Sound Transit Opens Pinehurst Light Rail Station as West Seattle Link Convenes October 6 Property Forum

Pinehurst Light Rail Station Welcomes Passengers Along the Rapid 1 Line

SEATTLE, Washington — Delivering a vital transit link to North Seattle communities, Sound Transit officially celebrated passenger operations at the brand-new Pinehurst Station (Northeast 130th Street) in early October 2026. Situated between Northgate and Shoreline South on the 1 Line, the $240 million elevated facility provides fast, traffic-free light rail connectivity, whisking passengers to downtown Seattle in just 18 minutes and to Sea-Tac International Airport in under 55 minutes.

Seattle City Council and municipal planning departments accelerated work on station-area zoning updates, encouraging mid-rise multifamily housing and pedestrian plazas around the station to transform surrounding low-density parcels into a vibrant, transit-oriented neighborhood.

West Seattle Link Extension Holds Informational Property Session on October 6

Continuing extensive public outreach on the region's southern rapid transit expansion, Sound Transit scheduled an in-person informational drop-in session for Tuesday, October 6, 2026, at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center in West Seattle. The meeting provides residential and commercial property owners and tenants with direct guidance on property acquisition timelines, relocation assistance benefits, and environmental mitigation as engineers advance final design for the extension toward a 2035 delivery.

The outreach precedes crucial Sound Transit Board action scheduled for October 22, 2026, where agency leadership will review amended project engineering contracts and construction management agreements.

Rainier Valley Community Advances Graham Street Infill Station Toward 2031 Debut

In Southeast Seattle, community leaders and transit advocates gathered at a neighborhood block party to celebrate full funding authorization for the Graham Street Infill Station on Martin Luther King Jr. Way South. With passenger service targeted for 2031, community task forces are collaborating with city planners to implement equitable transit-oriented development buffers, preventing residential displacement while expanding access to high-capacity rail.

Regional transportation executives reiterated that connecting North Seattle with new stations, advancing West Seattle rail engineering, and prioritizing South Seattle equity strengthens the Puget Sound's multimodal future.