Light rail’s opening day includes celebrations and more

Published 1:16 pm Wednesday, December 3, 2025

A multi-stop celebration in South King County will mark the historic opening of three new Sound Transit Link light rail stops on Saturday, Dec. 6, including Kent-Des Moines, Star Lake and Federal Way.

A ribbon cutting will start off the day’s festivities at 9:30 a.m. at the Federal Way Downtown Station, located at the Federal Way Transit Center, 31911 23rd Ave. S. The station features 400 new parking spaces in addition to existing garages, public restrooms, and a rebuilt street grid with pedestrian and bicycle improvements.

Speeches from community leaders and the ribbon cutting will finish around 11 a.m. when passengers will be welcomed on board for the first time.

From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., community members can enter to win prizes by participating in the “Discover. Play. Win!” challenge and enjoy a different community celebration at each stop.

Federal Way’s community celebration will be hosted by the Federal Way Black Collective and will feature a street fair with live music and performances, food trucks, community partners and kids activities.

Before hopping on the train to head to the Star Lake stop, guests can pick up a stamp ticket attached to the exclusive 1 Line to Federal Way posters, then visit all three stations to collect stamps and submit their completed ticket for a chance to win prizes.

With a map from a Sound Transit ambassador in hand, guests can head to the Star Lake stop, where they can join Project Feast’s event titled “Feast for Trains.”

Project Feast is a local social-enterprise nonprofit that focuses on empowering refugee and immigrant cooks through culinary job training. Their event will feature multicultural stage performances, curated food vendors, live cooking demonstrations, commemorative giveaways, kids’ activities and more.

Participants can then wait the 8 to 15 minutes to catch a train to the Kent-Des Moines station to enjoy a free family-friendly celebration featuring seven themed “gardens,” each one “highlighting local culture, innovation and community, including interactive art and history exhibits, food trucks, live performances, and youth-led activities,” according to Sound Transit.

This event will be hosted by the Success Foundation and presented by Sound Transit in partnership with the City of Kent and the City of Des Moines, as well as local community organizations.

Sound Transit staff estimates the new Federal Way Link will draw an average of about 25,000 daily riders along the extension that will connect to Seattle and Lynnwood and eventually to Bellevue. Riders will come from the three cities where the stations sit and draw from Fife, Milton, Tacoma and Auburn, according to Sound Transit spokesperson David Jackson.

At a preview ride several days before the opening, Chief Strategy Officer Nadia Anderson told the Mirror that centering the community has been an important focus for Sound Transit throughout the process. The community’s willingness to engage back also makes a huge difference, she said.

She expects it to impact the community beyond those who utilize public transit themselves.

“I’d say even for people who may not engage with transit on a day to day basis, they’re going to see different changes in their day to day lives,” she explained. These changes could look like “reducing vehicles on the road” and “different types of opportunities that are brought to the region as well” like “new shops, new areas of placemaking, new areas of green space.”

Times and prices

• Trains will run every 8 to 15 minutes, 5 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week. Service starts around 11 a.m. on opening day, Dec. 6.

• Rides from Federal Way are scheduled to take 16 minutes to Sea-Tac Airport, 56 minutes to Westlake Station in downtown Seattle, 62 minutes to the University of Washington and about 82 minutes to Lynnwood.

• Adult one-way fares on Link are $3. Day passes automatically cap at $6. Youth 18 and under ride free. Reduced fares are available for seniors (65 and older pay $1), riders with lower incomes, and riders with disabilities.

• Sound Transit has fare ambassadors out on platforms and trains to answer questions.

• Learn more at www.soundtransit.org/southkinglink.