Cross Lake Washington by 2 Line Now That the 550 Bus Is Gone

Yes. Since March 28, 2026, Sound Transit’s 2 Line has run directly from central Seattle across Lake Washington to Bellevue Downtown with no change of trains. Board at Westlake, International District/Chinatown, or Judkins Park, confirm the departure is a through train (a few early trips run only on the Eastside), and stay aboard until Bellevue Downtown. From International District/Chinatown, published estimates put the ride at about 20 minutes; from Westlake, allow a few minutes more. The longtime direct bus, King County Metro Route 550, was deleted on August 29, 2026, so any saved bus itinerary across the lake is now stale. (Seattle Transit Blog, Seattle Department of Transportation)

Pick your Seattle start and Eastside stop; the ride, transfer, and old-bus status update below.

Route 550 Is Gone, So the 2 Line Is Now the Cross-Lake Default

Full cross-lake rail service began March 28, 2026, connecting Seattle with Bellevue and Redmond and opening the Judkins Park and Mercer Island stations. Before that date the 2 Line ran only on the Eastside, and the way across the water from downtown Seattle was a bus over I-90. (Seattle Department of Transportation)

Five months later the bus network was rebuilt around the train. Seattle Transit Blog reported that Metro’s Fall 2026 service change took effect August 29, 2026, describing it as an almost-final phase of the East Link bus restructure. In its route-level preview, the publication reported that Route 550 would be deleted and replaced by the 2 Line plus Route 556, and that Routes 271, 218, and 269 would change to reduce service duplicating the train. (Seattle Transit Blog, August 29; Seattle Transit Blog, August 20)

Those route details come from a transit publication, not an agency timetable. Their practical value is explaining why an older search result, a printed hotel handout, or a saved 550 itinerary no longer describes a trip you can take. Directions written before March 28 may also send you to a bus across I-90 or to a transfer onto what was then an Eastside-only rail segment. Neither is needed for a central Seattle to Bellevue Downtown trip. Search the journey again in Sound Transit’s trip planner rather than reusing anything you saved earlier.

Which Seattle Station to Board

There is no single best station. Pick the one that costs you the least walking and backtracking from where you actually are, because the difference in onboard time between the downtown stations is smaller than the walk between them.

Station	Best For	Ride Note
Westlake	Stays in the retail core and around Pike Place	Farther north than International District/Chinatown, so a few more minutes aboard
International District/Chinatown	Anyone near Pioneer Square, King Street Station, or the stadiums	About 20 minutes to Bellevue Downtown in published estimates
Judkins Park	Central District and Rainier Avenue stays	First stop east of the downtown tunnel; going west to start would only retrace the route

Westlake is the right call when it is the closest 2 Line station to your Seattle base. Do not walk to a different downtown station because it has a shorter quoted ride; the extra minutes on foot erase the difference, and both stations are on the same train.

International District/Chinatown has the clearest published timing for the cross-lake trip and is the natural boarding point if you arrive by Amtrak, Sounder, or a downtown bus that ends nearby.

Judkins Park is the logical choice when you are already in the Central District or along Rainier Avenue. It is the first station east of the tunnel, so heading west to board at International District/Chinatown or Westlake would add a trip in the wrong direction.

Whichever you choose, enter your real origin and Bellevue Downtown in the trip planner before leaving. A station name alone does not tell you whether a particular departure crosses the lake.

The Ride Takes About 20 Minutes From International District/Chinatown

Treat about 20 minutes aboard as an estimate, not a promise, and add a few minutes if you board at Westlake. Door to door is longer: reaching the platform, waiting for a train, exiting at Bellevue Downtown, and walking to your address all sit on top of the onboard time. Sound Transit’s trip planner is the only place to get a departure-specific figure, and it also reflects delays, maintenance, and any replacement-bus shuttle around a closed segment.

When Link service is interrupted, the agencies run buses around the affected station or segment. A shuttle adds a transfer and time, so follow the current alert rather than assuming the usual one-seat ride is operating.

