FROM RAILS TO TRAILS: The Interurban Trail’s Legacy and the Rise of Regional Transit

Following the route of once-revolutionary electric railway lines that helped shape the Puget Sound region, the historic Interurban Trail is actually a pair of trails. The North Trail runs from north Seattle through Shoreline to the Snohomish County line, while the South Trail connects Tukwila, Kent, Auburn, Algona, and Pacific along a near-straight 14-mile path.

The Seattle–Everett Interurban Railway, launched in 1910, was a privately operated system offering regular, electric-powered passenger service well before cars and highways redefined mobility. It connected Seattle neighborhoods like Fremont and Ballard with rising towns such as Shoreline, Edmonds, Lynnwood, and Everett, creating a backbone of regional access and economic growth.

Though discontinued in 1939, the route lives on as a greenway. Today, the Interurban Trail North offers a scenic, paved corridor for walking, biking, and commuting, still linking neighborhoods much like it did a century ago. The South Trail, meanwhile, echoes the spirit of the earlier Seattle–Tacoma Interurban Railway (established in 1902), continuing the legacy of ambitious regional connection.