What's it like to ride the 2 Line across Lake Washington? In a single word: Exhilarating!

by Andrew Villeneuve

Ahead of the March 28th grand opening of the Crosslake Connection, which will finally complete the 2 Line and throw open the sliding metal gates of the Mercer Island and Judkins Park Stations to riders, Sound Transit invited local and regional media outlets to take the train across Lake Washington and try out the service.

And seemingly everyone took them up on the offer. It was a most excellent morning of riding high capacity transit together, with every major television station, radio station, and online or print publication represented. Sound Transit CEO Dow Constantine and King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci joined agency staff to welcome everyone and speak about the monumental accomplishment that’s been decades in the making. Then it was time to head up to the platform and board a train.

We went from South Bellevue to Mercer Island, then from Mercer Island to Judkins Park, spending around twenty-ish minutes on each station platform. We did not go from Judkins Park to the International District, however (that segment is also part of the 2 Line!) and so that experience will have to wait for Opening Day on Saturday.

But riding across the lake was incredible.

https://www.nwprogressive.org/weblog/2026/03/whats-it-like-to-ride-the-2-line-across-lake-washington-in-a-single-word-exhilarating.html