The tunnel was closed on September 24, 2005, for modification to accommodate both buses and Sound Transit's Central Link (now Line 1) light rail trains with shared lanes and platforms. The roadway was lowered by and other improvements were made to prepare for light rail service. New hybrid electric buses were moved into the tunnel to replace the Breda fleet, as the overhead wire was replaced for light rail trains. The tunnel reopened on September 24, 2007, and light rail service began on July 18, 2009. A stub tunnel, branching from the main tunnel, was constructed under Pine Street to allow light rail trains to stop and reverse direction; it was later used as the first segment of a light rail extension to Capitol Hill and the University of Washington that opened in 2016. Convention Place station was closed permanently on July 21, 2018, to make way for an expansion of the Washington State Convention Center that would also restrict bus access to the tunnel. On March 23, 2019, bus service in the tunnel ceased and its remaining seven routes were moved to surface streets.