On Aug. 29, Sound Transit eliminated Route 550, the Bellevue–Seattle express bus. Route 554 from Issaquah ended the same day. Light rail had been crossing Lake Washington since March 28, 2026, running one continuous 2 Line from Downtown Redmond to Lynnwood through Mercer Island, Judkins Park and downtown Seattle. For five months the train and the bus overlapped. Now there is no overlap.
That raises the stakes of one maintenance weekend. On Saturday, Oct. 17, and Sunday, Oct. 18, Sound Transit will replace 2 Line trains with shuttle buses between South Bellevue and International District/Chinatown for the entire service day. That Saturday also has the Sounders at Lumen Field and MANÁ at Climate Pledge Arena. If you plan to be in Seattle that night, you'll want a plan before the 17th.
What Replaced the 550, and What Didn't
Sound Transit's service-change page names two alternatives to the 550: the 2 Line and Route 556. Only one of them goes to Seattle. Since the fall change, the 556 runs Issaquah to Eastgate to South Bellevue to Bellevue Transit Center, with a stop at the I-90 Expressway Ramp. It has no Seattle stop and does not use SR 520. It now comes every 15 minutes for most of the day, a real improvement for trips within the Eastside. After 8 p.m. it drops to every 30 minutes. For downtown Seattle, it brings you to a train station.
King County Metro changed its Eastside routes to match. Routes 111, 218 and 269 were redrawn to meet 2 Line stations. A new Route 215 serves Mercer Island. Route 271 was replaced by new Routes 220 and 270 for Eastgate–Bellevue–University District trips. Back in March, Metro also added Route 240 trips for 15-minute service linking South Bellevue, East Main and Bellevue Downtown. The bus network now feeds the train. It doesn't run alongside it.
Plenty of people had switched before the 550 ended. Seattle Transit Blog reported that East Main's average weekday boardings in April 2026 were 647% higher than in April 2025, and Eastside stations overall were up 505% year over year.
The Ride, Station by Station
These are scheduled onboard times from the current 2 Line timetable. They don't include walking to the platform or waiting for the next train.
| Bellevue station | Int'l Dist/Chinatown | Westlake | Capitol Hill | Univ of Washington |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Bellevue | 16 min | 21 min | 24 min | 28 min |
| East Main | 19 min | 24 min | 27 min | 31 min |
| Bellevue Downtown | 22 min | 27 min | 30 min | 34 min |
| Wilburton | 24 min | 29 min | 32 min | 36 min |
| Spring District | 26 min | 31 min | 34 min | 38 min |
| BelRed | 28 min | 33 min | 36 min | 40 min |
Between South Bellevue and BelRed the gap is a steady 12 minutes to any Seattle stop. That 12 minutes matters most at night, when trains are less frequent. Sound Transit's guidance puts service at every 8, 10 or 15 minutes depending on the time of day. Its current-service table lists 2 Line hours as about 4 a.m. to 1 a.m. on weekdays and Saturdays, and 4:30 a.m. to midnight on Sundays. The general How to Ride page gives a shorter window of roughly 5 a.m. to midnight. Plan your last train home off the live schedule, not either summary.
For flights, there's no train straight to the airport. Transfer to the 1 Line at International District/Chinatown. The 1 Line leg to SeaTac/Airport is scheduled at 33 minutes, so the onboard total from Bellevue's stations runs about 49 to 61 minutes before any transfer wait.
An October Built Around the 2 Line
Most of the big Seattle venues sit on or near the line, and each one connects a little differently.
- Husky Stadium. Univ of Washington station is right next to the stadium. Washington hosts Iowa on Friday, Oct. 9, at 6 p.m. From Bellevue Downtown, that's a 34-minute ride with no transfer.
- Lumen Field. The stadium is a short walk from International District/Chinatown, where the 2 Line arrives, or from Stadium station, one 1 Line stop south. The Seahawks host the 49ers on Oct. 11 at 1:25 p.m. and the Chiefs on Oct. 25 at 5:20 p.m. Both kickoff times fall under the NFL's flexible-scheduling window and could move. The Sounders host Houston on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 7:30 p.m.
