Fall 2026 is the first event season since Bellevue's familiar bus options into Seattle were retired. Sound Transit ended ST Express Routes 550 and 554 on August 29. The University of Washington also dropped its Eastgate and South Kirkland Park & Ride express buses to Husky Stadium for the 2026 season and named expanded light rail as the reason. In practice, the default trip from Bellevue to a Husky game, a Kraken game, or a Saturday matinee at Benaroya Hall now starts with the 2 Line.
That's the right way to read the calendar this fall. The train doesn't just add an option. It's what's left, so the dates it doesn't run across the lake now matter as much as the kickoff times.
The buses left after the riders did
The cuts followed the ridership. The 2 Line's Crosslake Connection opened March 28, 2026, adding Mercer Island and Judkins Park stations and linking Bellevue to the 1 Line at International District/Chinatown. By April, average weekday ridership on Route 550 had already dropped 48% to 2,306, according to Seattle Transit Blog's review of ST Express numbers. Across the whole Link system over the same months, Sound Transit reported average weekday boardings climbing from 118,000 in March to 181,000 in June. Those are systemwide figures. Sound Transit hasn't published a 2 Line-only count.
Here's what the August changes swapped out for Eastside riders headed toward Seattle:
| What ended | What took its place |
|---|---|
| ST Express 550 and 554 across I-90 | 2 Line trains; new Route 556 links Issaquah with South Bellevue and Bellevue Downtown stations |
| UW game-day express buses from Eastgate and South Kirkland Park & Rides | Link to Univ of Washington station, plus added Metro service on Routes 255 and 542 |
| Metro Route 218 to downtown Seattle | Route 218 now ends at Mercer Island Station for a Link transfer |
Route 556 now runs every 15 minutes between Issaquah and Bellevue Transit Center, according to the City of Issaquah's service-change notice. It feeds the train. It doesn't replace it.
Husky Stadium is now one ride from downtown Bellevue
The most useful detail about the 2 Line is easy to miss on a map. International District/Chinatown is one of its stops, not the end of the line. Sound Transit's current schedule shows it as one continuous route from Downtown Redmond through Bellevue Downtown, South Bellevue, and Mercer Island, then on through Pioneer Square, Symphony, Westlake, Capitol Hill, and Univ of Washington all the way to Lynnwood City Center. A Bellevue rider going to Husky Stadium boards one train and gets off at the stadium.
UW Athletics calls this the first full football season with expanded Link service. In its 2026 gameday guide, it says:
"The Sound Transit Link light rail system provides direct access to Husky Stadium via the University of Washington Station, located just steps from the stadium."
The same guide warns that trains and platforms can be crowded before and after games, so build in extra time.
The remaining home dates on the Huskies' schedule:
- Friday, Oct. 9, vs. Iowa, 6:00 p.m. kickoff. UW warns that campus parking will be limited because it's a weekday, and it strongly encourages transit or carpooling.
- Saturday, Nov. 7, vs. Penn State, kickoff time to be announced.
- Saturday, Nov. 21, vs. Indiana, kickoff time to be announced.
The Iowa game puts the new setup under the most pressure. A 6 p.m. Friday kickoff overlaps the evening commute, and the Eastgate bus is gone. For downtown Bellevue households, the train is the simplest way in.
Kraken nights add one transfer at Westlake
Climate Pledge Arena takes two vehicles. Sound Transit's guidance is to ride Link to Westlake and transfer to the Seattle Monorail. The transfer works like this:
- Leave the 2 Line at Westlake through Exit A2.
- Take the elevator or stairs up to the Monorail station on the third floor of Westlake Center.
- Ride about two minutes to Seattle Center.
The Monorail costs $4 one way for adults ages 19 to 64 and $2 for youth. For publicly ticketed events at Climate Pledge Arena, the Kraken + CPA app offers a free King County transit pass, Monorail included. It's valid from two hours before doors open until two hours after the event.
The Monorail's hours matter for weeknight games. Its regular fall schedule closes at 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, but the operator says it stays open one hour after expected arena event end times. It has posted 11 p.m. closings for the Kraken games on Oct. 6, 20, 22, and 28.
The Kraken's remaining home schedule, from the team's official calendar:
- October: Vegas tonight, Oct. 6, at 6:40 p.m.; Detroit Oct. 20 at 6:40 p.m.; Utah Oct. 22, Minnesota Oct. 24, and Toronto Oct. 28, all at 7:00 p.m.
