Riding the Rails with Kate and Roy

 

5/22/24 LINK light rail, Wilburton Station

The latest extension to Sound Transit’s regional light rail line, which just opened a few weeks ago, connects south Bellevue with Microsoft’s core campus in Redmond on the Eastside. Since it doesn’t cross the lake yet, ridership is low, which was expected – but I didn’t expect the trains and southern-most station to be entirely empty when I boarded! It felt a bit post-apocalyptic. A few minutes into the ride, the lonely, eerie feeling didn’t improve when an announcement was made that the line was experiencing a power outage. “For your safety, please remain seated,” a looped message warned me.

When I had boarded, I thought I would be arriving at the Whole Foods near Wilburton Station within a few minutes to meet Kate and Roy, so I wasn’t concerned that I needed to use a restroom. To distract myself from the delay, I sketched a selfie from my reflection. To my relief, power was restored by the time I finished, and we were on our way again (by “we,” I mean myself and the driver, since I still saw no other riders on platforms or trains).

I arrived at Whole Foods in a few minutes as planned, and then our big adventure began (after I used the restroom, of course): Ride the rail route, getting off at various stations along the way to sketch. Although the post-apocalyptic status never changed – except for the very last leg of our trip when two women joined us, the only other humans we saw were security staff – we all had a great time sketching the stations and each other.

Spring District and Overlake Village stations

My favorite part of the new rail line was our final stop at the northern-most Redmond Technology Station that mainly serves Microsoft employees. The company paid for a pedestrian overpass connecting the station to the two sides of Microsoft divided by the 520 highway. Expecting a sterile concrete bridge, I was delighted to see a white, tent-like structure that evokes the Sydney Opera House (well, it’s not quite as cool as that architectural wonder, but it makes a similar sail-like impression). Flowering plants and greenery are planted all along the bridge. Sheltered but full of natural light, it’s one of the more attractive walkways I’ve used.

Redmond Technology Station pedestrian walkway and the ride back

After riding end-to-end and back again, we agreed that the new light rail line would make a great USk outing this summer.

By the way, you’ll notice that a couple of pages include loose haiku related to the sketches. An upcoming post about haiku comics will talk more about this fun and challenging addition to my urban sketches; these can serve as teasers.

Ridin' and sketchin' the Eastside rails!