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Today, Sound Transit and project partners celebrated the groundbreaking of Sound Transit’s Renton Transit Center. The project will relocate and rebuild the Renton Transit Center to better serve the regional Stride S1 line, local King County Metro services, and the future RapidRide I Line.

The Renton Transit Center is a key component of the Stride S1 Bellevue to Burien line, which will offer service on double-decker electric buses running every 10-15 minutes, 17+ hours a day. The Stride fleet will be Sound Transit’s first battery-electric fleet, and the first of its kind in the country to use this technology for double-decker buses.

S1 will run primarily in HOV and dedicated transit infrastructure, helping reduce travel times for trips between the East and South King County. The service will also provide easy connections to 1 and 2 Line light rail stations in Bellevue and Tukwila, including a reliable one-transfer ride through Tukwila International Boulevard Station for trips between the East Side and the airport.

The new Renton Transit Center will feature 8 bus bays, covered waiting areas, and a new four-way signalized intersection to support bus operations. To ensure fast and reliable trips, a bus-only lane will be added to the northbound shoulder of SR 167. Additionally, the project will add new sidewalks, lighting, multi-use paths, expand the existing two-way bike lane along Shattuck Avenue, and deliver new stormwater bioswales, vegetation, and plantings.

“Today’s groundbreaking is an essential investment in Renton’s present and future as a regional hub at the crossroads between the Eastside and South King County. In 2028 riders will be able to enjoy direct, frequent, all day Stride Bus rapid transit to Burien, Tukwila, Renton and Bellevue, including direct connections to light rail stations at Tukwila International Blvd Station and Bellevue Downtown Renton.” said Renton City Councilmember and Sound Transit Board Member Ed Prince. “This Stride station will center Renton as a hub for regional connectivity.”

“Today is a fantastic day for Renton and for future transit riders in East and South King County. This new Bus Rapid Transit ‘Stride’ line will truly knit our region together, bringing Renton the fast, reliable, and green transit service it has long deserved,” said King County Councilmember and Sound Transit Board Member Claudia Balducci. “Stride’s battery‑electric double‑deckers, frequent service, and upgraded stations will deliver a quiet, comfortable, convenient experience for riders. Today’s groundbreaking is a major step toward a fully-integrated transit network and I’m excited to celebrate the ribbon cutting in 2028.”

“Renton is a key destination within the Puget Sound, offering connections to the eastside, Seattle, and the South Sound,” said Renton Mayor Armondo Pavone. “The STRIDE BRT project is the primary transportation opportunity for our residents and businesses, and a crucial way to ensure we have the capacity to support the 10-12,000 new jobs projects like the new Seattle Children’s Hospital campus and new Alaska Airlines training facility are bringing to Renton. The relocation of the transit center gives us an incredible opportunity to invite redevelopment of this area into a transit-oriented, pedestrian-friendly neighborhood here in the Rainier/Grady corridor.”

“The Renton Transit Center and Stride S1 represent an investment in access, opportunity, and regional equity — strengthening connections between South King County, the Eastside, and the broader region,” said King County Councilmember and Sound Transit Board Member Steffanie Fain. “Our riders count on these connections to reach work, school, and family, and this project reflects a shared commitment — across Sound Transit, local leaders, and labor partners — to deliver fast, reliable, and well-connected service where it matters most.”

“The Seattle-King County Building Trades are honored to partner with Sound Transit, the City of Renton and regional leaders and staff as we create economic opportunity for generations of working people and better connect communities. The Stride Renton Transit Center will create hundreds of family-wage jobs for skilled craftspeople and pathways out of poverty for women, people of color, veterans and others who are disadvantaged into construction careers,” said Monty Anderson, Executive Secretary of the Seattle Building & Construction Trades Council. “Through apprenticeships and strong training programs, we are working as a region to help build the next generation of construction workers, many from local communities here in Renton and South King County. Getting to this significant step on this important element of our regional transit system took vision and persistence – and it will build better lives. Let’s keep building!”

“Stride S1 will transform travel between Burien, Renton, and Bellevue, allowing passengers to speed by traffic on 405 and seamlessly connect to local bus routes, Link light rail and the future RapidRide I and Stride S2 lines,” said Sound Transit CEO Dow Constantine, “The new Renton Transit Center will not only be a hub for Stride but an asset for Renton and the entire Central Puget Sound.”

Learn more and find fact sheets about Stride here. Find images of Stride buses and future station renderings here.

Sound Transit announced today that the Crosslake Connection will open for passenger service on March 28. This final component of the 2 Line will cross Lake Washington and connect with the 1 Line at International District/Chinatown Station, creating a fully integrated regional light rail system.

