REDMOND, Wash. — Sound Transit debuts an isolated train line connecting South Bellevue to the Redmond Technology Center, Saturday.
The trip from Redmond to South Bellevue station takes 15 minutes. That is a major time saver for commuters during rush hour.
"We have everything between us to allow our communities to explore not just the great stuff in Redmond, but what’s going on in Bellevue and it gives everyone another opportunity to feel connected to the eastside," Redmond mayor Angela Birney said.
KING 5 spoke with the leaders of Redmond and Bellevue together about how this connects the two cities.
"Walking distance to all our restaurants, museums and businesses.” Bellevue mayor Lynne Robinson said. “I think it’s going to bring a lot of people in that haven't been able to come in easily before.”
This makes eight new stops east of Lake Washington.
"The promise of it was attracting major companies. The reality of it is going to be even more attractive as people experience it and see how successful it is," Robinson said.
Bellevue projects 30,000 new jobs and 15,000 new units of housing over the next 20 years.
Robinson said the growth is possible because of this expansion of public transportation.
"The individuals living in those communities bought into the promise of not having a car and needing it all the time," Birney said. "Provide a whole community for people to get out of their cars and experience our communities."
"You’re going to see targeted growth in these transit-oriented communities, and you're going to see more pedestrian and bike infrastructure. You'll see more development of housing, more development of amenities," Robinson said.
The mayor’s said King County Metro is providing two safety officers for every train car and both cities have a specially trained transit unit.
Light rail connection to Seattle is planned to finish by the end of 2025. It will include two new stations at Judkins Park and on Mercer Island.
The East Link Extension will be open for service, Saturday.