Federal Way Link Extension: Opening Celebration Details

47 Replies to “Federal Way Link Extension: Opening Celebration Details”

1. I’ll be posting a video of the opening, and the ride seperately on my channel, me and my friend aren’t taking the 1 Line and A Line to Federal Way as we live in Snohomish County, we’re taking the Swift Orange Line from Edmonds College, then transferring to the 535 at Lynnwood, then taking the 560 at Bellevue, then taking the 574 to Federal Way Downtown at SeaTac/Airport. Look for someone with a backwards red cap, either jeans or a cargo, and that guy is going to be with a short kid with black hair, that’s going to be me and my friend.

   1. That doesn’t seem like the most efficient way to get there. Are you going to the Eastside on purpose to meet your friend?

      1. No, I’m going to the Eastside to make time, my friend lives in Edmonds, and I live in Lynnwood. I might also check out the ridership on the 535 and 560 if they’re fit for BRT.

   2. The fastest way from Edmonds College for others would be Swift Orange to Lynnwood station, Link to Angle Lake station, A or 574 to Federal Way station, -or- Swift Orange to Lynnwood station, Link to Westlake station, 577/578 to Federal Way station. (The 577/578 are combined half-hourly Saturdays, so check the schedule to avoid a 29-minute wait.)

      1. 574 doesn’t go to Angle Lake

   3. The A line likely would have been the best way to get to FWD from Seatac before link. The A line goes every 12 minutes, at that time on a weekend morning, the 574 only goes once an hour. Sad! But its a 35 minute ride if all goes well.

      Now, link is a quick 12 minute ride!! FAST!!

2. I’m glad that the celebratory station festivities are earlier than they were for Lynnwood, when they started a few hours after the ribbon cutting.

   1. Lynnwood opening was on a weekday (Friday) instead of the customary weekend (Saturday) opening, hence the opening delay. Trying to get families to still attend, despite most parents working on Friday.

      1. Dang, Lynnwood Link was a big hit despite being a Friday, but they made the activities at night, I did attend it in 2024. And it wasn’t that amusing, I was about to get interviewed, but I then decided to not get one.

      2. That’s right! It was a Friday rather than a Saturday.

         I prefer Saturdays for Link expansion opening days — and festivities starting shortly after trains start running. Ending at 3 feels a little tight though; I’d think ending at 4 or 5 would be better.

         This is the last three-station expansion for awhile (unless in the off-chance ST decides to open Pinehurst the same day as Judkins Park and Mercer Island). This is celebration #4 in the past two years, with 2 more in 2026 (unless they end up combined, which I doubt will happen).

         Even though some earlier dates are still floating around, I don’t realistically see any opening date until 2035 after the openings next year. (I know WSLE opening is listed as 2032 officially but I just don’t see it opening until 2035 as currently preferred. TDLE is already listed as delayed to 2035.)

         So if opening day celebrations are something you like to experience, get there on Saturday!

      3. The 2 Line Starter Line started speeches around 11. I left in the 10 o’clock hour and took the second-last 550 before then.

      4. “I don’t realistically see any opening date until 2035 after the openings next year”

         Who needs more openings when Link is running to all of Lynnwood, Redmond, and Federal Way? That’s the extent that reaches a lot of the metropolitan area and most of the largest cities and is the essential core of Link. Tacoma and Everett are a 15-minute bus ride from there. Ballard service will be sabotaged if ST goes through with its long downtown transfers, Ballard 14th station, CID station outside the CID, and the majority of Southeast Seattle/South riders will be negatively impacted if their line goes to Ballard instead of UW, Capitol Hill, and northeast Seattle and Lynnwood. The Issaquah-South Kirkland line is a joke. So who needs more openings, especially right away?

   2. I’m not, as it means I’m less likely to be ready to leave for them, especially with an hour-long travel time to get to them.

3. Any announcement about collecting fares on Link in general or in between the three new stations? I can’t seem to find them mentioned. I think the ST staff forgot to explain the fare administration on opening day within the announcement. ST staff gets unlimited ORCA use so they probably forgot that others don’t.