If the trip anchors a reservation, performance, or timed admission, add a buffer and search the return leg too, particularly if you will come back early or late. Check fares on Sound Transit’s site instead of trusting a price quoted in an older article; this article has no fare figure.

Some Early 2 Line Trips Never Reach Seattle

Not every departure carrying the 2 Line name crosses Lake Washington. Sound Transit’s timetable includes early Eastside-only trips that serve Spring District, BelRed, Overlake Village, Redmond Technology, Marymoor Village, and Downtown Redmond but do not serve Seattle, Mercer Island, South Bellevue, East Main, or Bellevue Downtown. (Sound Transit 2 Line schedule)

Those trips are part of the 2 Line but cannot carry you from Seattle to Bellevue, and on the return they cannot carry you from Redmond back to Seattle. They matter most for early-morning departures and for a dawn return from the Redmond end of the line.

Before walking to the platform, enter your origin, destination, date, and departure or arrival time in the planner and confirm the itinerary names your Seattle station, the 2 Line, and Bellevue Downtown, with a continuous ride and no unexpected replacement service. Because service patterns differ by trip, fixed first-train, last-train, and all-day frequency claims go stale quickly; check the exact date and time you plan to travel in both directions.

Station Order From Seattle to Bellevue and On to Redmond

Eastbound from downtown Seattle the order is International District/Chinatown, Judkins Park, Mercer Island, South Bellevue, East Main, then Bellevue Downtown. The train continues to Wilburton, Spring District, BelRed, Overlake Village, Redmond Technology, Marymoor Village, and Downtown Redmond.

Bellevue Downtown is the default for a general visit: the hotels, restaurants, shopping, parks, and arts venues of central Bellevue cluster around it. Other stations serve different pieces of the city. South Bellevue has a park-and-ride at the southern end of the segment. East Main is just south of downtown. Wilburton is east of the core. Spring District and BelRed serve their namesake areas. Pick a station by looking up your hotel or venue address and comparing the final walk, not because it appears earlier on the map.

At stations where riders cross tracks, use the marked crossings, look both ways, and stay behind the yellow platform line. The City of Bellevue’s 2 Line safety guidance tells pedestrians and drivers to expect trains at all times along the alignment.

What Changed for Mercer Island and Redmond Day Trips

Mercer Island is now a station on the same through trains that serve Bellevue, two stops east of International District/Chinatown. A stop on the island no longer needs its own bus plan; ride the 2 Line and get off, then reboard any through train in either direction. The same early-trip caveat applies, since Eastside-only departures skip Mercer Island.

Redmond Technology and Downtown Redmond are on the same train, so a Bellevue morning and a Redmond afternoon are one line with no transfer. If you continue beyond Bellevue, verify that the individual departure serves your required station and that the return schedule fits your day. Seattle Transit Blog reported that Routes 218 and 269 were changed to reduce overlap with the train, so a bus you used in a previous year may now end at a 2 Line station rather than continuing through; search it fresh. (Seattle Transit Blog)

This article has no published onboard time for Seattle to Mercer Island or Seattle to the Redmond stations. Get those from the planner.

Sea-Tac Airport to Bellevue Needs One Transfer

It is possible by rail, but not as a one-seat ride. Take the 1 Line from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and transfer to the 2 Line for Bellevue Downtown. Visit Bellevue estimates the complete rail journey at roughly one hour to one hour and 15 minutes, depending on transfer and waiting time.

Enter Sea-Tac Airport and Bellevue Downtown as your actual origin and destination so the planner picks the transfer station and the connecting departure. For an early arrival, confirm that the 2 Line train it selects crosses Lake Washington and lists Bellevue Downtown rather than an Eastside-only pattern.

The whole plan comes down to three checks: board a through 2 Line train at the Seattle station closest to your base, use Bellevue Downtown for a general central-Bellevue visit, and run the planner for both directions on the day you travel.