It looks like a road because it used to be one! The downtown tunnel used to be a bus rapid transit tunnel. It was recently closed off to buses and converted to light rail only.
The network is currently being expanded. It is the fastest growing rapid transit system in the nation. A new line is scheduled to open next year. And Northlake Station opened last year. I also saw another person say this, but it was originally a bus only tunnel built in 1990, then light rail was added in 2009 and it traveled through the same tunnel, only closing to buses in 2018. Edit: Those cars are brand new, they entered service last year
The Northgate station already closed their bathroom for remodeling less than a year into service through summer 2023....what were they thinking with a single toilet per restroom?!?!?!
That's great that Seattle is expanding, but LA Metro is the fastest expanding in the USA. The K line opened in 2022, the Regional Connector in 2023, new transit hub and extension of K line in 2024, opening of LAX People Mover in 2025, first section of the B subway line in 2025, extension of the A line in 2025, 2nd extension of B subway line in 2026, 3rd and final extension of the B subway line in 2027. Several other lines have already been approved and are currently in the final design stages. The next two new lines are the San Fernando Valley line and the Southeast Gateway Line, which should begin construction within two years. Very exciting transit projects for both Westcoast cities.
Well the DC Metro is no longer on fire 🔥🔥🔥 but the goddess of fire 🗽🔥🔥🔥 has gone to Boston and there the MBTA rapid transit lines have been catching on fire.
We western washitonians are very lucky that people finally pulled their heads out and took a deep breath of fresh air and a few decades late for sure and did the right thing. Could have been even better if they would have done this back in the 70's!!!
They made me pay $400 tabs to fund this starting about 10 years ago and it's now down to $180. They need to dedicate a seat in my name for something I'll never use. At least send me a thank you card. Liberal extortion.
Tour the Seattle underground. I've lived here 30 years walking above and it took my girlfriend from outta state to inform Me we have an underground rail system
Nobody feels safe in Seattle, especially at night. It gets usually more dangerous bc not that many security or people at night. The bums help with it too
Do you guys know if i can buy train tickets at the rail? Or do i have to buy an orca card or download the Transit GO app? Also, how unsafe is it around 11pm? I will be there sometime next week and might have to take the train back to the hotel at around 11pm. Would you not recommend taking the train and just take bus instead?
Oh my things have changed. Last time I was in Seattle was in 2002. They didn't even have a light rail system. Took long bus rides to and from downtown/airport. Monorail to the Space Needle. There were RR crossings heading over to the baseball stadium, which I heard they're no longer there. Man I need to get myself back to Seattle in the near future. It's not easy for me since I live in MA..
My former city. I love it there so much. Ah what would I recommend honestly? One of the nicest places in Seattle is the backdrop from up by this amazingly located restaurant called Northwest Tofu. Catching a sunrise there on this road bank that looks over from Central District onto Chinatown. The beauty just leaves you completely speechless. So does the view from Danny Woo garden but from up higher like I say at this restaurant location you can really imagine what Seattle’s history what they called first hill which is now the SODO district. From up there you can still imagine what it was all like before even everything like this as well. You can go as far back as your mind allows you.
It was for buses to not be on the city streets tis why it’s so spacious - then FINALLY the light rain happened. Like 20 years too late. It’s so handy. Love it
It's the Siemens S700. It and its sibling the Siemens S70 are super popular among American light rail systems. They're nice rolling stock but more diversity would be cool, there are more LRV manufacturers than just Siemens!
US is such a huge country, with no dangerous country at its borders and has just 335 million people.. and has so much money. Yet, is unable to keep things normal inside itself..
You literally just explained why. It’s huge. With just 335 million people spread very unevenly. China on the other hand makes us look like the future and it has 1.5 billion people
Well yah, that is because we have a large and diverse population. The larger and more diverse your country is, the more difficult it will become to manage.
Yepp. If you look at the top 15 countries in the world by population, they’re all shitholes with the exception of USA and Japan. Large populations make it very difficult to manage.
Do you know if i can buy train tickets at the rail? Or do i have to buy an orca card or download the Transit GO app? Also, how unsafe is it around 11pm? I will be there sometime next week and might have to take the train back to the hotel at around 11pm. Would you not recommend taking the train and just take bus instead?
@@nikolausbautista8925 they are going to be replaced. Part of this was the old owner of the tunnel, King County Metro, decided they weren’t going to put their capital and maintenance budget into fixing the escalators, so they slowly died.
