WA: New light rail stations open with South King County party

For the fourth weekend in less than two years, throngs celebrated the growth of light rail in the Seattle region, this time for an 8-mile, three-station extension into South King County.

Warmed by a mostly sunny sky and cooled by a brisk wind, and with a marching band providing the soundtrack, revelers packed into the first train rolling out of Federal Way at 10:53 a.m. Saturday, headed north along what is now a 40-mile spine with 26 stations traveling through nine cities and towns and two counties to its north terminus in Lynnwood.

The $2.5 billion expansion to the south officially opened with a ribbon-cutting, attended by politicians, work-a-day light rail veterans and neophytes, and parties held at the three new stations: Kent Des Moines, Star Lake and Federal Way Downtown.

Diego Vargas-Gil, 20, was looking forward to taking the first train, and many others. He often takes the 577 or 578 buses to Seattle but will now ride light rail.

I don't really like driving," said Vargas-Gil, an apprentice electrician. "I'm excited to see more trains running next to the road."

Before getting off at Kent Des Moines Station to check out the festivities there, Chris Porter, 59, said the train would cut his 2 1/2-hour commute from West Seattle to Federal Way by more than an hour. Before Saturday, he'd bike from home to Othello Station, ride light rail to the end of the line at Angle Lake and grab the RapidRide A Line bus to work.

"I've been watching the trains from the freeway, thinking, 'When, when, when,'" said Porter, a human resources manager, adding that he was impatiently waiting for light rail to reach West Seattle and Tacoma. "We live in a very progressive place, but we're in the Stone Age when it comes to transportation."

The Federal Way extension gives commuters a new way to watch — and avoid — Interstate 5 traffic, and puts the system within striking distance of Pierce County and Tacoma, where the first part of the regional light rail was built more than 20 years ago, six years before Seattle. Though it is part of the same Sound Transit network that runs Seattle's trains, Tacoma's 4-mile line won't connect to the larger system until at least 2035.

Last year’s extension to Lynnwood opened up the northern suburbs; this year’s stretch into Redmond welded together the tech-heavy Eastside; and now the jump to Federal Way is anticipated to be a boon for workers and students in South King County.

Up to 23,000 riders a day are expected to board or exit a train at the three new stations, boosting ridership along that 1 Line spine from the current 110,000 daily average. The Eastside's 2 Line carries about 10,000 passengers a day, but its popularity is expected to grow once it connects with the 1 Line next year.

Car commuters looking to shorten their drive have new places to park and ride, with 3,100 new spots opening at the three new stations.

A trip from Federal Way to the airport should take 16 minutes, and the journey to Westlake Station in downtown Seattle, 56 minutes. The complete ride, from Federal Way to Lynnwood, about an hour and a half. Driving that distance can take under an hour — if there's no traffic — but congestion is common.

After members of the Muckleshoot Tribe opened the remarks Saturday at Federal Way Downtown Station, members of Washington's congressional delegation urged the public to demand better funding for transit, noting the headwinds such appropriations face under President Donald Trump.

U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D- Wash., said light rail has swiftly expanded in Seattle, noting she's "been to a few parties recently" for extension openings in Redmond, Lynnwood, Bellevue and Tacoma. "And now I'm here in Federal Way."

She said the investment in light rail here "is going to pay dividends for generations to come."

U.S. Rep. Marilyn Strickland, D- Tacoma, reminded King County Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer, who emceed Saturday's event, that he once said he thought "hell would freeze over" before light rail reached Federal Way.

"Hell will thaw and then freeze over again when we bring it to Tacoma Dome" in 2035, she said, referring to the anticipated connection between Seattle and Tacoma.

U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D- Everett, looked forward to a future connection deeper into his district. Everett is expected to connect to Lynnwood sometime between 2037-2041. As the top Democrat on the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, Larsen said the year ahead was important as lawmakers consider a massive transportation bill.

"You can't have a big league economy with little league infrastructure," he said. "Here in Federal Way, we definitely have big league infrastructure."

The push to Federal Way, and extensions for the Eastside and north to Lynnwood, were funded by both the ST2 and ST3 tax measures.

The $17.9 billion ST2 plan was approved by regional voters in 2008 — the night Barack Obama was elected president. It extended the system by 34 miles to Lynnwood and northern Federal Way, and largely built the 2 Line on the Eastside, including its link to Seattle across Lake Washington expected early next year, about six years later than envisioned.

The $53.8 billion ST3 plan was approved by voters in 2016, the night Donald Trump was first elected. It promised to extend light rail to Tacoma, Everett and Issaquah, as well as expand its presence in Seattle by connecting Ballard and West Seattle. So far, ST3 has paid for this year's extension farther into Redmond and much of the Federal Way portion of this week's extension.

Both measures followed the $3.9 billion ballot measure in 1996 — the night Bill Clinton was reelected — that created Sound Transit and initially funded the system.

For as long as Sound Transit has been around, a half-million South King County residents have waited for light rail. Frustration with delays was one reason a majority of voters in Federal Way, Kent and Auburn opposed higher Sound Transit taxes in 2016, though some precincts near the line did support them.

Soon after that vote, the price to reach Federal Way from Angle Lake began rising, due to runaway construction and land costs. In 2018, the budget estimate jumped by 22%, adding $460 million to the already multibillion-dollar project.

Weak, swampy soil north of Star Lake delayed the project as Sound Transit contractors built a 500-foot-long span to fly over the McSorley Creek wetland in Kent just south of Midway Landfill. Originally anticipated to reach downtown Federal Way in 2024, the line’s opening was pushed to 2026 by the soil issue. In August, Sound Transit surprised many by saying the expansion would open sooner than anticipated.

With trains now running, South King County residents can ride transit at nearly any time of day — the first train leaves Federal Way at 4:35 a.m., and the last train returns at 1:31 a.m. weeknights.

During peak commuting hours, trains are scheduled every eight minutes, offering a convenient alternative to traffic. That said, delays have become a frustrating and somewhat common feature of Sound Transit’s regional light rail system, but the agency said it's working to remedy the situation by shutting down service in various parts of the system late at night a few days a month for maintenance work.

Yet, the delays didn't dampen enthusiasm on opening day.

Bob Elliott-Steinke was dressed as a light rail train car — basically a hand-painted box fitted around his upper half. Every few minutes, someone would ask for a photo with a living, breathing part of the light rail system.

Elliott-Steinke lives in Tacoma and works in Seattle. He usually takes Sound Transit's Sounder trains to work, but he might just switch to light rail, he said. Federal Way is a short drive to Tacoma. But he's really looking forward to a late-night Seahawks game, which in the past forced him to drive all the way.

Now, with the new service, those days are behind him.

He's not alone.

Ashlyn DiDonato, 27, lives in Maple Valley and tends bar in downtown Seattle. Her usual commute is to Angle Lake, unless parking is full, then she tries Tukwila. With all the parking opening at the new stations, DiDonato's commute is about to get a lot better, she said.

"I'm just happy that there are closer stations," she said. "I hate to drive. I don't have the money to pay for parking (downtown). I took the bus once, but I feel much safer on the train.

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