CONFIRMED90% CONFIDENCESound Transit's[1] opening-day release, dated 6 December 2025, says riders can board the extension "starting today".
- Start
- Dec 6, 202590% CONFIDENCEfrom the source
Sound Transit's 1 Line Opens to Federal Way
The nearly 8-mile extension runs south from Angle Lake along I-5 and adds Kent Des Moines, Star Lake and Federal Way Downtown stations. Sound Transit moved the $2.5 billion project's opening up from an earlier target of March 2026.
- "Starting today, new Link light rail service to Federal Way begins" - the release announces the opening without printing a date of its own[1]
- The nearly 8-mile 1 Line extension adds travel options between Seattle, Sea-Tac Airport and Federal Way, with three new stations - Kent Des Moines, Star Lake and Federal Way Downtown - plus two new parking structures and a parking addition in Federal Way[1]
- Kent Des Moines is elevated, just southwest of I-5 at the SR516 exit, serving Highline College and future affordable housing, with a garage of approximately 500 new spaces[1]
- Star Lake sits on the west side of I-5 just north of South 272nd and has a 1,105-stall parking garage[1]
- Federal Way Downtown is elevated at the Federal Way Transit Center, "one of the busiest transit centers in the region", serving the Federal Way Performing Arts and Events Center and local businesses, with a garage addition of 341 spaces on top of the 1,224 already in use and more housing expected on adjacent surplus property[1]
- Funding for the $2.5 billion project "includes a $790 million federal grant agreement from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and a $629.5 million low-interest loan from the U.S. Department of Transportation"; Kiewit was the design-builder[1]
- Voters approved the extension in 2008 as part of the Sound Transit 2 ballot measure, and the project broke ground in summer 2020; CEO Dow Constantine said the team "overcame the challenges of the Great Recession and Covid pandemic during the life of this project, while still finishing hundreds of millions of dollars under budget"[1]
- The release does not mention the pin's claim that the opening was moved up from an earlier target of March 2026[1]
- This is the fifth Sound Transit light rail extension in three years, after T Line service to Hilltop, the 2 Line between South Bellevue and Redmond Technology, the Lynnwood extension into Snohomish County and the 2 Line extension to Downtown Redmond[1]
- Next: the Crosslake Connection carrying the 2 Line across Lake Washington into Seattle is expected in 2026, as is a new Pinehurst Station at NE 130th Street in Seattle from the ST3 measure[1]
- Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland called it "Nine years in the making" and "a critical step toward a Tacoma Dome Station and completion of our vision for ST3", while board member Pete von Reichbauer said that "as our region prepares for FIFA next year, light rail will put South King County on the map as a destination"[1]
Cost $2.5B
References 190% CONFIDENCE
The first entry is always the pin's source. Overall confidence is a weighted average of how firmly each reference supports the start and end times used above; a reference counts half as much for every 180 days older than the newest.
- [1]90%soundtransit.org/get-to-know-us/news-events/news-releases/light-rail-to-federal-way-begins-servicesoundtransit.org· Posted Sep 20, 2026· Starts Dec 6, 2025 ✓· 100% of score
Sound Transit's opening-day release, dated 6 December 2025, says riders can board the extension "starting today".
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