I don't know why this video was recommended to me, but i't great. Especially "we'll do it manually":) I thought such a large city as Seattle already had city train system many decades before 2009. Greetings from Russia!
If you ever tried to get to the airport in NY by train you will be floored by this system. From the airport to downtown Seattle on one very nice train. No transfers, no hassles on a mostly above ground line.
Gotta give them points for pursuing grade separation on most of their current extension plans... after seeing what's been going on near Beacon Hill area
Not building mass transit in Florida. And Tampa, we even had a ballot measure to add sales tax for light rail and the state government overruled the voters 😏
@@thomasel9171 most the crime is in white center, burien and Seatac/Tacoma. Seattle itself is just fine. Compared to cities like Chicago, DC, Baltimore, Detroit, NYC it feels like a very tame city.
It looks like a road because when it was built in the 80s it was built for trolly busses, and, until recently, was shared with hybrid electric busses and the light rail.
It actually does seem a lot more safer than the nyc subway stations here we have. Now you don’t have to fear falling down 4 feet facepalming the tracks and mice
It looks like a road because it is a road. The tunnel use to be a express bus route before it was converted to light rail. Heck, for several years it supported bus and light rail!
Yea Sound Transit’s Link is FAMOUS for BROKEN Escalators EVERYWHERE like these. It’s like a Miami Airport or especially Denver Airport. Typical poor maintenance of King County Metro
The escalators are always being repaired at westlake and the elevator isn’t clean or operational a lot of the time. Idk how disabled ppl use that station.
It makes all the sense. Frequent service rail in a city core creates traffic issues. You also have Seattle, which is very hilly (a difficult thing for rail to deal with.) Putting rail under ground increases frequency, takes people out of the weather elements while they wait, reduces or eliminates elevation grading and doesn’t impact traffic/city planning. Plus you can run it almost however you want instead of following existing streets.
@@afcgeo882 Not really. The tunnels were built so that they could be used for buses to avoid surface street traffic, but were also big enough to be easily converted to light rail later on.
its really slow though tbh, i really only use it to get to the airport which is about 45 min ride from u district stop, since it only goes in a straight n-s line, you still have to take a bus/walk to get where you need to go
It looks like a road because it used to be one! The downtown tunnel used to be a bus rapid transit tunnel. It was recently closed off to buses and converted to light rail only.
Underground bus rapid transit?? Whoa that's new for me
Buses would operate on battery mode, and Double Return Trolley before that. The bus service ended in the tunnels back in 2018.
@@revolvency lol for usa
Remember the buses the routes you would have to take it was better if your going to Renton or Kent just go to the tunnel
It actually is still used when the light rail isn’t running through
Only 30+ years in the making. Another 25 years or so and we'll have, essentially, recreated the commuter rail system the city tore up in the 1920's.
1950s actually
late 40's
I just did the Snoqualmie train museum and had this same thought 😂
Wasn’t torn out until the late 50’s … same year as the US Interstate Highway System was implemented … all to,push car ownership.
And had they kept the trolleys and made improvements over time Seattle would have the nation's most extensive muni metro
Average Seattle resident referring to stairs as “manual escalators”
No shit huh
Being a Russian I was confused hearing "we'll walk downstairs manually":)
The network is currently being expanded. It is the fastest growing rapid transit system in the nation. A new line is scheduled to open next year. And Northlake Station opened last year. I also saw another person say this, but it was originally a bus only tunnel built in 1990, then light rail was added in 2009 and it traveled through the same tunnel, only closing to buses in 2018.
Edit: Those cars are brand new, they entered service last year
The Northgate station already closed their bathroom for remodeling less than a year into service through summer 2023....what were they thinking with a single toilet per restroom?!?!?!
That's great that Seattle is expanding, but LA Metro is the fastest expanding in the USA. The K line opened in 2022, the Regional Connector in 2023, new transit hub and extension of K line in 2024, opening of LAX People Mover in 2025, first section of the B subway line in 2025, extension of the A line in 2025, 2nd extension of B subway line in 2026, 3rd and final extension of the B subway line in 2027.
Several other lines have already been approved and are currently in the final design stages. The next two new lines are the San Fernando Valley line and the Southeast Gateway Line, which should begin construction within two years.
Very exciting transit projects for both Westcoast cities.
Nope, fastest growing is LA metro.
You can tell it’s not the DC Metro based on the lack of it being on fire. :)
And the older rail cars too I miss the older cars I got to ride them when I was younger.
@@System6VideoProductions Same. I used to ride the old DC Metro Trains Cars (Rohr, Breda, and Alston models) since I was a baby!
