With station completions reaching closer, Sound Transit’s 7.8-mile light rail extension between Angle Lake (SeaTac) and Federal Way is transitioning to testing and operations from construction.
“The Kent Des Moines Station is approaching completion, and we anticipate overall project completion in August,” said Sound Transit spokesperson David Jackson in a Jan. 6 email about the new light rail station on the West Hill. “That will be followed by systems testing and simulated service with an opening date (of the Federal Way Link extension) in spring 2026.”
The extension includes three new stations, two in Kent and one in Federal Way. The Kent Des Moines Station is at 23461 30th Ave. S. and the Star Lake Station is at South 272nd Street near 26th Avenue South. The Federal Way Downtown Station is just north of South 320th Street. All three stations will include parking garages.
Sound Transit is running trains between Angle Lake and Kent Des Moines stations at night to make adjustments in the overhead power system, Jackson said.
“We are installing overhead wires on the bridge north of Star Lake Station and soon will tow a rail car to Federal Way to begin testing at the southern end of the alignment,” Jackson said.
The extension will cost an estimated $3.1 billion.
In the coming months, people can expect to see more testing, starting with trains being towed on the line, and then followed by trains operating on their own power, according to Sound Transit. The agency typically tests the vehicles and track for about a year before opening to the public.
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Kent Des Moines Station between 30th Avenue South and Pacific Highway looking south. COURTESY PHOTO, City of Kent
Star Lake Station is just west of I-5 and north of South 272nd Street. COURTESY PHOTO, City of Kent
Star Lake Station looking to the north. This photo shows the Star Lake Station and garage, as well as the newly reconstructed 26th Avenue South and South 272nd streets. COURTESY PHOTO, City of Kent
Sound Transit staff and contractors conduct livewire testing Dec. 20 between Angle Lake Station and Kent Des Moines Station, where the vehicle is parked. COURTESY PHOTO, Sound Transit