   ST says that the ORCA fare is good for 2 hours after the initial tap. The full one-way trip on the 1 Line will be 88 minutes upon opening . So if you are boarding a bus first then catching Link, pay attention to when your time expires.

   If you want to check out all the stations by hopping on and off Link trains, you may need to tap again pretty soon upon arriving if you began from further away. That is of course the case if ST is checking fares on the new segment. You could have as many as three fares assessed if you re using a feeder bus far away.

   I think ST figured out a way to not ticket riders when their time expired mid-trip on Link, right?

   1. ST has previously mentioned a software update so passengers who boarded the train within the 2 hours are not ticketed: https://seattletransitblog.com/2024/09/18/midweek-roundup-open-thread-66/#comment-941232

      I’m not sure if this update has been rolled out. Either way, tickets given to passengers who boarded during the transfer period and are still on the train after the 2 hour window are not valid. I got a warning from this exact scenario last year and it was voided (see comment linked above).

   2. “ST says that the ORCA fare is good for 2 hours after the initial tap. The full one-way trip on the 1 Line will be 88 minutes upon opening . So if you are boarding a bus first then catching Link, pay attention to when your time expires.”

      You don’t need the transfer window for the entire trip, just to your last tapin. So you have 2 hours from your first bus to tap into Link. Going the other way, a end-to-end Link ride would give you half an hour to tap into a continuing bus route.

      ORCA will automatically charge your card again if you go past the 2 hours, so you don’t have to think about it, as long as you have more than $3 on the card. If you have $3.50 and get a negative balance, you just have to refill it before your next trip after that.

      1. The tricky part is the interim travel to check out each station, Mike.

         Let’s say you come from Ballard. You first tap to ride RapidRide E, wait for a bus, ride Downtown, go into Link, second tap at Link (no added fare) then ride to Federal Way. That’s already getting close to the two hour limit, realizing that wait time is part of the two hours.

         So after looking at Federal Way, you tap to get to Star Lake and must pay a new fare because it’s been over two hours since the initial tap. Then you check out Star Lake, tap to ride to KDM (no added fare) and check it out too. Let’s say the Star Lake and KDM visits take a bit over an hour but not two. You can tap one last time (no fare added) to get back Downtown — but that last trip on RapidRide E means that you’ll have to pay a third time.

         The risky part becomes the ride back to Downtown on Link. Your second tap may expire by the time you reach Rainier Beach on the second tap. So a fare check somewhere on MLK may find you outside of the two-hour time limit and you may get a ticket from a fare checker.

         Of course, riders don’t station hop on a typical day. They will do it on a special day like this though. This is why I ask if the fare checkers will be active south of Angle Lake on Saturday. It someone can ride without tapping between the three stations, the second tap wouldn’t be needed until you’re ready to head home (from KDM).

         Other systems elsewhere will often just adopt a free-fare period for the entire system on a special day like this. Or rides would be free up to 3 PM.

         The thing is, ST has said nothing about this specific day when it comes to fares. Thus, we should probably assume that it will be a normal fare-checking Saturday. Regardless, ST’s information about the opening should talk about if fare checking will be happening on the FWLE segment or not on Saturday morning and afternoon.

         I could literally see that some people would drive from garage to garage just to look at each station and the celebration there — and not ride Link at all.

      2. “So a fare check somewhere on MLK may find you outside of the two-hour time limit and you may get a ticket from a fare checker. ”

         But they can see all the times you tapped, and that the last one was a half hour ago and on Link, so it’s plausable you tapped in there and haven’t gotten off Link since.

      3. In any case, I’ve never seen fare inspectors on opening day. When service starts, the trains will be packed so there will be no way for fare inspectors to reach 99% of the people in the car.

         They might possibly check on platforms.

4. Roadway network around interchange of I-5 at Kent Des Moise Rd has seen some changes as part of Puget Sound Gateway Program project.
   I am curious to see how restructured routes in the area will use the new Veteran Dr S that goes under I-5.

   1. Yes it will be curious.

      The new Veterans Drive connection could be used by Route 164. However it may involve some tricky bus maneuvering with so many left and right turns both required in a very short distance. It may be safer to stay on Military Road. That’s what the Metro planned route map shows.

