A 'convention of transit nerds' at Bellevue-Redmond light rail opening day

Sound Transit's 2 Line, connecting Redmond to Bellevue, has opened after a years-long wait.

On Saturday's opening, many Eastsiders celebrated, optimistic that the new line would simplify their commutes.

The eight-stop route will carry passengers from South Bellevue to the Redmond Technology Station.

Anu Radha of from the Totem Lake area in Kirkland said she expects the line will give her and her husband the option to leave their cars behind when commuting to Microsoft and Amazon where they work. She brought her parents, visiting from India, to see opening day.

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"I wanted to show them something new that was happening," she said. "They were thrilled."

And they weren't alone.

The day also revealed large numbers of another kind of rider: transit nerds.

They came from communities that aren't directly served by the new line,, at least not until it connects to the 1 Line through Seattle in 2025.

Some transit nerds seemed to be seeing Bellevue with new eyes. Others were just happy to see what they consider a big transit win.

"I'm a transit fan," said Bruce Qu from Shoreline, who made his way through the crowds in order to nab a seat on the very first train. "Because this is the first train, I'm thinking I'll ride all the way to the end. And then on the way back, I'm gonna stop at each station."

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Cory Mae Lamont of Tacoma, a freelance designer, showed up wearing a custom bomber jacket he made bearing the 2 Line logo on the left chest.

"I got off at one of the stations, and somebody from Sound Transit thought I worked for Sound Transit," he said.

Lamont's fandom runs deep. He said his friends know him as someone who won't stop talking about transit. He said opening day felt like a convention of transit nerds.

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"I don't get this every day," he said. "It's quite the thrill to be around other people who are nerds about public transit. So, it was very important for me to be here."

Sabrina Djouahra came from Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. She's a heavy user of the 1 Line there, and woke up early to bus to Bellevue. She said she was surprised by how quickly the trains moved.

"I used to work in Bellevue, and I felt like Redmond and Bellevue were so far away... from each other," she said. "But then I realized, 'Oh, it only felt far away because of the traffic!'"

Not every transit nerd was completely impressed.

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Daniel Heppner, also from Capitol Hill, said he was skeptical when the train approached the BelRed station.

"The surroundings were just parking lots, and there was a cement truck parking lot. And we were like, 'Oh, yeah, this is a really interesting area here, BelRed,'" he said in a sarcastic voice. "We were kind of making fun of it as we came into it."

Heppner's image of the area changed as the train continued past the station, though, revealing new apartments, businesses and a big "BelRed Arts District" sign.

"I don't know if the sign is the extent of the arts there, but maybe we can figure that out with the train," he said.

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Saturday's opening was just one of several new station openings coming soon to Sound Transit's expanding light rail network. In August, the 1 Line will connect to Lynnwood. In 2025, the 2 Line will connect to the 1 Line in Seattle. And in 2026, the system will extend south to Federal Way.

But this opening day was unique in scale, because it represented the biggest expansion of the system since the first light rail segment opened between downtown Seattle and Tukwila in 2009.

It was also the perfect opportunity to sow the next generation of transit fans.

Karthik Narashimhan of Sammamish brought his 4-year-old son, "because he loves riding the train," he said.

While Narashimhan's son wouldn't speak to this interviewer, his dad reported the kid was having a great time.