The Los Angeles Metro Rail is an urban rail transit system in Los Angeles County, California, operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA or Metro). The system includes 102 metro stations with two rapid transit (known locally as a subway) and four light rail lines, covering 109 miles (175 km) of route service. [1] In 2019, the Metro Rail system served an average 295,889 passengers each weekday, totaling 93.2 million passengers in the calendar year. [2] Metro Rail is one of the largest rapid transit and light rail systems in the United States by ridership. [3] The system is complemented by two Metro Busway bus rapid transit lines.
Metro Rail began service on July 14, 1990, when the light rail Blue Line opened between Pico and Anaheim stations; [4] the line was extended to Downtown Long Beach and Pacific Avenue stations on September 1. [5] The Blue Line was extended one stop northward from Pico to 7th Street/Metro Center on February 15, 1991. [6] The next Metro Rail line, the rapid transit Red Line, opened on January 30, 1993, between Union Station and Westlake/MacArthur Park station. [7] The light rail Green Line, the system's third line, opened on August 12, 1995, from Norwalk to Redondo Beach stations. [8] Metro Rail's next expansion occurred on May 22, 1996, when the Red Line expanded westward from Westlake/MacArthur Park to Wilshire/Western stations. [9] The Red Line expanded again on June 12, 1999, with a branch from Wilshire/Vermont to Hollywood/Vine stations. [10] The final section of the Red Line opened on June 24, 2000, from Hollywood/Vine station to North Hollywood station, completing the Red Line as originally planned. [11] A fourth Metro Rail line, the light rail Gold Line, opened on July 27, 2003, between Union Station and Sierra Madre Villa station in Pasadena. [12] The rapid transit Purple Line became the fifth Metro Rail line on August 24, 2006, when LACMTA separated the Red Line into two separate services; the branch between Union Station and Wilshire/Western station became the Purple Line while the branch between Union Station and North Hollywood station remained the Red Line. [13] The Gold Line was later extended to Atlantic station in East Los Angeles on November 15, 2009. [14] The light rail Expo Line opened between 7th Street/Metro Center and La Cienega/Jefferson on April 28, 2012; two additional stations opened on June 20, 2012. [15] The Gold Line's second extension opened on March 5, 2016, and added six more stations from Sierra Madre Villa from to APU/Citrus College. [16] An extension to the Expo Line on May 20, 2016, added seven stations. [17] The opening of the K Line on October 7, 2022, added six stations. [18] The Regional Connector project featured two new underground stations as well as a rebuilt Little Tokyo/Arts District station. Aviation/Century station opened on November 3, 2024. [19]
The system has 102 stations serving its six lines. Thirteen of these stations are transfer stations, which allow passengers to transfer between lines. Eleven of these stations are termini —stations at the end of lines. 54 of the stations are within the city of Los Angeles and the other 48 stations are located in surrounding communities in Los Angeles County.
There are six Metro Rail lines, each of which is associated with a letter.
Name | Stations | Termini | Opening | Newest extension | Length [20] [21] [1] | Ridership (weekday) [2] | Type | Former line name(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A Line | 44 | APU/Citrus College (north) Downtown Long Beach (south) | 1990 [22] | 2023 [23] | 48.5 miles (78.1 km) | 69,216 | Light rail | Blue Line Gold Line L Line |
B Line | 14 | North Hollywood (north) Union Station (south) | 1993 [22] | 2000 [22] | 14.7 miles (23.7 km) | 64,729 [upper-alpha 1] | Rapid transit | Red Line |
C Line | 11 | Aviation/Century (west) Norwalk (east) | 1995 [22] | 2024 [19] | 19.3 miles (31.1 km) | 21,902 | Light rail | Green Line |
D Line | 8 | Wilshire/Western (west) Union Station (east) | 1993 [22] [upper-alpha 2] | 1996 [22] [upper-alpha 3] | 5.1 miles (8.2 km) | 64,729 [upper-alpha 1] | Rapid transit | Red Line Purple Line |
E Line | 29 | Downtown Santa Monica (west) Atlantic (east) | 2012 [22] [upper-alpha 4] | 2023 [23] | 22 miles (35 km) | 48,913 | Light rail | Gold Line Expo Line L Line |
K Line | 12 | Expo/Crenshaw Aviation/Century (north) Westchester/Veterans Redondo Beach (south) | 2022 [25] | 2024 [19] | 5.9 miles (9.5 km) | 3,136 | Light rail | — |
For stations served by more than one line, lines are listed in the order of opening.