      On a side note, what happens to the old KDM park-and-ride at Military Road and KDM Road? Will Route 164 serve it or not? Would carpoolers use it? It would be an interesting hotel site with stunning east-facing views. All that traffic surrounding it doesn’t make it very appealing for residential use though.

      1. According to the 164 factsheet (https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/metro/programs-and-projects/south-link-connections#north-area-route-sheets-2), 164 will serve that park and ride which makes it not formally abandoned although I am not sure who would be the target users for that park and ride moving forward.

         One possible use case I can think of is that maybe 193 riders can use that, but currently 193 doesn’t go that way southbound. The southbound stop is at SB on-ramp which is not super accessible to link station either unless there is a plan to build a sidewalk shortcut eventually.

         Alternately, if southbound 193 make a detour using the new Veteran Dr and make a stop at the bus bay on Military Rd SB, then it makes sense. It is a little odd that a peak-only commute route serve a park and ride one way but not the other. There can’t be a lot of people taking 165 to catch 193 given its limited trips.

   2. Some P&Rs have no fixed bus routes, or used to but don’t any more, so it wouldn’t be unusual for an abandoned P&R to still remain around vanpool/carpool users.

5. I noticed both Google and Apple maps don’t have the transit overlay showing the extension yet. They have the stations but not the line. IIRC for ELE they had it showing up to a month out and for Lynwood/Redmond links they showed up 2 weeks out.
   Anyone know if this is something driven by ST (they submit some sort of data to the map providers) or just up to the whims of Apple/Google?

   1. The station points of interest are there on Google Maps. Use the satellite view to locate the physical station and then zoom in. Click the station icon and you’ll see it’s served by the 1 Line but with no scheduled arrivals. I would assume arrivals will fill in once ST publishes the GTFS data.

      No idea about Crapple.

      1. To be clear, I see the station POIs but not the ‘line’ (green on G maps for line 1 and blue for line 2) . Curious if that’s up to map providers or ST submits some kind of route data that they then draw.

      2. Ian,

         Generally mapping apps will reference GTFS data provided by transit providers which is where the shapes on the app come from. An app could do some due diligence and filter out all routes that don’t have an active trip in X days, so that’d be my best guess as to what they are doing now. When I look at the latest GTFS from Sound Transit, I see that they have specific schedule ids for pre/post FWLE, and that has the full geometry of the extended line starting on 12/6

6. Please try to enjoy each tick of the FWLE countdown clock (added to the STB sidebar) equally.

   1. Ok, Nathan

7. Per the 1 Line’s online schedule, the first train from Lynnwood to Federal Way will depart at 9:58, and arrive at Federal Way at 11:24. I hope to be on that train, with the first announcement of a train to Federal Way.

   There will be a southbound train picking up only at Star Lake right before that at 11:08.

   I got to be on the first train from Westlake to Capitol Hill.

8. One thing I’ve encountered anecdotally is that, without access to the HOV lane, getting between I-5 and Federal Way Transit Center in a car involves a lot of sitting in traffic. For this reason, I could see drivers from south of Federal Way driving further to catch Link, perhaps at 272nd St. It will be interesting to see how park and ride drivers react to this opening.

   There is also the question of whether the Angle Lake parking garage becomes mostly empty after the stations south of it open. If so, Sound Transit should consider opening it up to long term airport parking (for a fee) to fill the space. There are a lot of people for whom public transit to the airport is too time consuming, but would be willing to park at Angle Lake and use Link as a one-stop shuttle, rather than deal with unreliable parking shuttles that get stuck in traffic – particularly those traveling light.

   1. I think that’s not FWLE’s job anyway.
      FWLE benefits mostly the population that won’t need to enter I-5 at all if they park and ride at one of the FWLE stations. For those who still needs to drive on section of I-5, it is Sound Transit Express Pierce County service or future Tacoma Dome Link Extension that they should count on.

      1. FWLE benefits mostly the population that won’t need to enter I-5 at all if they park and ride at one of the FWLE stations.

         I don’t know if it is mostly. My guess is there will be a lot of Link riders heading towards SeaTac from the south. SeaTac employs plenty of people from Pierce County. Some of these riders will continue to ride the bus but some will drive and park at one of the stations. My guess is most will just go to Federal Way. There is traffic getting to the station but staying on I-5 means encountering traffic as well.

