systems outside North America often have much higher passenger volumes. The Manila Light Rail Transit System
5858-472: The United States, "light rail" has become a catch-all term to describe a wide variety of passenger rail systems. Light rail corridors may constitute a fully segregated corridor, a dedicated right-of-way on a street, an on-street corridor shared with other traffic, a corridor shared with other public transport, or a corridor shared with pedestrians. The most difficult distinction to draw is that between low-floor light rail and streetcar or tram systems. There
5959-487: The University District and towards Northgate , using the Montlake Cut and including a station in the vicinity of Brooklyn Avenue NE and NE 45th Street. Only the southernmost segment of the revised route, from Downtown to Husky Stadium on the south side of the university campus, was funded initially as the " University Link Extension ". The northern segment to Northgate was split into a separate project, "North Link", and
6060-401: The University District as its northern terminus; an extension north to Northgate via Roosevelt was deferred until additional funding could be secured. The RTA, re-branded as Sound Transit , selected a preferred route for the light rail line in 1999. The northern terminus was to be located on the east side of 15th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 45th Street, and the line would travel south via
6161-415: The ability of buses to travel closer to each other than rail vehicles and their ability to overtake each other at designated locations allowing express services to bypass those that have stopped at stations. However, to achieve capacities this high, BRT station footprints need to be significantly larger than a typical LRT station. In terms of cost of operation, each bus vehicle requires a single driver, whereas
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#17328528123466262-862: The case of the Disney amusement parks , even a land train . (The usual British term for an aerial tramway is cable car , which in the US usually refers to a ground-level car pulled along by subterranean cables .) The word trolley is often used as a synonym for streetcar in the United States but is usually taken to mean a cart, particularly a shopping cart, in the UK and elsewhere. Many North American transportation planners reserve streetcar for traditional vehicles that operate exclusively in mixed traffic on city streets, while they use light rail to refer to more modern vehicles operating mostly in exclusive rights of way, since they may operate both side-by-side targeted at different passenger groups. The difference between British English and American English terminology arose in
6363-421: The closure of Glasgow Corporation Tramways (one of the largest in Europe) in 1962. Although some traditional trolley or tram systems continued to exist in San Francisco and elsewhere, the term "light rail" has come to mean a different type of rail system as modern light rail technology has primarily post-WWII West German origins. An attempt by Boeing Vertol to introduce a new American light rail vehicle in
6464-415: The day. This combination of factors limits roads carrying only automobile commuters to a maximum observed capacity of about 3,000 passengers per hour per lane. The problem can be mitigated by introducing high-occupancy vehicle ( HOV ) lanes and ride-sharing programs, but in most cases, policymakers have chosen to add more lanes to the roads, despite a small risk that in unfavorable situations an extension of
6565-750: The direct translation, which is city rail (the Norwegian term, by bane , means the same). However, UMTA finally adopted the term light rail instead. Light in this context is used in the sense of "intended for light loads and fast movement", rather than referring to physical weight. The infrastructure investment is also usually lighter than would be found for a heavy rail system. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA), in its Glossary of Transit Terminology, defines light rail as: ...a mode of transit service (also called streetcar, tramway, or trolley) operating passenger rail cars singly (or in short, usually two-car or three-car, trains) on fixed rails in
6666-447: The entire northbound tunnel to University of Washington station on March 30, 2016, less than two weeks after light rail service to that station from Downtown Seattle had begun. TBM #1 was disassembled and removed from the University of Washington station. Due to damage sustained by TBM #2, TBM #1 was refurbished and excavated the last (southbound) tunnel segment between June and September 2016. TBM #2 (formerly Pamela) began excavation of
6767-419: The final (southbound) tunnel segment would have potentially delayed the project's opening if the five months of float time were exceeded, leading JCM Northlink to finish the final segment with TBM #1. The tunnel has 23 cross-passages between the bores that contain emergency exits, which were excavated using ground freezing . Light rail Light rail (or light rail transit , abbreviated to LRT )
