South Lake Union Streetcar

South Lake Union Streetcar
A streetcar departing the Pacific Place terminal, in downtown
Overview
Type	Streetcar
Status	Operational
Termini	South Lake Union Westlake Center, Downtown Seattle
Stations	11
Line number	98 (used on timetable, but not on headsign)
Website	South Lake Union Streetcar
Operation
Opened	December 12, 2007
Owner	City of Seattle
Operator(s)	King County Metro
Character	At grade, in mixed traffic
Rolling stock	3 Inekon 12-Trio vehicles 1 Inekon Trio Type 121
Technical
Line length	1.3 miles (2.1 km)
Track length	2.6 miles (4.2 km)
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	Overhead lines, 750 V DC
Route diagram Fairview & Campus Drive Lake Union Park to Fairview & Valley Westlake & Mercer Terry & Mercer to maintenance facility Westlake & Thomas Terry & Thomas Westlake & Denny Westlake & 9th to West Seattle Westlake & 7th Westlake Hub/McGraw Square to Center City Connector (2018) Seattle Center Monorail Link light rail (Westlake) northbound only stop southbound only stop This diagram:

3 Inekon 12-Trio vehicles

The Seattle Streetcar—South Lake Union Line is a 1.3-mile (2.1 km) streetcar line, covering a total 2.6-mile (4.2 km) route, connecting the South Lake Union neighborhood to Downtown Seattle, Washington. Service began on December 12, 2007. It is one of two lines in the developing Seattle Streetcar system. The line was built by the Seattle Department of Transportation and is owned by the City of Seattle, but the line is operated and maintained under contract by King County Metro.

The line is popularly known by its nickname, the South Lake Union Trolley (abbreviated as "SLUT"), which is used on unofficial merchandise sold by South Lake Union businesses.

The Seattle Electric Railway and Power Company laid streetcar tracks on Westlake Avenue, along which the present service primarily runs, in 1890. In April 1941, the Seattle Municipal Street Railway converted its last two streetcar routes - 19 Eighth Avenue Northwest and 21 Phinney Avenue - to buses (now numbered 28 and 5, respectively); both used Westlake Avenue to reach the Fremont Bridge from downtown.

Restoration of rail service on Westlake Avenue was originally envisioned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen to help improve the South Lake Union neighborhood, in which his venture capital company, Vulcan Inc., is heavily invested. Allen's main supporter from the beginning was Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, but he was not universally supported by the Seattle City Council, which was concerned about the lack of public support for the line and questioned if it should be moved ahead of Seattle's other transportation needs.

After heavy lobbying by South Lake Union businesses, including Vulcan, the Seattle City Council approved the development of the neighborhood into a biotechnology and bio-medical research center. Included in that plan was funding to investigate a 1.3-mile (2.1 km), US$45 million streetcar line. The line was approved in 2005 at a cost of $50.5 million, with $25 million paid by property owners along the streetcar's route and the remainder paid by federal, state, and local funds. The final cost was $56.4 million; additional costs were mostly utility work needed after the line opened.