Sound Transit gearing up to rebrand Seattle link light rail lines with new names, numbers and colors

With three new link light rail stations in Seattle set to open in just over a month, and more expansions to open in the upcoming years, Sound Transit is beginning the process of renaming its service lines.

Beginning Sept. 18 with the fall service change, the agency will officially rebrand several existing routes with new names, numbers and colors. Riders can expect to see new signage reflecting the changes.

"Sound Transit service is growing, and to keep up with the growth we have a new and simpler way of naming our train and bus rapid transit lines," wrote the agency on their website. "We want to provide an intuitive system that first-time, low English proficiency, or color vision deficient riders can easily navigate."

The link will become the 1 Line, colored green; the Tacoma Link will become the T Line, colored orange; and Sounder North will become the N Line, and Sounder South will become the S Line, both colored light blue.

When the East Link extension launches in 2023, it will be named the 2 Line and colored bright blue. Future extensions will be the 3 (colored pink) and 4 (colored purple) lines.

"Now riders will have multiple ways to differentiate and remember our service lines: the primary number and letter, and accompanying brand names and colors where applicable," wrote Sound Transit.

The renaming comes ahead of the much-anticipated opening of 4.3 new miles of light rail, connecting Northgate to downtown Seattle in just 14 minutes. New stations will open in the University District, Roosevelt and Northgate neighborhoods on Oct. 2 in what local leaders have called "a milestone in our region's comeback tour."

"You are never going to get stuck in ship canal traffic again," King County Executive and Sound Transit Vice Chair Dow Constantine said when the openings were announced. "It's a continuous 8-mile subway tunnel from here all the way to Chinatown-International District."

Earlier in the month, the Sound Transit Board finalized the realignment of project schedules for ST3 — a voter approved ballot measure that would add 62 new miles of light rail with stations serving additional areas in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties — due to an affordability gap caused by rising real estate and construction costs.

The board voted to accelerate some Seattle projects, including moving the completion date of the 130th Street Station from 2036 to 2025 and both Graham Street and Boeing Access Road from 2036 to 2031. However, other projects were delayed: the Ballard station was delayed until 2039 instead of the voter-approved 2035.