King County Metro Transit’s electric trolley buses will temporarily switch over to diesel operation for the next two weekends – Oct. 18 & 19 and Oct. 25 & 26 – while crews activate a brand new electric substation in downtown Seattle. There should be no disruption in bus service for Metro passengers.

Metro operates 14 electric trolley routes that run on more than 70 miles of overhead wire throughout downtown Seattle, Ballard, Queen Anne, the University District, Capitol Hill, First Hill, Beacon Hill and the Rainier Valley. For the current weekend schedule, when 11 electric routes are in operation, there are a total of 42 trolley buses in service on Saturday and 26 on Sunday.

Currently, the electric substation that supplies all the power to overhead trolley wires is located in the old City Light building, and Metro’s lease on that location has expired. Also, most of the equipment was installed when the substation was built in the 1940s. For the past two years, Metro has been working on a project to build a state-of-the-art electric substation at Sixth Avenue and Columbia Street.

Construction of the new substation has been completed, and all of the underground utility work that supports the project is also done. The only thing that remains is to switch over the power supply to the new building. This will require shutting down the entire electrical system for the trolleys over the next two weekends, so that crews can work safely.

The new substation features the latest equipment, much of which was designed specifically for Metro’s system. It should provide updated and efficient power service to the trolley system.

The weekend power switch should not inconvenience passengers. The diesel-operated trolleys will run on their regular routes and make all regular stops. All Metro diesel-operated coaches are fueled by Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD). Metro uses this fuel in conjunction with diesel particulate filters, and the combination reduces tailpipe emissions by 90 percent from buses using low sulfur diesel.