A light rail station in the Mount Baker area was first proposed in 1995 and approved the following year. Construction began in late 2005 and the station was opened for regular service on July 18, 2009. Trains serve the station twenty hours a day on most days; the headway between trains is six minutes during peak periods, with less frequent service at other times. Mount Baker station is also served by five King County Metro bus routes that connect it to Downtown, Capitol Hill, Rainier Beach, the Central District, and the University District.