3 Line (Sound Transit)

3 Line
Overview
StatusPlanned
OwnerSound Transit
LocaleSeattle metropolitan area, Washington, US
Termini
Stations24 (8 new, 1 provisional)
Service
TypeLight rail
SystemLink light rail
History
Planned opening2035 (West Seattle)
2037 (Southwest Everett)
2041 (Downtown Everett)
Technical
Number of tracks2
CharacterUnderground, elevated, and surface
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
ElectrificationOverhead line, 1,500 V DC
Operating speed55 mph (89 km/h)
Route map

Provisional route
Everett Station (2041)
Amtrak Cascades Sounder commuter rail Swift Blue Line Parking
SR 526/Evergreen (2041)
SW Everett Industrial Center (2037)
SR 99/Airport Road (provisional) (TBD)
Mariner (2037)
Ash Way (2037)
West Alderwood (2037)
Up arrow Everett Link Extension
Lynnwood City Center
Sound Transit Express Parking
Mountlake Terrace
Parking
Shoreline North/185th
Swift Blue Line Parking
Shoreline South/148th
Parking
Pinehurst (2026)
Northgate
Parking
Roosevelt
U District
University of Washington
Capitol Hill
First Hill Streetcar
to Ballard (2039)
Westlake
Seattle Center Monorail South Lake Union Streetcar
Symphony
Pioneer Square
Colman Dock
International District/
Chinatown
Amtrak Cascades Sounder commuter rail First Hill Streetcar
Stadium
Greyhound Lines
reroute (2039)
SODO
Down arrow West Seattle Link Extension (2032)
Delridge
Alaska Junction

The 3 Line (colored magenta) is a future light rail line in the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington, to be part of Sound Transit's Link light rail system. It is planned to connect Everett and Snohomish County to Downtown Seattle and West Seattle. The 3 Line would share tracks with the 2 Line from southern Everett to International District/Chinatown station along the 1 Line corridor.

The line is planned to reuse existing tracks that are part of the 1 Line and its future expansions; the 1 Line will then be rerouted through a new Downtown Seattle tunnel to be built for the Ballard Link Extension. The 16.3-mile (26.2 km) Everett Link Extension to the north of Lynnwood will have six stations and is scheduled to open between 2037 and 2041. The 3.9-mile-long (6.3 km) West Seattle Link Extension will include two new stations southwest of SODO station and is scheduled to open in 2035. The 3 Line was created as part of the Sound Transit 3 program, approved by voters in 2016, which included both projects.

The West Seattle Link Extension would include a high bridge crossing the Duwamish River adjacent to the existing West Seattle Bridge. In 2024, Sound Transit and HNTB proposed a cable-stayed bridge design that would be 1,690 feet (520 m) long and have two towers that are 374 feet (114 m) tall. The western end of the line would be tunneled between Alaska Junction and Delridge, where trains would begin to use an elevated guideway. The Federal Transit Administration issued their preliminary approval for the project via a record of decision in April 2025. A station was previously proposed for the area near Avalon Way and 35th Avenue West, but it was removed in a May 2026 decision by the Sound Transit board of directors. The project is expected to cost $6.7 to $7.1 billion to construct and carry 26,000 daily passengers.

The Everett Link Extension includes a new operations and maintenance facility that is scheduled to open in 2034 at one of three sites near Paine Field and the Boeing Everett Factory. The project is estimated to cost between $5.05 billion and $6.9 billion and open either as a single phase in 2037 with its funding shortfall addressed or in two phases from 2037 to 2041.