Well the DC Metro is no longer on fire 🔥🔥🔥 but the goddess of fire 🗽🔥🔥🔥 has gone to Boston and there the MBTA rapid transit lines have been catching on fire.
We western washitonians are very lucky that people finally pulled their heads out and took a deep breath of fresh air and a few decades late for sure and did the right thing. Could have been even better if they would have done this back in the 70's!!!
The 1970s Plans are Rehashed as Todays Plans!
Yep, Atlanta got our rail system in the 70s. Thank you for riding mwwarrta.
@@MrBobDobolina Marta need to extend the line into Gwinnett County and throughout the suburbs because the traffic is horrendous
Oregonians have been doing it better than you for years!
Oregon >> Washington
They made me pay $400 tabs to fund this starting about 10 years ago and it's now down to $180. They need to dedicate a seat in my name for something I'll never use. At least send me a thank you card. Liberal extortion.
The seattle metro area is such an interesting concept as far as subways go, because it's about 5 miles wide and thirty miles long.
Seattle, my home town. It's funny that you compared Seattle to the DC subway. I lived just outside DC for a short while and thought the same thing.
wonderful cool 🚆 thank you 👀 🌟
Well originally this station was part of a bus-way.
Tour the Seattle underground. I've lived here 30 years walking above and it took my girlfriend from outta state to inform Me we have an underground rail system
I love their light rail system so convenient. All the stops are bright and large so they feel pretty safe even at night.
Nobody feels safe in Seattle, especially at night. It gets usually more dangerous bc not that many security or people at night. The bums help with it too
Do you guys know if i can buy train tickets at the rail? Or do i have to buy an orca card or download the Transit GO app?
Also, how unsafe is it around 11pm? I will be there sometime next week and might have to take the train back to the hotel at around 11pm. Would you not recommend taking the train and just take bus instead?
Oh my things have changed. Last time I was in Seattle was in 2002. They didn't even have a light rail system. Took long bus rides to and from downtown/airport. Monorail to the Space Needle. There were RR crossings heading over to the baseball stadium, which I heard they're no longer there. Man I need to get myself back to Seattle in the near future. It's not easy for me since I live in MA..
The RR tracks are still there, they've just built pedestrian overpasses by the stadiums now so that you can cross safely
What an adventure you have! You are doing a good job of informing us about things and places. Thank you.
My former city. I love it there so much. Ah what would I recommend honestly? One of the nicest places in Seattle is the backdrop from up by this amazingly located restaurant called Northwest Tofu. Catching a sunrise there on this road bank that looks over from Central District onto Chinatown. The beauty just leaves you completely speechless. So does the view from Danny Woo garden but from up higher like I say at this restaurant location you can really imagine what Seattle’s history what they called first hill which is now the SODO district. From up there you can still imagine what it was all like before even everything like this as well. You can go as far back as your mind allows you.
I been to Seattle in June of this year and I like their light rails up there including Minneapolis light rails.
The track bed looks like a road because up until 2019, trolley buses used to use the same station.
Wow,can't wait to ride that.Rode the Mono rail when I was there.
Seattle's Light Raill is so awesome
It looks rubbish
@@OnTheRailwayOfficial looks can be deceiving
@@OnTheRailwayOfficialIt's most definitely not. It's one of the nicest, most efficient mass transit systems in the United States.
@@OnTheRailwayOfficialok thanks for your unwanted opinion
@@hasanjafri8087 oh hardly. Surely the original commenter was anticipating people to reply to his comment.
As a seattle-dwelling human being I love the light rail. My only complaint is that the windows are a bit useless, as most of it is underground.
Once you go south of CID it's almost all aboveground
The reason why some stations have roads: buses used to serve those stations as well
heck yes! More Trains!
I remember the bus tunnel and underground stations before light rail. All the stations are different and huge and beautiful.
It was for buses to not be on the city streets tis why it’s so spacious - then FINALLY the light rain happened. Like 20 years too late. It’s so handy. Love it
Felt like DC metro? Love that.
The light rail looks identical to the one in San Diego
Ikr.
It's the Siemens S700. It and its sibling the Siemens S70 are super popular among American light rail systems.
They're nice rolling stock but more diversity would be cool, there are more LRV manufacturers than just Siemens!
@@moloch8473 Prevalent in other LRT and streetcars. I take the MAX everyday so I do run into them quite often
Same rolling stock! San Diego only has one underground station though.