- Climate Pledge Arena. Sound Transit recommends riding to Westlake and taking the Seattle Center Monorail. The arena says the Monorail ride takes 90 seconds. Kraken home games are Oct. 6, 20, 22, 24 and 28. Tickets to public events at the arena include a free King County transit pass, valid from two hours before doors open until two hours after the event.
Two dates on that list have catches. On Oct. 6, the night of the Vegas game, late-night work suspends Link between Northgate and Westlake after about 10:30 p.m. through Oct. 8. The 2 Line still runs on schedule between Westlake and Downtown Redmond, so a Bellevue rider leaving Westlake after the game isn't affected. On Oct. 28, the Kraken face Toronto at 7 p.m. and the Sounders kick off at 7:30, so two crowds will be heading home on the same trains. Sound Transit's general event guidance warns of heavier crowds on event days. It recommends ORCA, contactless payment or the Transit GO app to skip the ticket-machine lines.
Saturday, October 17
On the 17th, the line splits at South Bellevue. Sound Transit says the work is planned maintenance on the overhead power system in the Mercer Island tunnel. Trains will run every 10 minutes between Downtown Redmond and South Bellevue. From there, shuttle buses every 10 to 15 minutes carry riders across to International District/Chinatown. The 1 Line runs normally, about every 8 minutes.
The evening has two big events. CF Montréal plays at Lumen Field at 7:30 p.m. MANÁ plays Climate Pledge Arena from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. The Mariners' postseason page also lists Oct. 17 as a possible home date for ALCS Game 5, depending on the matchup, with no time set. Treat it as possible, not confirmed.
Here's what's known and unknown for planning that night:
- Boarding. Sound Transit's South Bellevue station page lists Bus Plaza Bays 1 and 3 for shuttle service. The October notice doesn't name the curb at International District/Chinatown.
- Stops in between. For the July 26 crosslake closure, shuttles stopped at Mercer Island and Judkins Park along the way. Sound Transit hasn't confirmed the same stop pattern for October.
- Time. Sound Transit hasn't published a shuttle travel time for this closure, and the July coverage didn't report one either. The 16-minute rail trip from South Bellevue to International District/Chinatown is the only scheduled baseline, and a bus over I-90 on a game night shouldn't be expected to match it.
- Getting to the bus. If you drive to the transfer instead of riding from a station farther north, South Bellevue has 1,524 parking spaces. In a story published April 30, 2026, the Seattle Times reported the garage at 72% occupancy based on recent counts. That figure doesn't tell you how full the garage will be on an event weekend.
- Getting home. For MANÁ, the trip back is the reverse: Monorail to Westlake, a 1 or 2 Line train south to International District/Chinatown, a shuttle to South Bellevue, then a train or car home. That's four legs instead of two.
Sound Transit's notice is dated Oct. 2, and details can change before the weekend. Its rider alerts are at soundtransit.org/ride-with-us/service-alerts.
Sunday the 18th is much quieter. Climate Pledge Arena has no events that day, and Washington has no home game that weekend. The shuttle still runs all day Sunday, so a brunch on Capitol Hill or a visit to the International District will take longer than usual.
The Rest of the Fall
Regular service returns before the Kraken host Detroit on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 6:40 p.m. Longer term, Sound Transit is considering a 2027 proposal to start 2 Line service about 25 minutes later each day and end it about 15 minutes earlier Monday through Saturday. It's a proposal and hasn't been adopted. The 1 a.m. last train on Saturdays is the schedule for now.
Which station you start from also affects how one of these nights goes. From BelRed, a Kraken game is 33 minutes to Westlake plus the Monorail. From South Bellevue it's 21 minutes. On Oct. 17, a South Bellevue rider walks straight to the shuttle bay, while everyone farther north rides a train to South Bellevue first. Over a full fall of games and concerts, those differences add up.
If you're thinking about how much being near a 2 Line station is worth, whether you're selling a home near East Main or looking at one near the Spring District, I'm happy to talk through what the recent sales show. Request a free home valuation or contact Sam today at Sam Burke.
