The 3 Line (colored
magenta
Magenta () is a purple-red color. On color wheels of the RGB color model, RGB (additive) and subtractive color, CMY (subtractive) color models, it is located precisely midway between blue and red. It is one of the four colors of ink used in colo ...
) is a future
light rail
Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...
line in the
Seattle metropolitan area
The Seattle metropolitan area is an urban conglomeration in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington that comprises Seattle, its surrounding Satellite city, satellites and suburbs. The United States Census Bureau defines the Seattle–T ...
in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
Washington
Washington most commonly refers to:
* George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States
* Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A ...
, to be part of
Sound Transit
Sound Transit (ST), officially the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, is a public transit agency serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It manages the Link light rail system in Se ...
's
Link light rail
Link light rail is a light rail system with some rapid transit characteristics that serves the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It is managed by Sound Transit in partnership with local transit pro ...
system. It is planned to connect
Everett and
Snohomish County
Snohomish County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. With a population of 827,957 as of the 2020 census, it is the third-most populous county in Washington, after nearby King and Pierce counties, and the 72nd-most popul ...
to
Downtown Seattle
Downtown is the central business district of Seattle, Washington. It is fairly compact compared with other city centers on the U.S. West Coast due to its geographical situation, being hemmed in on the north and east by hills, on the west by ...
and
West Seattle
West Seattle is a conglomeration of List of neighborhoods in Seattle, neighborhoods in Seattle, Washington, United States. It comprises two of the List of neighborhoods in Seattle, thirteen districts, Delridge, Seattle, Delridge and Southwest, ...
. The 3 Line would share tracks with the
2 Line from southern Everett to
International District/Chinatown station
International District/Chinatown station is a light rail Metro station, station that is part of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel in Seattle, Washington, United States. The station is located at the tunnel's south end, at 5th Avenue South an ...
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 Everett Link Extension to the north of
Lynnwood
Lynnwood is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The city is part of the Seattle metropolitan area and is located north of Seattle and south of Everett, near the junction of Interstate 5 and Interstate 405. It is the four ...
will have six stations and is scheduled to open between 2037 and 2041. The West Seattle Link Extension will include three new stations southwest of
SODO station and is scheduled to open in 2032. The 3 Line was created as part of the
Sound Transit 3
Sound Transit 3, abbreviated as ST3, was a referendum, ballot measure during the November 2016 elections in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, proposing an expansion of the regional public transit system. The measure was proposed by Sound ...
program, approved by voters in 2016, which included both projects.
The West Seattle Link Extension would include a high bridge crossing the