* | Transfer stations |
** | Termini |
† | Transfer stations and termini |
Station | Image | Line(s) (Project name) | Location [26] | Opening | Ref(s). |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Century City/Constellation | D Line (Westside Extension) | Los Angeles (Century City) | 2026 | [40] | |
Glendora | A Line (Foothill Extension) | Glendora | 2025 | [41] | |
La Verne | A Line (Foothill Extension) | La Verne | 2025 | [41] | |
LAX/Metro Transit Center† | C Line K Line | Los Angeles (Westchester) | 2025 | [42] | |
Pomona–North** | A Line (Foothill Extension) | Pomona | 2025 | [41] | |
San Dimas | A Line (Foothill Extension) | San Dimas | 2025 | [41] | |
Westwood/UCLA | D Line (Westside Extension) | Los Angeles (Westwood) | 2027 | [43] | |
Westwood/VA Hospital** | D Line (Westside Extension) | Los Angeles (Westwood) | 2027 | [43] | |
Wilshire/Fairfax | D Line (Westside Extension) | Los Angeles (Beverly Grove / Carthay / Mid-Wilshire) | 2025 | [43] | |
Wilshire/La Brea | D Line (Westside Extension) | Los Angeles (Hancock Park / Mid-Wilshire) | 2025 | [43] | |
Wilshire/La Cienega | D Line (Westside Extension) | Beverly Hills | 2025 | [43] | |
Wilshire/Rodeo | D Line (Westside Extension) | Beverly Hills | 2026 | [40] |
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA), branded as Metro, is the county agency that plans, operates, and coordinates funding for most of the public transportation system in Los Angeles County, California, the most populated county in the United States.
The Los Angeles Metro Rail is an urban rail transit system serving Los Angeles County, California, United States, consisting of six lines: four light rail lines and two rapid transit lines, serving a total of 102 stations. The system connects with the Metro Busway bus rapid transit system, the Metrolink commuter rail system, as well as several Amtrak lines. Metro Rail is owned and operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro).
The B Line is a fully underground 14.7 mi (23.7 km) rapid transit line operating in Los Angeles, running between North Hollywood and Downtown Los Angeles. It is one of six lines in the Los Angeles Metro Rail system, operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Built in four stages between 1986 and 2000, the line cost $4.5 billion.
7th Street/Metro Center station is an underground light rail and rapid transit station on the A, B, D, and E lines of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system. The station also has street level stops for the J Line of the Los Angeles Metro Busway system. The station is located under 7th Street, after which the station is named, at its intersections with Figueroa, Flower and Hope Streets.
The L Line and Gold Line are former designations for a section of the current Los Angeles Metro Rail system. These names referred to a single light rail line of 31 miles (50 km) providing service between Azusa and East Los Angeles via the northeastern corner of Downtown Los Angeles, serving several attractions, including Little Tokyo, Union Station, the Southwest Museum, Chinatown, and the shops of Old Pasadena. The line, formerly one of seven in the system, entered service in 2003. The L Line served 26 stations.
The E Line is a 22-mile (35 km) light rail line in Los Angeles County, California. It is one of the six lines of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system, operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). The E Line runs east-west and serves 29 stations between East Los Angeles and Santa Monica. It interlines and shares five stations with the A Line in Downtown Los Angeles. Service operates for 21 hours per day with headways of up to 8 minutes during peak hours. The E Line, the second-busiest light rail line in the system, saw an average of 41,902 passengers on weekdays in October 2023.
The C Line is a 19.3-mile (31.1 km) light rail line running between the Los Angeles neighborhood of Westchester and the city of Norwalk within Los Angeles County, California. It is one of six lines forming the Los Angeles Metro Rail system and opened on August 12, 1995. Along the route, the line also serves the cities of Downey, Hawthorne, and Lynwood, as well as several unincorporated communities in the South Los Angeles region including Athens, Del Aire, and Willowbrook. The fully grade-separated route runs mainly in the median strip of Interstate 105 for its latitude portion and in a mixture of viaducts, embankments, and an open trench for its western leg. A free shuttle bus to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is available at Aviation/LAX station.
The D Line is a fully underground 5.1-mile (8.2 km) rapid transit line operating in Los Angeles, running between Koreatown and Downtown Los Angeles. It is one of six lines on the Metro Rail system, operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
The Regional Connector Transit Project constructed a 1.9-mile (3.1 km) light rail tunnel for the Los Angeles Metro Rail system in Downtown Los Angeles. It connected the A and E lines with the former L Line. The A and E lines previously both terminated at 7th Street/Metro Center station, coming from Long Beach and Santa Monica, respectively, while the L Line ran through Little Tokyo/Arts District to either Azusa or East Los Angeles. Now the A and E lines continue together through new stations at Grand Avenue Arts/Bunker Hill, Historic Broadway, and Little Tokyo/Arts District. From there, they diverge on the former L Line toward Azusa and East Los Angeles, respectively. The project provides a one-seat ride into the core of Downtown for passengers on those lines who previously needed to transfer, thus reducing or altogether eliminating many transfers of passengers traveling across the region via Downtown Los Angeles.
