It’s finally here: Sound Transit announces beginning of Hilltop trolley extension
After nearly five years of construction and $282 million, trolleys will soon be carrying passengers through Tacoma’s Stadium and Hilltop districts.
Sound Transit announced Monday that the Hilltop Link extension will begin carrying fare-paying passengers Sept. 16.
The system has been free to ride since it began service in 2003. With the opening of the extension, Sound Transit will start charging adult riders $2. Trains will run every 10 minutes.
Passers-by have already seen trolley cars using the line for the past month while daytime testing has been going on.
Now called the T-Line, the Hilltop extension adds 2.4 miles of track for a total of nearly 4 miles. Among the new stations are:
St. Joseph (Martin Luther King Jr. Way south of South 17th Street)
Hilltop District (South 11th and MLK Way)
6th Avenue (at MLK Way)
Tacoma General (MLK Way at MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital)
South 4th (at South Stadium Way)
Old City Hall Station (Commerce Street north of South 7th Street)
The project comes in $65 million over budget and a year late.
The Hilltop extension relocated the original end-of-the-line station on Commerce Street at South 8th Street further north toward Old City Hall and added six new stations. It also necessitated the construction of a larger maintenance facility near Freighthouse Square and added five new trolley cars.
Sound Transit estimates 2,000-4,000 riders will use the T-Line by 2026.
A ribbon cutting by the Tacoma Urban Performing Arts Center near the new T Line station will be held Sept. 16 at 10 a.m., according to a Monday news release. There will be commemorative T-shirts as well as remarks from elected officials and community leaders and performances by TUPAC dancers and NW Sinfonietta.
T Line Fares
Riders will be able to tap their ORCA cards as they do on Sounder trains. Passengers can also buy one-way, return or all-day tickets. Ticket machines will accept cash and credit/debit cards. Tickets can also be purchased with the Transit GO ticket app.
Trains will run from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday; 7:20 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturdays; and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays. Monday through Saturday, trains will run at approximately 12-minute intervals from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and every 20 minutes all other times and Sundays, according to Sound Transit.
Adult (age 19-64): $2
Low-income adult (ORCA LIFT): $1
Senior/Disabled (age 65+ or qualifying disability): $1
Youth (18 and under): Free
— Becca Most contributed to this story.
This story was originally published August 21, 2023 at 4:02 PM.
