Seattle’s light rail tunnel reopen between Westlake, SoDo stations

Update 2/15 8:17 a.m.:

Shuttle buses replaced Sound Transit’s Link light rail 1 Line on Tuesday while the Chinatown-International District, Pioneer Square and University Street stations were closed on Tuesday due to a problem with a ventilation system.

Service has since resumed.

“The problem that we continue to troubleshoot is that there appears to be an electrical supply issue preventing the fan system from ramping up to the speed required to do its job. Without this system functioning properly, we cannot safely operate trains in the tunnel,” Sound Transit CEO Julie Timm said in the company’s blog, The Platform.

The disruption was expected to continue into Wednesday, but the problem was resolved overnight at around 1 a.m., and all trains are now running, as usual, Wednesday morning.

“We deeply regret that passengers traveling to or through downtown Seattle on Link light rail faced significant delays and inconveniences from this emergency shutdown,” Timm said.

Original:

Seattle’s light rail tunnel is shut down between Westlake station and SoDo station on Tuesday morning.

A spokesperson says ventilation fans are malfunctioning.

1 Line Westlake Station platform (to Northgate) closed until further notice due to mechanical issue https://t.co/7eQkl6c7DF

— SoundTransit-Alerts (@Alerts_ST) February 14, 2023

Meantime, train riders have to get on and off buses to get through downtown.

There is no time frame for when the problem might be fixed.

Light rail users are being advised to allow at least 30 minutes extra to make their trip.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.