Seattle Light Rail Stations: Which Stop to Use

Use Westlake for Pike Place Market and the Seattle Center Monorail connection, U District for the Burke Museum, and University of Washington for Husky Stadium. For the airport, you need the 1 Line, not the 2 Line.

Seattle’s Link light rail now has two lines sharing the downtown and north Seattle stations. Choosing the station is only half the job: check the line and destination before boarding, especially when traveling south from downtown.

Station list, routes and fares checked October 7, 2026.

Which station fits your day?

Your destination or plan	Station to use	What to know
Pike Place Market	Westlake	A useful starting point for a market day. Symphony is also just blocks from the Market, so your hotel location may decide between them. Market directions
Space Needle, MoPOP or Seattle Center	Westlake, then Monorail	Follow Exit A2 for the Monorail and 5th Avenue/Pine Street. The Monorail platform is on Westlake Center’s third floor—not the Link platform. Monorail directions
Seattle Art Museum	Symphony	Pair this downtown stop with the museum entrance at First Avenue and Union Street. SAM visitor information
Capitol Hill neighborhood	Capitol Hill	Start around Broadway and East John Street; keep meals and browsing in this neighborhood rather than adding another cross-city trip. Station connections
Burke Museum	U District	The museum estimates about a three-minute walk from this station. Burke directions
Husky Stadium	University of Washington	This is the station right beside the stadium. It is a different stop from U District. Husky Stadium transit guide
Lumen Field or T-Mobile Park	International District/Chinatown or Stadium	Both are walking options. International District/Chinatown has both lines; Stadium has only the 1 Line. Lumen Field directions and T-Mobile Park directions
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport	SeaTac/Airport	Outside Seattle city limits, on the 1 Line. Allow time for the connection through the airport parking garage; the train does not stop inside the terminal. Airport directions

For detailed transfer instructions, use our Westlake Link-to-Monorail guide. The Monorail is a separate service: its regular adult fare is $4 one way, and ORCA E-purse riders pay the Monorail fare for each trip rather than receiving a free transfer from Link. Monorail fares

Seattle light rail stations, in route order

This list covers stations within Seattle, rather than every stop in the regional network. Sound Transit’s official station directory provides the full routes and individual station pages.

Shared by the 1 and 2 Lines: north to south

Pinehurst → Northgate → Roosevelt → U District → University of Washington → Capitol Hill → Westlake → Symphony → Pioneer Square → International District/Chinatown.

Pinehurst is now open, between Northgate and Shoreline South/148th, at 130th Street and 5th Avenue NE. Sound Transit’s opening confirmation

1 Line only: continuing south

Stadium → SODO → Beacon Hill → Mount Baker → Columbia City → Othello → Rainier Beach.

Beyond Seattle, the 1 Line continues through Tukwila International Boulevard, SeaTac/Airport and Angle Lake, then Kent Des Moines, Star Lake and Federal Way Downtown.

2 Line only: heading toward the Eastside

After International District/Chinatown, Judkins Park is the next Seattle station. The line then crosses Lake Washington to Mercer Island and continues through Bellevue and Redmond. See our Seattle-to-Bellevue riding guide for a focused Eastside trip.

These station sequences follow Sound Transit’s current 1 and 2 Line lists.

How to choose the right train

Under normal service:

• Between shared Seattle stations: take either line in the correct direction. Westlake to Capitol Hill, for example, does not require waiting specifically for a 1 Line train.
• Toward north Seattle: both lines run toward Lynnwood City Center.
• Toward the airport or southeast Seattle: look for a 1 Line toward Federal Way Downtown.
• Toward Judkins Park, Bellevue or Redmond: look for a 2 Line toward Downtown Redmond.

The lines separate after International District/Chinatown when traveling south from downtown. Riders arriving from the airport can transfer there for the Eastside. Sound Transit’s riding guide

One naming trap remains in older guides: University Street Station is now Symphony Station. It is downtown—not at the University of Washington. Sound Transit’s station-name explanation

Fares and checks before leaving

Standard adult one-way fares on the 1 and 2 Lines are $3, regardless of distance; youth 18 and under ride free. Pay before boarding with ORCA, contactless credit/debit payment, a station-machine ticket or an activated Transit GO Ticket. Current Link fares

With ORCA or contactless payment, tap before boarding; do not tap off after a Link ride. How to ride

Check your station’s alerts if you need elevators, and check the return journey—not just the outbound train. For October 2026 travel, planned changes include:

• October 6–8: shuttles replace trains between Northgate and Westlake after approximately 10:30 p.m. until the end of service.
• October 17–18: shuttles replace the 2 Line between International District/Chinatown and South Bellevue all day. Use the 1 Line north of International District/Chinatown; the 2 Line runs only between South Bellevue and Downtown Redmond during this disruption.
• October 19–22 and October 31–November 1: after 11 p.m., maintenance may require replacement buses between Judkins Park and International District/Chinatown.

Dates can change on short notice. Check Sound Transit’s planned disruptions and linked alerts before leaving.

A simple downtown day with a rain backup

Start at Westlake, walk to Pike Place Market and keep lunch nearby. If the weather holds, extend the outdoor portion; if rain gets heavier, make Seattle Art Museum your indoor anchor and return through Symphony. SAM is normally closed Mondays and Tuesdays, so check its hours and holiday exceptions before relying on that backup.

A ferry day needs a different plan. Pioneer Square is a useful Link starting point for the walking connection to Colman Dock at Pier 52, but the dock is not part of the station. Choose the sailing first, then allow time for the walk and boarding; our ferry-day planning guide keeps that outing separate from an open-ended downtown stroll.