- November: Calgary Nov. 4 at 7:00 p.m.; the NY Rangers Nov. 7 at 2:00 p.m.; Vancouver Nov. 19 at 6:40 p.m.; Anaheim Nov. 23 and Chicago Nov. 25 at 6:40 p.m.; Edmonton Nov. 28 at 7:00 p.m.
Sound Transit has already posted a crowd alert for tonight's Vegas game. It asks riders to allow extra time and expect crowds in stations, on platforms, and on trains.
The rest of the fall calendar sits near the same line
The same pattern holds for nearly every big venue. Lumen Field and T-Mobile Park are a short walk from International District/Chinatown, which is a 2 Line stop. Sound Transit's added game-day trains for those stadiums are Sounder runs, so they don't help an Eastside rider. The regular 2 Line is the connection.
The 2 Line also stops at Symphony station on its way through downtown. Benaroya Hall's October calendar includes "Demons, Vampires, Witches: A Philharmonic Halloween" on Oct. 24 at 2 p.m., Seattle Symphony's "The Ring in Concert" on Oct. 29 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 30 at 8 p.m., and the "Halloween Spooktacular!" on the morning of Oct. 31. Climate Pledge Arena's November concert calendar runs from Bryson Tiller on Nov. 1 to Trans-Siberian Orchestra on Nov. 29, with Smashing Pumpkins on Nov. 6 and Ms. Lauryn Hill & Wyclef Jean on Nov. 10 in between.
The system has already handled a far bigger crowd than any of these. On the June 15 World Cup match day, Sound Transit estimated 210,000 combined 1 and 2 Line boardings and ran every 2 Line train with three cars for the first time.
The weekends the train doesn't cross the lake
With the buses gone, a rail disruption leaves no bus alternative across the lake. Sound Transit's planned service disruptions page currently lists two:
- Oct. 6 to 8, from about 10:30 p.m. to end of service: 1 and 2 Line trains are suspended between Northgate and Westlake, with shuttle buses in between. The 2 Line still runs between Westlake and Downtown Redmond, so a late Kraken trip back to Bellevue tonight isn't affected.
- Oct. 17 and 18, all day: the 2 Line is suspended between South Bellevue and International District/Chinatown. Trains run every 10 minutes between Downtown Redmond and South Bellevue, and shuttle buses cover the lake crossing every 10 to 15 minutes. Riders heading north past downtown Seattle transfer to the 1 Line at International District/Chinatown.
No Husky or Kraken home game falls on Oct. 17 or 18. Still, any Seattle plans that weekend mean a shuttle bus from South Bellevue. No other 2 Line closures through December were listed when this was written, but the alerts update live.
Closer to home, construction has moved Routes 220, 240, ST 556, and ST 566 off their usual Bellevue Transit Center bays through Sunday, Dec. 20. Bellevue-bound 556 riders use a temporary stop on 110th Ave NE just south of NE 6th St.
Fares, hours, and the trip home
An adult Link fare is $3.00 one way. Seniors, riders with disabilities, and ORCA LIFT cardholders pay $1.00, and riders 18 and under ride free. If you pay with ORCA or a contactless card, the fare you paid counts toward your next leg within two hours, so you only pay any difference. Sound Transit recommends ORCA, contactless payment, or the Transit GO Ticket app on event days so you can skip the ticket-machine lines.
Trains run from about 5 a.m. to midnight. Late at night, they come every 12 to 16 minutes on weekdays and every 12 to 15 minutes on Saturdays. Published estimates of the ride time between Bellevue Downtown and downtown Seattle don't agree, so before a game, check Sound Transit's trip planner for your exact departure and your last train home.
For downtown Bellevue, the shift goes both ways. According to KOMO News, on opening day The French Bakery's manager reported sales 15% to 18% above normal and allowed that the nice weather may have helped; staff at Nextdoor Signature Wild Wasabi heard from customers who had come over by light rail, and the bar manager pointed to Bellevue's strict parking as the hurdle the train helps visitors avoid. The same train that takes Bellevue to Husky Stadium brings Seattle to Bellevue Way. It sits alongside the trail network covered in our look at the Eastrail miles that are already open and the station-area dining in our late-summer guide to downtown Bellevue.
How far a home sits from Bellevue Downtown or South Bellevue station now affects game nights as well as commutes. If you're weighing that for a sale or a search, The Sessoms Group can walk you through how station access plays out block by block across Bellevue. Schedule your concierge consultation.
