Less traffic, more lunch options: Federal Way light rail opens Saturday

South King County commuters can finally trade three-bus transfers for a single train ride starting Saturday. For local restaurants, the new hungry passengers can't arrive soon enough.

Sound Transit's link light rail service extends to three new South King County stations this weekend: Kent-Des Moines, Star Lake, and Federal Way Downtown.

For many riders, it’s a major upgrade. For some businesses in Federal Way, it’s a chance to recover from years of construction losses.

Right below the new station platform in Federal Way, you’ll find a handful of bus shelters. That’s where Jacqueline Dominguez was waiting for a ride on Wednesday to El Centro de la Raza on Beacon Hill in Seattle. She volunteers there.

Currently, Dominguez's commute is a long haul involving three different buses. But the new light rail extension will cut that down to a single train ride.

“I’m so happy… and excited,” she said.

Dominguez said she’s planning to go back to school soon at Highline College. That too is directly accessible via light rail.

“We just cross the street and it’s there,” she said.

Brian Schauf, another commuter, looks forward to how much easier it will be for him to reach the Veteran’s Affairs buildings, also located on Beacon Hill.

"Normally I have to ride the A Line [bus] all the way down to either Angle Lake or Tukwila light rail station," he said. "So I'm looking at an almost two-hour commute. This will cut that time down substantially.”

RELATED: City of SeaTac recenters around Angle Lake light rail station

The new rail opens up the region for food lovers, too.

Qais Habibi is looking forward to taking his kids to Seattle’s great Persian restaurants. His favorite is Persepolis, located in the University District. There’s a specific dish he loves there.

“It’s a special kabob," he said. "It’s really, really nice. It’s like ground meat… and the way they prepare it — it’s amazing stuff.”

While commuters are planning their trips, some businesses right next to the stations are just hoping for relief.

Kabal Gill owns East India Grill, about a block away from the new Federal Way station. He serves his own interpretation of food from Punjab, where he was born.

“We are farmers,” he said. “We don’t like city food, period. We only buy salt from the city. And the farmers — they have everything. Real vegetables, chicken, goat, and lamb. That taste was in me.”

Gill hopes to share that taste with the new customers arriving by rail.

In fact, he’s banking on it. He said he’s lost millions of dollars over the years because of traffic disruptions and noise form the light rail construction.

The rail's first passengers can board the trains after an 11 a.m. ribbon-cutting on Saturday morning.

Business owners like Gill will be watching to see who gets off and who's willing to make the trek to the strip mall where he’s located, across the street.