TACOMA, Wash. — The Hilltop Link light rail extension will open Sept. 16, adding 2.4 miles of track and seven stations in Tacoma.
The extension will double the length of the T Line, adding service between Old City Hall and St. Joseph Medical Center. The line will connect the Stadium District, Wright Park and medical facilities to downtown Tacoma and the Tacoma Dome.
When it opens, trains will run Monday through Friday from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday from 7:20 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Trains will run at 12-minute intervals Monday to Saturday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and at 20-minute intervals all other times.
The new stations are:
- St. Joseph (Martin Luther King Jr. Way south of South 17th Street)
- Hilltop District (South 11th and MLK Way)
- 6th Avenue (at MLK Way)
- Tacoma General (MLK Way at MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital)
- Stadium District (North 1st Street at North G Street)
- South 4th (at South Stadium Way)
- Old City Hall Station (Commerce Street north of South 7th Street)
Once the extension opens, Sound Transit projects it will carry between 2,000 and 4,000 daily riders by 2026.
The extension is opening over a decade after it was approved by voters. Planning began in the summer of 2013 with design work completed in May 2018. The project broke ground in November 2018.
The project has been hit by several delays and cost increases. In December, Sound Transit announced the extension wouldn’t open in spring 2023, which was its previous expected opening date, due to issues with the track’s geometry.
The project’s total cost of $282.7 million also rose from earlier estimates of $217 million.
Another light rail expansion project that will connect Tacoma to Federal Way and Seattle is also facing delays. In March, the Tacoma Dome Link light rail extension was delayed three years until 2035 so officials can thoroughly evaluate additional station options in Fife and an associated station option in the south Federal Way/Milton area.
Sound Transit will hold an opening celebration at the Tacoma Urban Performing Arts Center on Sept. 16 at 10 a.m. The public is invited to hear remarks from local leaders and watch performances from the arts center and NW Sinfonietta.