The K Line is a light rail line in Los Angeles County. It currently consists of two separate noncontiguous segments. The 5.9-mile (9.5 km) northern segment runs north–south between the Jefferson Park and Westchester neighborhoods of Los Angeles, California, passing through various South Los Angeles neighborhoods and the city of Inglewood. The southern segment runs north–south between the Westchester neighborhood of Los Angeles and the city of Redondo Beach. It is one of six lines in the Los Angeles Metro Rail system operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). The northern segment, the oldest segment of the line, opened on October 7, 2022, making it the system's newest line.
Little Tokyo/Arts District station is an underground light rail station on the Los Angeles Metro Rail system. It replaced an at-grade station with the same name that was located on the east side of Alameda Street between 1st Street and Temple Street, on the edge of Little Tokyo and the Arts District in Downtown Los Angeles. The at-grade station opened in 2009 as part of the Gold Line Eastside Extension and was served by the L Line. The at-grade station closed in October 2020, and the new underground station on the south side of 1st Street between Central Avenue and Alameda Street opened on June 16, 2023.
Expo/Crenshaw station is a light rail station in the Los Angeles Metro Rail system located in the Jefferson Park neighborhood of Los Angeles at the intersection of Crenshaw and Exposition Boulevards. During construction, it was known as the Crenshaw station. The station is the transfer point between the E Line, which stops at two street-level platforms alongside Exposition Boulevard, and the K Line, which has its northern terminus at a single island platform under Crenshaw Boulevard.
The D Line Subway Extension Project is a construction project in Los Angeles County, California, extending the rapid transit D Line of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system from its current terminus at Wilshire/Western in Koreatown, Los Angeles, to the Westside region. The project is being supervised by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). The subway has been given high priority by Metro in its long-range plans, and funding for the project was included in two county sales tax measures, Measure R and Measure M.
This article discusses the history of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the regional transportation planning agency for Los Angeles County, California.
The Los Angeles Metro Busway is a system of bus rapid transit (BRT) routes that operate primarily along exclusive or semi-exclusive roadways known locally as a busway or transitway. There are currently two lines serving 29 stations in the system: the G Line in the San Fernando Valley, and the J Line, serving El Monte, Downtown Los Angeles, Gardena, and San Pedro. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) operates the Metro Busway system.
Wilshire/Rodeo station is an under construction, underground rapid transit station on the D Line of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system. It is currently under construction as part of the D Line Extension project, in Beverly Hills, California. Construction started in 2018 as part of Section 2 of the extension project. It is slated to open in 2026.
The K Line Northern Extension, formerly known as the Crenshaw Northern Extension, is a project planning a Los Angeles Metro Rail light rail transit corridor extension connecting Expo/Crenshaw station to Hollywood/Highland station in Hollywood. The corridor is a fully underground, north-south route along mostly densely populated areas on the western side of the Los Angeles Basin; it would be operated as part of the K Line. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is prioritizing the project along with pressure from the West Hollywood residents. Construction is slated to start in 2041 and begin service by 2047 unless means to accelerate the project are found.
The history of the Los Angeles Metro Rail and Busway system begins in the early 1970s, when the traffic-choked region began planning a rapid transit system. The first dedicated busway opened along I-10 in 1973, and the region's first light rail line, the Blue Line opened in 1990. Today the system includes over 160 miles (260 km) of heavy rail, light rail, and bus rapid transit lines, with multiple new lines under construction as of 2019.
The Vermont Transit Corridor is a proposed 12.5-mile (20.1 km) bus rapid transit line in the Metro Busway network in Los Angeles, California with plans to convert it to rapid transit in the future. It is planned to operate on a north-to-south route on Vermont Avenue between the B Line's Vermont/Sunset station and the C Line's Vermont/Athens station on the Los Angeles Metro Rail system. The project feasibility study was released in February 2019 with a proposed completion date of 2028 for BRT and after 2067 for rail. It is part of Metro's Twenty-eight by '28 initiative and is partially funded by Measure M. The route will have signal priority at traffic lights and will have a dedicated right of way. Metro reports the initial cost is $425 million.
Arts District/6th Street station is a proposed rapid transit station on the B and D Lines of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system, located in the Arts District of Los Angeles, California. It is planned to serve as the new eastern terminus of both lines and will be the only overground station on the heavy rail network if the elevated heavy rail options for the planned Sepulveda Transit Corridor are rejected.