6868-453: The late 19th century when Americans adopted the term "street railway", rather than "tramway", with the vehicles being called "streetcars" rather than "trams". Some have suggested that the Americans' preference for the term "street railway" at that time was influenced by German emigrants to the United States (who were more numerous than British immigrants in the industrialized Northeast), as it is
6969-524: The latter is described as light rail. In those places, trams running on mixed rights-of-way are not regarded as a light rail but considered distinctly as streetcars or trams. However, the requirement for saying that a rail line is "separated" can be quite low—sometimes just with concrete "buttons" to discourage automobile drivers from getting onto the tracks. Some systems such as Seattle's Link had on-road mixed sections but were closed to regular road traffic, with light rail vehicles and buses both operating along
7070-455: The light rail concept was the "Shaker Heights Rapid Transit" which started in the 1920s, was renovated in 1980-81 and is now part of RTA Rapid Transit . Many original tram and streetcar systems in the United Kingdom , United States , and elsewhere were decommissioned starting in the 1950s as subsidies for the car increased. Britain abandoned its tram systems, except for Blackpool , with
7171-480: The north entrance (Exit A) near 45th and adjacent to the Neptune Theatre ; and the south entrance (Exit B) at the intersection of Brooklyn and 43rd. The entrances are identified from street level by two accent colors (orange for the north, teal for the south) and large graphics with the station name. Both entrances have ticket vending machines , elevators to the platforms, and both stairs and escalators leading to
7272-465: The old and new systems. Since the 1980s, Portland, Oregon , has built all three types of system: a high-capacity light rail system in dedicated lanes and rights-of-way, a low-capacity streetcar system integrated with street traffic, and an aerial tram system . The opposite phrase heavy rail , used for higher-capacity, higher-speed systems, also avoids some incompatibilities in terminology between British and American English, for instance in comparing
7373-441: The peak direction during rush hour. U District station U District station is a light rail station on the 1 Line of Sound Transit 's Link light rail system in Seattle , Washington, United States. It is located in the University District neighborhood, near the University of Washington campus . The underground station has two entrances along Brooklyn Avenue Northeast at 43rd and 45th streets. Construction of
7474-467: The planning of a modern light rail system for Seattle. In 1995, the transit authority proposed a regional light rail system to be built by 2010, including an at-grade or underground light rail line through the University District with a station near The Ave . The RTA proposal was rejected by voters in March 1995, citing its $ 6.7 billion price. A smaller, $ 3.9 billion plan was approved in November 1996, with
7575-564: The remaining tunnels to University of Washington station in March 2016 and September 2016. In March 2017, the Sound Transit Board awarded a $ 159.8 million contract to Hoffman Construction to build U District station, including structural and architectural finishes. Station construction began in August 2017 and was scheduled to last until 2020. A design change approved in October 2018 added
7676-540: The required clearance height can be reduced significantly compared to conventional light rail vehicles. Reference speed from major light rail systems, including station stop time, is shown below. However, low top speed is not always a differentiating characteristic between light rail and other systems. For example, the Siemens S70 LRVs used in the Houston METRORail and other North American LRT systems have
7777-432: The right-of-way that is often separated from other traffic for part or much of the way. Light rail vehicles are typically driven electrically with power being drawn from an overhead electric line via a trolley [pole] or a pantograph ; driven by an operator onboard the vehicle; and may have either high platform loading or low-level boarding using steps." However, some diesel-powered transit is designated light rail, such as
7878-415: The road network might lead to increased travel times ( Downs–Thomson paradox , Braess's paradox ). By contrast, light rail vehicles can travel in multi-car trains carrying a theoretical ridership up to 20,000 passengers per hour in much narrower rights-of-way , not much more than two car lanes wide for a double track system. They can often be run through existing city streets and parks , or placed in
7979-401: The roads. Typically roadways have 1,900 passenger cars per lane per hour (pcplph). If only cars are allowed, the capacity will be less and will not increase when the traffic volume increases. When there is a bus driving on this route, the capacity of the lane will be higher and will increase when the traffic level increases. And because the capacity of a light rail system is higher than that of
