After years of setbacks, Sound Transit’s long-planned light-rail extension to Federal Way is finally nearing its debut, even as riders on the existing system continue to encounter frequent delays. The Federal Way Link Extension, a roughly 7.8-mile addition to the 1 Line between Angle Lake and Federal Way Downtown, is slated to open in December 2025, adding new elevated stations at Kent Des Moines, Star Lake and Federal Way Downtown.
Voters first approved funding to bring light rail deeper into south King County in 2008, but the project timeline was pushed back by the Great Recession, unexpected ground-stability problems along Interstate 5, and a region-wide concrete truck strike that halted major construction.To span the unstable slope in Kent, contractors ultimately designed a long balanced-cantilever bridge, adding cost and complexity but allowing the extension to remain on its planned alignment.
The extension, with a budget in the range of 2.5 billion US-dollars, is Sound Transit’s largest design-build light-rail contract to date and includes new park-and-ride garages and sites earmarked for transit-oriented development around the stations.Once service begins, riders will be able to travel between Westlake Station in downtown Seattle and Federal Way Downtown in about 55 minutes, with peak-period trains planned every 8 minutes using four-car consists.
Persistent Reliability Issues On The Existing 1 Line
The approach of the Federal Way opening comes after a difficult stretch for Link light-rail operations. Two reviews released in 2025 found that the 1 Line experienced about 432 hours of unplanned disruptions between January and November 2024, the equivalent of roughly 10 workweeks of outages. Those incidents ranged from disabled trains and signal failures to track problems that forced temporary shutdowns and slow-order operations across key segments of the line.
In April 2025, Sound Transit closed the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel for over a week to remove and replace a cracked section of rail between Pioneer Square and International District/Chinatown stations. During the work, trains shared a single track through the core, increasing travel times and crowding on platforms. Riders have also faced repeated weekend closures linked to tunnel ventilation upgrades and other state-of-good-repair projects intended to modernize aging infrastructure beneath downtown Seattle.
Internal performance reports show that in 2025 customer complaints on Link increasingly focused on service interruptions, delayed trips and late operations, followed by concerns about overcrowding and train length At the same time, new extensions to Lynnwood and the limited opening of the 2 Line to Redmond have lifted average weekday ridership, adding pressure on operations as more of the network comes online
Agency Actions To Reduce Delays And Prepare For Growth
Sound Transit officials say they are using the run-up to the Federal Way launch to carry out a series of measures aimed at improving reliability across the system. Following the outage reports, the agency adopted “action plans” that call for more aggressive inspection and maintenance cycles, expanded monitoring of track, power and signal equipment, and updated emergency-response procedures for tunnel incidents and stalled trains
The agency has also begun a multi-year program to replace or refurbish all 58 elevators and escalators in the downtown tunnel and to address water intrusion and aging electrical components that have contributed to previous breakdowns.( Executives argue that these near-term construction impacts are necessary to keep the core of the light-rail network in a state of good repair as it expands north to Lynnwood, east to Redmond and south to Federal Way.
On the Federal Way corridor itself, construction of guideways and stations is largely complete. Crews are now focused on system integration: testing trains at operating speeds, finishing station interiors and verifying that new tracks, switches and signals work seamlessly with the existing 1 Line. Recent test runs on the elevated guideway in downtown Federal Way and near Highline College are designed to confirm safe clearances and performance over the new cantilever bridge where unstable soils once threatened to delay the project for years.
Balancing Rider Expectations With System Expansion
Local leaders in south King County have welcomed confirmation that light rail will finally reach Federal Way after nearly 17 years of planning and construction, describing the extension as a chance to reshape station areas with new housing, jobs and public spaces. The line is expected to draw riders not only from Federal Way but also from neighboring communities that currently rely on express buses and congested freeway corridors.
Rider advocates, however, note that ongoing delays and unplanned outages on the 1 Line risk undermining public confidence just as the network grows. They argue that consistent on-time performance, clear communication during disruptions and adequate staffing will be essential if Sound Transit hopes to translate the Federal Way opening into sustained ridership gains.
The agency’s broader ST3 expansion program, approved by voters in 2016, still envisions future light-rail lines to West Seattle and Ballard, as well as extensions toward Tacoma and Everett, alongside new commuter-rail and bus-rapid-transit investments stretching into the 2040s.( For now, Sound Transit faces a more immediate test: persuading riders that the system can operate reliably even as trains begin carrying passengers to Federal Way Downtown, Star Lake and Kent Des Moines in the coming year.
