USA: The University Link extension of Seattle’s light rail line opened on March 19, six months ahead of schedule. The 5·1 km underground extension runs north from Westlake to the University of Washington. An intermediate stop at Capitol Hill provides interchange with the First Hill streetcar line.
Journey time on the extension is 8 min, and it is forecast to increase weekday light rail ridership to 70 000 passenger-journeys by 2020.
The project was completed at $200m under its $1·9bn budget. The Federal Transit Administration provided $829m in funding.