8080-613: The same as the German term for the mode, Straßenbahn (meaning "street railway"). A further difference arose because, while Britain abandoned all of its trams after World War II except in Blackpool , eight major North American cities ( Toronto , Boston , Philadelphia , San Francisco , Pittsburgh , Newark , Cleveland , and New Orleans ) continued to operate large streetcar systems. When these cities upgraded to new technology, they called it light rail to differentiate it from their existing streetcars since some continued to operate both
8181-443: The southbound tunnel on November 20, 2014, and reached Roosevelt station on July 13, 2015. For six weeks from late December 2015 to early February 2016, the machine was stopped at a point 650 feet (200 m) north of U District station after encountering hard soil that damaged five motors and the main gear of the machine. Repairs were made and the segment was completed on March 24, 2016. Additional repairs to TBM #2 needed to complete
8282-408: The standard gauge is that standard railway maintenance equipment can be used on it, rather than custom-built machinery. Using standard gauges also allows light rail vehicles to be conveniently moved around using the same tracks as freight railways. Additionally, wider gauges (e.g. standard gauge) provide more floor clearance on low-floor trams that have constricted pedestrian areas at the wheels, which
8383-496: The station began in 2012 as part of the Northgate Link extension , which was approved by voters in a 2008 ballot measure. It opened on October 2, 2021, along with the rest of the extension. Light rail trains arrive at the station at frequencies of up to eight minutes during peak periods and 10–15 minutes at other times. U District station also includes five bus bays served by several King County Metro and Sound Transit Express routes that connect to nearby areas. U District station
8484-474: The station box was completed from April to August 2014, leading to the start of excavation the following month. By the completion of excavation the following summer, over 135,000 cubic yards (103,000 m ) of dirt was removed from the site to reach a depth of 95 feet (29 m). Concrete pouring of the station box began in July 2015, to prepare for the arrival of two tunnel boring machines (TBMs). The first of
8585-517: The station box, whose development rights were acquired by the university in 2013. Neighborhood residents and activists, including former UW professor Phil Thiel, instead proposed a public plaza on top of the station, citing the dimensions being similar to those of central squares in European cities. The university approved a 50-year lease with the Lincoln Property Company in 2020 to develop
8686-402: The station's north entrance is the historic Neptune Theatre . To the east is the university campus as well as the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture on 15th Avenue Northeast. The area surrounding U District station is a walkable neighborhood primarily consisting of commercial space and multi-family residential housing. Within a 1 ⁄ 2 mile (0.80 km) of the station
8787-551: The system was a success with the public, gaining up to 190,000 passengers per day. Automatic train operation is employed on light rail networks, tracking the position and speed of a train and hence adjusting its movement for safety and efficiency. One line of light rail (requires 7.6 m, 25' right of way) has a theoretical capacity of up to 8 times more than one 3.7 m (12 foot) lane on a freeway, excluding busses, during peak times. Roads have ultimate capacity limits that can be determined by traffic engineering , and usually experience
8888-627: The trains. Construction on the Northgate Link extension began in 2012 and opened for service on October 2, 2021. Train testing began in January 2021. The project had a $ 1.9 billion budget and ultimately cost $ 50 million less than budgeted. A direct loan of $ 615.3 million was authorized by the Federal Transit Administration in 2016 and is planned to be repaid by Sound Transit through 2056. Each 3.4-mile (5.5 km) tunnel
8989-499: The trams, making it safe on city streets. Several systems in Europe and a few recently opened systems in North America use diesel -powered trains. When electric streetcars were introduced in the late 19th century, conduit current collection was one of the first ways of supplying power, but it proved to be much more expensive, complicated, and trouble-prone than overhead wires . When electric street railways became ubiquitous, conduit power
9090-450: The two TBMs to arrive at U District station was "Brenda" on November 6, 2015, completing the northbound tunnel from Northgate via Roosevelt station . The second TBM, "Pamela", arrived later than expected on March 25, 2016, after stopping 650 feet (200 m) north of the station because of damage to the cutterhead and other parts that forced reduced speed to complete the southbound tunnel. "Brenda", since renamed "TBM #1", finished both of