US is such a huge country, with no dangerous country at its borders and has just 335 million people.. and has so much money. Yet, is unable to keep things normal inside itself..
You literally just explained why. It’s huge. With just 335 million people spread very unevenly. China on the other hand makes us look like the future and it has 1.5 billion people
Yeah, Mexico isn't dangerous, gtfo
Well yah, that is because we have a large and diverse population. The larger and more diverse your country is, the more difficult it will become to manage.
Yepp. If you look at the top 15 countries in the world by population, they’re all shitholes with the exception of USA and Japan. Large populations make it very difficult to manage.
As someone from ohio, our cities are lowkey falling apart, but at least things are cheap and we don’t have hurricanes
I love love LOVE our light rail here in Seattle!
I have always wanted to visit Seattle....
Do you know if i can buy train tickets at the rail? Or do i have to buy an orca card or download the Transit GO app?
Also, how unsafe is it around 11pm? I will be there sometime next week and might have to take the train back to the hotel at around 11pm. Would you not recommend taking the train and just take bus instead?
lol, the escalators being broken is the right vibe.
Yes the platform tracks were actually roads bc back then, buses used to serve these stations before they stopped going into this tunnel
At least they have escalators that will be in operation (soon)
Don't count on it!
They're broken like half the time, lol. Along with the elevators at each station.
@@nikolausbautista8925 they are going to be replaced. Part of this was the old owner of the tunnel, King County Metro, decided they weren’t going to put their capital and maintenance budget into fixing the escalators, so they slowly died.
I don't know why this video was recommended to me, but i't great. Especially "we'll do it manually":)
I thought such a large city as Seattle already had city train system many decades before 2009.
Greetings from Russia!
We did but we tore it up in the mid 1900s and are now rebuilding
Go try the Ottawa Canada'a Light rail train it's the best! :D
If you ever tried to get to the airport in NY by train you will be floored by this system. From the airport to downtown Seattle on one very nice train. No transfers, no hassles on a mostly above ground line.
This tunnel used to serve only busses. The trains are newer and they just stopped the busses a few years back
Cool stuff 👍
There are tunnels that will have neon playing cards flashing as the train goes past. It startled me the first time I saw it. 😂
That’s when you’re entering the Beacon Hill station!
Gotta give them points for pursuing grade separation on most of their current extension plans... after seeing what's been going on near Beacon Hill area
Broken escalator? So, stairs?
Perpetually broken. You always have the option to taking the elevator that someone's recently used as a urinal.
Yeah I ride the light rail to my friends house in Capitol Hill all the time
Not building mass transit in Florida. And Tampa, we even had a ballot measure to add sales tax for light rail and the state government overruled the voters 😏
welcome to Seattle Washington.
Wow looks way nicer than nyc. I should move 😮
No intercity rail yet though.
Thanks!
Amazing what a game changer it is
Very nice!
To do it manually, you'd have to walk on your hands with your feet up in the air :)))
I have been working on this project for 6 years now!! A lot of engineering to overcome and it has been a quite the learning experience.
With any luck by 2030 we should have it expanded to cover more of Washington state
Thank you for this review, that I could have probably done myself.
The station track looks like a road BECAUSE IT IS A ROAD
Buses used to go there as well as the light rail trains. Search for videos of it
I love Seattle! Please do more ❤
London underground light years ahead.
Lovely artsy stations. ❤
Bro you're the Original Beaver.
A curious little Beaver
I live in Seattle and the escalators are ALWAYS broken
Especially at Westlake. As someone with a disability, I can barely use Westlake these days. So frustrating!
2090: transit being everywhere… EVEN OHIO
Ride on the Light Rail in Portland, Oregon!
You need to come to SF! Unique system out here and would love your opinion. They are just about to open the central subway on Nov 19 too!
Been there! It's so crazy cool
Seattle Washington is an beautiful city with great transportation, you will fall in love with the rain an the view.
Work there and you will quickly fall out of love. Drugs and crime everywhere
@@thomasel9171 most the crime is in white center, burien and Seatac/Tacoma. Seattle itself is just fine. Compared to cities like Chicago, DC, Baltimore, Detroit, NYC it feels like a very tame city.
@@thomasel9171 you must not go to Seattle often?
@@thomasel9171 I live and work in downtown and I love it!
Looks like the design of the station could be inspired by scandinavia
Most people in Seattle are of Nordic origin so 😅
Just took that today and it was fun
Rapid Bus Lines stop inside the LRT tunnel too
Broken escalators makes it no bueno for disabled people and small children!
