Bus briefly blocks Seattle transit tunnel

Riders aboard a light-rail train had to get off at Stadium Station and hop a bus to finish their trip to downtown Monday night, after another bus became stuck inside the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel.

The stuck bus lost power at 7:55 p.m. at Westlake Station. It was cleared 20 minutes later, according to Sound Transit.

The agency didn't put out a ridership alert, however. That is likely because the delay was relatively brief, and only one incoming train was turned away, said transit spokesman Bruce Gray.

David Rosenthal, taking light rail in from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport after arriving from Chicago, said he spent several minutes stuck aboard the train. It took another 10 minutes to wait for a bus to University Station, he said. "I was a little annoyed; I had a long flight," he said. Rosenthal said he's ridden rail lines in other cities, and never had to change to a bus.

Seattle operates the world's only downtown transit tunnel with shared bus and train operations. If the tunnel is closed or blocked, incoming trains must stop at Stadium Station south of the tunnel, so they can use a turnback switch for a return trip to Sea-Tac.

Statistics weren't immediately available Tuesday, but Gray said tunnel stalls like these "are pretty rare."

"It's part of sharing the tunnel, and we're all working through this new arrangement. We think we've got it down pretty well these days," said Gray. The $2.6 billion, 16-mile light-rail line opened last year; construction is under way on an extension to the University of Washington by 2016.

Mike Lindblom: 206-515-5631 or mlindblom@seattletimes.com