CID riders downtown got a shutdown instead of a train. An empty Link train derailed late last night while turning around at International District/Chinatown station, and shuttle buses took over the 1 Line and 2 Line downtown.
The train was headed to Stadium station to help clear crowds of Ed Sheeran fans waiting for a ride home. That is the part most riders needed to know: the disruption was tied to a late-night surge, not a routine gap in service.
International District/Chinatown station switch
The train was using the pocket track when it derailed. It appears the train came off the rails at the switch, and the overhead wire may have been damaged.
As of this morning, the train had been removed from the station, and crews were inspecting the tracks and overhead wires. Riders on the downtown stretch had shuttle buses, while trains kept running between Capitol Hill and Lynnwood, SODO and Federal Way, and Judkins Park and Downtown Redmond.
1 Line and 2 Line service
Normal service on the 1 Line and 2 Line resumed shortly after 2pm on Sunday. That left a clear split in the day: a morning of inspection and replacement buses, then a return to rail service once the downtown segment reopened.
The unresolved issue is the cause at the switch and whether the overhead wire was actually damaged. Those details matter for the next service review, because they point to either track equipment, train movement, or both, but the immediate rider impact was already settled by the time downtown trains restarted.
For readers trying to map the disruption to the rest of the system, the answer is simple: the break was downtown, not systemwide, and the main restoration point was the return of 1 Line and 2 Line trains after 2pm Sunday. A separate report on a ferris wheel incident did not affect rail service.