It looks like a road because when it was built in the 80s it was built for trolly busses, and, until recently, was shared with hybrid electric busses and the light rail.
I like your channel
It actually does seem a lot more safer than the nyc subway stations here we have. Now you don’t have to fear falling down 4 feet facepalming the tracks and mice
Thank you. When you get a chance try Mass Transit in Tsipei and Vienna I agree DC is nice, but these are my current favorites. Bon Chance.
It looks like a road because it is a road. The tunnel use to be a express bus route before it was converted to light rail. Heck, for several years it supported bus and light rail!
I miss the buses in the tunnel... a lot more people and activity... especially when waiting for a late night ride.
I have taken the orca trains and now live in NYC. If Seattle made the train useful all over the city I'd be living there right now full stop
I used to live here !
Ya need a rapid transit system, a functioning subway
Orca card hilarious, its a spoof of the oyster card in london
Seattle has a pod of Orca whales that call Puget Sound home. We love our J Pod
@@JusNoBS420 that makes me wonder why london calls theirs oyster? There are no oysters in the Thames
@@grandebigy maybe 🤔 just maybe 🧐 its a spoof of the orca card of seattle 😉🤓
@@danielfinley-pesti6661 since the London Underground is the oldest light rail system I'm pretty sure theirs came out first
London 2003
Seattle 2009 😝
It’s not a spoof. It’s a tortured acronym, One Regional Card for All. Something like 7 transit agencies accept it.
The inside kinda remindes me of german trains.
“Escalator out of order, temporarily stairs; sorry for the convenience” - Mitch Hedberg
You should ride korea metro
I can’t wait to do so soon
Great
Used to be more crowded when it was the bus tunnel
Seattle is like the Bay Area
Given its politics, I think Seattle is still known as the City of Clucks.
Cry
@@nolankahler6705 Yeah, that's the action-packed response I'd expect.
@@tedneb3459 it’s all you’re worth
Yea Sound Transit’s Link is FAMOUS for BROKEN Escalators EVERYWHERE like these. It’s like a Miami Airport or especially Denver Airport. Typical poor maintenance of King County Metro
Seattle is so nice and clean ❤
Like the RER A but 1000% less effecient
I like their railway 👍🏽
Seattle Light Rail is cleaner and quieter than SF Bart.
GET A HORSE, SEATTLE!
It’s a pretty good system. I wish they would’ve built the metro years earlier and also the broken escalators are really annoying.
Alot of places are safer than NYC subway these days.
The escalators are always being repaired at westlake and the elevator isn’t clean or operational a lot of the time. Idk how disabled ppl use that station.
Seriously, that's my biggest complaint. I do hope they fix the issues more permanently soon.
I'm so glad I moved out of that hellhole. Lived in Seattle of 30 years. Dark, wet, dreary, depressing city.
That sounds perfect
@@darthmaul216 Darth Maul would love it.
I use it to go to kraken games and the airport
Your leopard mask is so nice ♥
Thank you 🙏
Orca reminds me of londons Oyster card
Nice Metro. But why put light rail under ground? I'm no expert on this, but ... this makes no sense.
It makes all the sense. Frequent service rail in a city core creates traffic issues. You also have Seattle, which is very hilly (a difficult thing for rail to deal with.) Putting rail under ground increases frequency, takes people out of the weather elements while they wait, reduces or eliminates elevation grading and doesn’t impact traffic/city planning. Plus you can run it almost however you want instead of following existing streets.
@@afcgeo882 Also, many of the tunnels they used already existed, like the station in the video. It used to host an underground bus line.
@@shotguncreeper I think the question of why they put buses under ground is a more difficult one to answer.
@@afcgeo882 Not really. The tunnels were built so that they could be used for buses to avoid surface street traffic, but were also big enough to be easily converted to light rail later on.
could you review dallas's light rail system?
Bro that place at night is so scary. But I also went on an elevator but it looked abandoned and smelled like feet 🦶🏼
In order to support our metro Transit system, King County driver pay at least $200 more per year per auto when we renew our car license fee😩
its really slow though tbh, i really only use it to get to the airport which is about 45 min ride from u district stop, since it only goes in a straight n-s line, you still have to take a bus/walk to get where you need to go
OMG IVE BEEN HERE IT WAS SO CLOSE TO MY HOTEL IT WAS ONLY A 20-25 MINUTE WALK
It’s not angel lake it’s ANGLE lake.
the reason this station is so huge is because it was originally for buses as well
My new idea have this in Memphis to Chattanooga