         As far as Angle Lake goes, there will still be plenty of people that park there. It will be like Northgate. A lot of people switch to other parking lots but it isn’t like the lots are empty now.

      2. Ross

         My point is that since Federal Way won’t be the last stop of the light rail, improving I-5 general-purpose access to Federal Way Downtown station won’t have a lot of value when light rail extends to Tacoma.

      3. improving I-5 general-purpose access to Federal Way Downtown station won’t have a lot of value when light rail extends to Tacoma.

         I agree with that. I also don’t think it has much value now. Yeah, sure, it is a little bit harder for people to drive and park at the parking lot from I-5. But you can say that about Lynnwood Station as well. The important thing is that the buses connect well to the station (and they do). The situation is quite similar.

   2. Angle Lake will still get people to park. Plenty of people coming from the East…

9. I’ll be going down but I’m not sure when. Leaving at 8-something AM to get there by 9:15 before the speeches sounds early for me. So I’ll either take the 577/578 if service hasn’t started yet, or Link if it has. (I don’t want to see the Link corridor before it opens; that would be like seeing the bride the morning before the wedding.)

   If you want to meet somebody or several people there, it’s essential to prearrange a time and a certain bus stop, or a certain location relative to the podium. Otherwise you’ll never find them in the thousands of people that will be there.

   I’ll be the one in the flat cap. Probably with a dark blue Dickie’s jacket.

   1. Okay, but I’m meeting my friend either at his house, or at the school. My new plan is that we’ll take the 119 from 76th Ave W (that’s where those locations are at), then go to Mountlake Terrace, then we’ll take the 1 Line, then we either take the 577/578 in Downtown Seattle (to avoid Rainier Valley), or we get off at SeaTac and board the 574 (as it takes faster to get to Federal Way). I’ll be in the backwards red cap, and I think with a Tate McRae Hoodie.

      1. I think the 574 stops at the A’s stops under the Link station. If it only stops on the other side of the airport (next to the South baggage claim), the A is an alternative. It’s 33 minutes to Federal Way so it’s not that bad.

      2. The 574 is faster, but I think Sound Transit should truncate it on Saturday rather than Fall 2026 if they want their light rail extension to be a hit.

10. I’m excited to go with my friend, we live in star lake so this will be a major improvement to our public transit game, such as visiting Meattle Sariner’s Games and seeing Ral Caliegh in April. I am so excited to take advantage of this. Keepp up the good work ST! 🤑🤑

    1. Umm, I think you spelt some things wrong…

       1. Here are the corrections:

          1. Capitalize Star Lake.
          2. I would put a comma after Lake.
          3. It’s Seattle Mariner’s, not Meattle Sariner’s.
          4. Cal Raleigh, not Ral Caliegh.
          5. It’s keep, not keepp.
          6. I would put a comma between work and ST.

11. The fastest way (by a lot) if you come from north is to take Link to Chinatown, and transfer to 577/578.

    Express buses still have a place and shouldn’t be deleted just because we have Link. Link serves as extra capacity for shorter distance high density trips…. Or they should’ve made a better effort to make it faster and less dense along areas with low ridership (Rainier Valley) like they did north of Westlake.

    If express buses had more dedicated bus infrastructure to avoid traffic, it wouldn’t even be a question to skip Link if you’re coming from Federal Way and want to go to Seattle or the UW.

    1. People talk about the Rainier Valley savings “only” being 10 minutes. That is a lot of time. About 25% of the current trip.

       People value time and will take the fastest way to get around… Which could be driving if there isn’t traffic or parking issues.

       1. It won’t be anywhere near a 10 minute savings. SODO to Rainier Beach is only 15 minutes.

    2. Also notice how I mentioned Link is the go to choice north of Seattle. I would take it any day over an express bus if I wanted to go to Lynnwood. Even if it’s slightly slower, it’s not that much slower and is more comfortable to a bus. But South Link is significantly slower that there is a tradeoff

       People who claim that South Link is fine and that North Link isn’t as good as it seems are being disingenuous.

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