The final segment of East Link includes new stations at Mercer Island and Judkins Park and completes the regional transit system expansion approved by voters in 2008 under ST2, increasing the light rail system from 55 to 63 miles.

The 2 Line will operate between Lynnwood and Redmond, in addition to the 1 Line between Federal Way and Lynnwood. Service will run on the 1 and 2 Lines from approximately 5 a.m. to 1 a.m., Monday - Saturday and from 6 a.m. - midnight on Sundays.

Trains will run approximately every 8 minutes during peak times at the new stations, and between 10-15 minutes the rest of the day. Combined 1 Line and 2 Line headways between Lynnwood and International District/Chinatown will be every 4 minutes, providing additional capacity through the busy core of the system.

“After decades of hard work, creative design, and world-class engineering, we are finally linking the east and west sides of Lake Washington with rail,” said Snohomish County Executive and Sound Transit Board Chair Dave Somers. “I applaud all those who worked on this project, and I appreciate the patience of the traveling public as the project worked through many barriers. Today is a very important milestone, and we look forward to Link light rail connecting Tacoma, Seattle, Everett, and Bellevue in the not-too-distant future.”

“The completion of the 2 Line exponentially expands employment, housing and recreation opportunities for people on the east and west sides of Lake Washington,” said King County Executive and Sound Transit Boardmember Girmay Zahilay. “When the 2 Line opens, it will serve 26 stations and more than 35 miles, while knitting together five King County cities and two Snohomish County cities, creating new transit hubs throughout the region.”

“WSDOT operates the longest floating bridge in the world and now operates the only floating bridge in the world that carries light rail. We’re proud to partner with Sound Transit on this important project, which will better connect the region and increase capacity in some of our busiest corridors,” said Washington Secretary of Transportation and Sound Transit Boardmember Julie Meredith.

“Today we announce a date that has been over two decades in the making – the full opening of East Link light rail,” said King County Councilmember and Sound Transit Boardmember Claudia Balducci. “Conceived in the early 2000s and approved by the voters in 2008, this project has faced challenges of every kind. There was fierce opposition to the very idea of rail in East King County, a failed ballot measure, local political challenges, court cases, design and construction challenges, a world-wide pandemic, a concrete delivery strike, multiple financial cycles with major cost impacts, and maybe the biggest challenge of all – engineering and constructing a fixed rail system on a floating bridge for the first time in world history. I could not be more proud of the thousands of people who have poured their efforts, energy, creativity and passion into this project over so many years. I am deeply grateful to the agency, contractors and partners who answered the call to open Eastside light rail ahead of the bridge – that innovative approach kept the Redmond station openings on schedule and has served the public well, as evidenced by growing ridership on the Eastside. As the Eastside continues to grow and thrive, this moment represents more than just a transit opening, it demonstrates all this region can achieve when we commit to audacious goals and persevere to get things done.”

“If you build it, they will come,” said Seattle Mayor and Sound Transit Boardmember Katie Wilson. “The Crosslake Connection unlocks worlds of opportunity for transit riders like me, and I’m so excited to welcome new riders as the system grows. Our whole region deserves world-class mass transit, so let’s continue expanding the network and delivering on what voters were promised.”

“The opening of the Crosslake Connection is a major milestone in the continued expansion of Sound Transit’s regional system,” said Redmond Mayor and Sound Transit Boardmember Angela Birney. “By linking Seattle and the Eastside, this long-awaited connection will improve access across the region and make the network more useful for everyone. We can’t wait to celebrate with the community on March 28.”

“This extension connects east and west, connects the 1 and 2 Lines, vastly improving mobility and quality of life in our region,” said Sound Transit CEO Dow Constantine. “It’s a transformational achievement that took grit, persistence and ingenuity, and it fulfills a generational promise of uniting both sides of Lake Washington with high-capacity transit.”

To complete the 2 Line and connect to the Eastside, Sound Transit engineers had to do something that had never been done before – design light rail on a floating bridge. This world-first achievement was made possible by innovative engineering to address the unique challenges of running electric trains across a moving body of water. A video about the design solutions that made the Crosslake Connection possible is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tImk5T3iiU.

With the opening of the full 2 Line, Sound Transit has begun operating six new light rail expansions in five years. Pinehurst Station is expected to open later this year.

Details about opening day will be posted at soundtransit.org/crosslake as they are finalized. Check back often to stay up to date.

Photos and video are at https://soundtransit.photoshelter.com/galleries/C0000o_lBWcrn8sA/G0000Knq92l6XMRM/Crosslake-Connection

Starting today, new Link light rail service to Federal Way begins, allowing passengers to travel the region while avoiding congestion. The nearly 8-mile 1 Line extension adds new options to travel quickly and safely between Seattle, Sea-Tac Airport and Federal Way and includes three new stations, one at Kent Des Moines, one at Star Lake and one at Federal Way Downtown, as well as two new parking structures and a parking addition in Federal Way.