9191-455: The vast majority of light rail systems. This avoids the danger potentially presented by an electrified third rail . The Docklands Light Railway uses an inverted third rail for its electrical power, which allows the electrified rail to be covered and the power drawn from the underside. Trams in Bordeaux , France, use a special third-rail configuration where the power is only switched on beneath
9292-434: The widest range of latitude of any rail system in the design, engineering, and operating practices. The challenge in designing light rail systems is to realize the potential of LRT to provide fast, comfortable service while avoiding the tendency to overdesign that results in excessive capital costs beyond what is necessary to meet the public's needs. The BART railcar in the following chart is not generally considered to be
9393-565: Was approved as part of the Sound Transit 2 ballot measure in 2008, along with funding to continue planning future service all the way to Everett. The Lynnwood Link extension was opened in August 2024. The section that passes approximately 140 feet (43 m) under the University of Washington campus has a capped speed of 35 miles per hour (56 km/h) to prevent interference with sensitive equipment used for university research. The tunnel also uses 7,500 feet (2,300 m) of rubber supports for "floating slabs" that cushion and absorb energy from
9494-472: Was approved by the Sound Transit Board in June 2012, setting a $ 2.1 billion budget and expected completion date of 2021. The 15th Avenue Northeast site for the University District's station was rejected in favor of an option on Brooklyn Avenue. The placement of the Brooklyn station, either on the north or south side of NE 45th Street, was debated by the Sound Transit Board in 2004. Seattle mayor Greg Nickels favored
9595-455: Was awarded by Sound Transit to JCM Northlink LLC (a joint venture of Jay Dee, Coluccio, and Michels) for $ 462 million in 2013. In May 2013, demolition of an existing Chase Bank branch and a university-owned property began at the future site of the station. In December, a segment of Brooklyn Avenue NE was closed through the work zone as part of final preparations for the station site. Construction of shoring walls and drilling of pilings in
9696-455: Was coined in 1972 by the U.S. Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA; the precursor to the Federal Transit Administration ) to describe new streetcar transformations that were taking place in Europe and the United States. In Germany, the term Stadtbahn (to be distinguished from S-Bahn , which stands for Stadtschnellbahn ) was used to describe the concept, and many in UMTA wanted to adopt
9797-447: Was included on the 2007 Roads and Transit ballot measure, which was put before voters in November 2007. The combined $ 18 billion proposal was rejected, with environmentalist groups disavowing it over the roadworks portion that sought to expand regional freeways. A second, transit-only measure known as "Sound Transit 2" was approved by voters in November 2008, securing funding for a light rail extension to Northgate. The North Link project
9898-662: Was introduced in North America in 1972 to describe this new concept of rail transportation. Prior to that time the abbreviation "LRT" was used for " Light Rapid Transit " and " Light Rail Rapid Transit ". The first of the new light rail systems in North America began operation in 1978 when the Canadian city of Edmonton, Alberta , adopted the German Siemens-Duewag U2 system, followed three years later by Calgary, Alberta , and San Diego, California . The concept proved popular, with there now being numerous light rail systems in
9999-428: Was rejected by voters the following year. Another proposal in 1920 included a "rapid transit on surface" for Eastlake Avenue, terminating at 14th Avenue NE in the University District; the proposal's recommendation of a subway system was not acted upon by city leaders at the time. The Forward Thrust plan of the late 1960s proposed building a four-line rapid transit network using $ 385 million in local funding to augment
10100-610: Was the Gross-Lichterfelde tramway in Lichterfelde near Berlin in Germany, which opened in 1881. It was built by Werner von Siemens who contacted Pirotsky. It initially drew current from the rails, with overhead wire being installed in 1883. The first interurban to emerge in the United States was the Newark and Granville Street Railway in Ohio, which opened in 1889. An early example of
10201-517: Was used in those cities that did not permit overhead wires. In Europe, it was used in London, Paris, Berlin, Marseille, Budapest, and Prague. In the United States, it was used in parts of New York City and Washington, D.C. Third rail technology was investigated for use on the Gold Coast of Australia for the G:link light rail, though power from overhead lines was ultimately utilized for that system. In
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