Des Moines is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 32,888 as of the 2020 census. The city is located on the east shore of Puget Sound, near the center of the Seattle metropolitan area. It is bordered by the suburbs of Federal Way to the south, Kent to the east, SeaTac to the northeast, Burien to the north, and Normandy Park to the northwest.
Federal Way is a city in King County, Washington, United States and part of the Seattle metropolitan area. One of the most recently incorporated cities in the county, its population was 101,030 at the 2020 census. Federal Way is the 10th most populous city in Washington and the 5th most populous in King County.
MetroLink is a light rail system that serves the Greater St. Louis area. Operated by Metro Transit in a shared fare system with MetroBus, the two-line, 38-station system runs from St. Louis Lambert International Airport and Shrewsbury in Missouri to Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. Intermediate destinations include downtown Clayton, Forest Park, and downtown St. Louis. It is the only U.S. light rail system to cross state lines.
The Seattle metropolitan area is an urban conglomeration in the U.S. state of Washington that comprises Seattle, its surrounding satellites and suburbs. It contains the three most populous counties in the state, King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties, and is considered part of the greater Puget Sound region. The Seattle metropolitan area is home to several major tech industries, such as Nintendo of America, Microsoft, Amazon, and T-Mobile. The United States Census Bureau defines the metropolitan area as the Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue, WA metropolitan statistical area. With an estimated population of 4,102,400 as of 2022, it is the 15th-largest metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the United States and home to over half of Washington's population.
Sound Transit (ST), officially the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, is a public transit agency serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It operates the Link light rail system in Seattle and Tacoma, regional Sounder commuter rail, and Sound Transit Express bus service. The agency also coordinates the regional ORCA fare card system, which is also used by local transit operators. In 2019, Sound Transit services carried a total of 48 million passengers and averaged over 161,000 riders on weekdays.
The Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel (DSTT), also referred to as the Metro Bus Tunnel, is a 1.3-mile-long (2.1 km) pair of public transit tunnels in Seattle, Washington, United States. The double-track tunnel and its four stations serve Link light rail trains on the 1 Line as it travels through Downtown Seattle. It runs west under Pine Street from 9th Avenue to 3rd Avenue, and south under 3rd Avenue to South Jackson Street. 1 Line trains continue north from the tunnel to Northgate station and south through the Rainier Valley past Seattle–Tacoma International Airport to Angle Lake station as part of Sound Transit's light rail network.
Lake Street/Midtown station, also referred locally as either the Lake Street station or Midtown station, is a Blue Line light rail stop in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The station is located on an bridge over East Lake Street adjacent to Highway 55.
Transportation in Seattle is largely focused on the automobile like many other cities in western North America; however, the city is just old enough for its layout to reflect the age when railways and trolleys predominated. These older modes of transportation were made for a relatively well-defined downtown area and strong neighborhoods at the end of several former streetcar lines, now mostly bus lines.
The 1 Line, formerly Central Link, is a light rail line in Seattle, Washington, United States, and part of Sound Transit's Link light rail system. It serves 19 stations in the cities of Seattle, SeaTac, and Tukwila, traveling nearly 25 miles (40 km) between Northgate and Angle Lake stations. The line connects the University District, Downtown Seattle, the Rainier Valley, and Seattle–Tacoma International Airport. The 1 Line carried over 25 million total passengers in 2019, with an average of nearly 80,000 daily passengers on weekdays. It runs for 20 hours per day on weekdays and Saturdays, with headways of up to six minutes during peak hours, and reduced 18-hour service on Sundays and holidays.
The Federal Way Link Extension is a planned Link light rail extension of the 1 Line that will travel 7.8 miles (12.6 km) south from Sea-Tac Airport to Federal Way, along the west side of Interstate 5. It was approved in 2008, but scaled back in 2010 to terminate at Kent Des Moines station. The Star Lake and Federal Way Downtown stations were re-instated in 2016, with the passing of Sound Transit 3. The project began construction in 2020 and is expected to open in 2026.
The East Link Extension, also known as the 2 Line, is a future light rail line serving the Eastside region of the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It will be part of Sound Transit's Link light rail system, running 18 miles (29 km) from west to east and serving 12 stations in Downtown Seattle, Mercer Island, Bellevue, and Redmond. The first section of the 2 Line, between South Bellevue and Redmond Technology stations, is scheduled to open in 2024. It is planned to be followed in 2025 by an extension east to Downtown Redmond and west to Seattle, where it will continue into the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel and share stations with the 1 Line through to Lynnwood City Center station.
Federal Way Downtown is a future light rail station at the site of the Federal Way Transit Center, a bus station in Federal Way, Washington. The bus station opened in 2006 and has 1,190 parking spaces available in its parking garage and surface lots. It is served by King County Metro, Pierce Transit and Sound Transit Express buses and is the southern terminus of the RapidRide A Line. The transit center is located adjacent to The Commons at Federal Way shopping mall and Interstate 5, connected via a direct access ramp to its high-occupancy vehicle lanes.
SeaTac/Airport station is a light rail station in SeaTac, Washington, serving Seattle–Tacoma International Airport. It is on the 1 Line between Angle Lake and Tukwila International Boulevard stations. The line, part of Sound Transit's Link light rail system, runs north from SeaTac through the Rainier Valley to Downtown Seattle and the University of Washington. The station consists of an elevated island platform east of the terminals and parking garage of the airport.
Tukwila International Boulevard station is a light rail station in Tukwila, Washington, United States. It is located between SeaTac/Airport and Rainier Beach stations on the 1 Line from Seattle–Tacoma International Airport to Downtown Seattle. The station consists of two elevated side platforms enclosed within a structure northeast of the interchange of State Route 99 and State Route 518. As one of three park and rides along the line, it includes 600 parking spaces in two lots.
South Bellevue station is a future elevated light rail station located in Bellevue, Washington, United States, an eastern suburb of Seattle. It will be the temporary western terminus of the 2 Line of Sound Transit's Link light rail system, which is planned to open its first phase in 2024. The station has a park and ride garage with 1,500 stalls and bus service from King County Metro and Sound Transit Express.
Angle Lake station is a Link light rail station in SeaTac, Washington. The elevated station is the southern terminus of the 1 Line, which travels north to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, the Rainier Valley, Downtown Seattle, and North Seattle, including the University of Washington. It also includes a large parking garage for passengers.
Mountlake Terrace Transit Center is a bus station and future light rail station in Mountlake Terrace, Washington.
Kent Des Moines station is a future station on Sound Transit's Federal Way Link Extension, part of the Link light rail system. It is to be located in western Kent, Washington near Highline College. It is scheduled to open in 2026 as part of the extension of the 1 Line to Federal Way Transit Center.
Star Lake is a future light rail station in southwestern Kent, Washington, United States. It is part of the Link light rail system, operated by Sound Transit, and is being constructed for the Federal Way Link Extension. The station will be located at the existing Star Lake Park and Ride, adjacent to the intersection of Interstate 5 and South 272nd Street.