This is the fifth light rail extension in the past three years for Sound Transit. Those include the T Line service to Hilltop, the 2 Line between South Bellevue and Redmond Technology stations, the Lynnwood extension into Snohomish County and the 2 Line extension to Downtown Redmond. The Crosslake Connection, spanning the 2 Line across Lake Washington into Seattle, is expected in 2026.

Voters approved the Federal Way extension in 2008 as part of the Sound Transit 2 ballot measure. The project broke ground in summer 2020.

“The debut of the Federal Way Link Extension marks yet another progress milestone for Sound Transit and the region,” said Sound Transit Board Chair and Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers. “This extension brings Link that much closer to connecting all three counties of the Puget Sound region.”

“The completion of the Federal Way extension is a significant milestone for our light rail system—giving more people greater freedom to get around, commute to work, and live their lives without spending so much time stuck in traffic,” said U.S. Senator Patty Murray. "I’m proud to have helped steer over a billion dollars in federal investment toward this project to help make today’s grand opening a reality. Building out public transportation is a priority for people in Washington state, and it’s a priority for me—and as long as I’m in Congress, I’ll make sure it’s a priority for the federal government. As vice chair of the Appropriations Committee, I’m fighting every day to protect federal transit dollars and programs like Capital Investment Grants, which underpin so much important public transit expansion we’re working on in Washington state.”

“We’re here to celebrate that this fast, traffic free, affordable transportation infrastructure is going to pay dividends for generations to come,” said U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell. “Providing affordable options for the airport workers who live in this region to get to work, and certainly another option for South Puget Sound residents to travel to the airport without having to drive. We want to enjoy our vibrant region, not to spend time in I-5 traffic.”

“The opening of the Federal Way Station officially expands and connects the spine of our light rail system to the South Sound, making it easier for riders to get to and from the airport and greater Seattle, said Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland (WA-10). “Nine years in the making, extending this service to our growing region is a critical step toward a Tacoma Dome Station and completion of our vision for ST3.”

"The future of our region relies on safe and reliable public transportation,” said King County Executive and Sound Board Member Girmay Zahilay. We are entering a monumental phase as the Federal Way Link Extension opens and the 2-line across Lake Washington nears completion in 2026. Communities that have felt cut off from our region’s transit systems will be connected to key areas like Downtown Seattle, Downtown Bellevue, and Sea-Tac International Airport. These new stations in Federal Way, Kent and Des Moines represent an increase in rapid transit for those in South King County.”

“The long-anticipated arrival of light rail to South King County is our very own ‘Polar Express,’ said Sound Transit Board Member and King County Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer. “As our region prepares for FIFA next year, light rail will put South King County on the map as a destination for the hundreds of thousands of visitors traveling to our region for the tournament.”

“The Link extension to Federal Way is a great step toward connecting our region and providing more transportation, and more equitable, options for South Sound communities,” said State Rep. Jake Fey, chair of the state House Transportation Committee.

“Our team and community partners demonstrated remarkable resilience in overcoming the challenges of the Great Recession and Covid pandemic during the life of this project, while still finishing hundreds of millions of dollars under budget,” said Sound Transit CEO Dow Constantine. “This opening represents our ability to deliver for the residents of South King County and the region, connecting more people to opportunity via clean, frequent, reliable transit.”

Kiewit was the design-builder for the project, Funding for the $2.5 billion project includes a $790 million federal grant agreement from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and a $629.5 million low-interest loan from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The Federal Way extension will serve the following stations:

• Kent Des Moines. Located just southwest of I-5 at the SR516 exit, the elevated Kent Des Moines Station serves Highline College and future affordable housing to be constructed adjacent to the stations. includes a parking garage with approximately 500 new spaces as part of the project.
• Star Lake. Located on the west side of I-5 just north of South 272nd, the Star Lake Station serves the surrounding neighborhoods and features a 1,105-stall parking garage.
• Federal Way Downtown. Located at the Federal Way Transit Center, this elevated station serves one of the busiest transit centers in the region, with extensive connections to local and regional service. It also serves the Federal Way Performing Arts and Events Center and numerous local businesses. Additional housing is expected to be built on surplus property adjacent to the station. An addition to the garage added 341 parking spaces to the 1,224 already in use.

In addition to the 2 Line’s Crosslake Connection, a new Pinehurst Station at NE 130th Street in Seattle is expected to open in 2026. It was part of the ST3 ballot measure.

Visit https://www.soundtransit.org/southkinglink for maps and information about how to ride.