LOS ANGELES COUNTY METRO RAIL

The 'Los Angeles County Metro Rail' is the mass transit rail system of Los Angeles County. It is run by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and is the indirect descendant of the Pacific Electric Red Car system and Los Angeles Railway Yellow Car lines which operated in the area from the early to middle twentieth century. Currently, Metro Rail operates three light rail lines and two rapid transit subway lines, altogether totaling 73.1 miles of rail, 62 stations, and approximately 276,900 daily weekday boardings as of June 2006.

Contents

System

Metro Liner and Combined Transitway services

Subway

Light Rail

History

Hours of operation

Fares

Current projects

Expansion proposals

Official

Citizens' advocacy

See also

References

External links

System

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) runs five rail lines throughout Los Angeles County.

★ The 'Blue Line' (opened in 1990) is a light rail line running between 7th Street/Metro Center station in Downtown Los Angeles to Transit Mall station in Downtown Long Beach. It is the first of the MTA's modern rail lines post the 1961 demise of the Pacific Electric Railway's Red Car system.

★ The 'Red Line' (first leg to Westlake/MacArthur Park opened in 1993 and to Hollywood in 1999, and to North Hollywood in 2000) is a subway line running between Union Station (Los Angeles) in Downtown Los Angeles and North Hollywood station in North Hollywood.

★ The 'Green Line' (opened in 1995) is a light rail line running between Marine/Redondo station in the South Bay region of Los Angeles and the Norwalk station in Norwalk. The line operates mostly in the median of the Century Freeway (Interstate 105). It offers indirect access to Los Angeles International Airport via a shuttle bus from the Aviation/I-105 station. It is the region's only above ground light rail line that is completely grade-separated.

★ The 'Gold Line' (opened in 2003) is a light rail line that runs between Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles and Sierra Madre Villa station in Pasadena and runs through Highland Park and South Pasadena. Portions run elevated, below ground, in city streets, and in the median of a freeway.

★ The 'Purple Line' (named 2006; first leg to Westlake/MacArthur Park opened in 1993; to Koreatown in 1996) is a subway line running between Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles and Wilshire/Western station in the Koreatown neighborhood of Los Angeles Mid-Wilshire district. It was considered a branch of the Red Line prior to 2006.

Metro Liner and Combined Transitway services

While assigned colors and appearing on the Metro Rail system map the lines of the Metro Transitway system, are not rail lines but bus rapid transit (BRT) systems. Bus rapid transit systems are designed with characteristics similar to an urban light rail system such as a dedicated right-of-way (or a right-of-way shared with other high-occupancy vehicles) and dedicated stations, usually dispersed approximately one mile apart, featuring amenities such as public art, park-and-ride lots, and/or ticket vending machines.
'Metro Liner:'
The 'Metro Orange Line' is a dedicated busway running on a former Southern Pacific right-of-way, using 60-foot buses. This is described by proponents as "light rail on rubber tires."
'Combined Transitway Services:'
The two transitway lines are the 'El Monte Busway', and 'Harbor Transitway', denoted by Silver and Bronze, respectively.

Subway

The Los Angeles Subway is the rapid transit system of the city of Los Angeles, California. As described below, all Los Angeles streetcar lines had been closed down by 1963 in favor of using automobiles on an extensive freeway system. With 14 million people in the greater metropolitan area, those automobiles soon created one of the most traffic-congested cities in the country. In the 1980s, Los Angeles County voters approved a half-cent sales tax decided to build a network of metro and light rail lines.
Although the first light rail opened in 1990, the first underground subway - the Red Line - opened in 1993 after seven years of construction. Originally designated as one line with two branches, the subway was later re-designated as two lines, the Red Line; now running from downtown Los Angeles westwards to Hollywood and North Hollywood after the US$1.5 billion, 4.8km twin tunnel extension in 2000^[1], and the Purple Line; running along Wilshire Boulevard to Koreatown. As of the fourth quarter of 2006, the combined Red and Purple lines averaged a weekday ridership of 122,600,^[2], which makes it the ninth busiest heavy rail system in the United States.
All of the underground stations boast an interesting design, as 0.5% of the total construction budget of the stations was reserved for public art. Due to the city's proximity to fault lines, tunnels had to be built to resist earthquakes of up to magnitude 7.5. Both lines utilize an electrified third rail to provide power to the trains, making subway trains incompatible with the other three rail lines.

Light Rail

Los Angeles' first modern light rail, the Blue Line, opened in 1990, 27 years after streetcar service ended (see below). Of the five Metro Rail lines, three (Blue, Green, and Gold) are configured as light rail lines. These lines utilize overhead catenary cables to provide electric power to the trains, making light rail trains incompatible with the two subway lines. As a result, the Blue Line terminates at 7th St/ Metro Center rather than continuing on to Union Station, and riders wishing to transfer between the Blue Line and the myriad of other rail services at Union Station must first transfer to the subway for an intermediate trip of a little over a mile and a half.
The Blue and Gold Lines run mostly at grade, with some street-running, elevated, and underground stretches in more densely-populated areas. The Green Line is entirely grade-separated, running in the median of the 105 Freeway and then turning southward along an elevated route.
Metro's light rail system is the third largest LRT system in the United States by ridership, with 129,200 average weekday boardings during the third quarter of 2006.^[3] Additionally, the Blue Line is the second largest light rail line by ridership in North America with an average weekday ridership of 80,000, after the Boston Green Line's daily ridership of 204,800, though the Boston Green Line has four outbound termini, so that its 25 miles of track service a larger lateral area.^[4]

History

Los Angeles once had the world's most extensive electric-powered rail transit system, the Pacific Electric Railway's "Red Car," with 1,100 miles (1,770 km) of track and 2,800 scheduled trains each day. Rail lines and streetcars (trolleys) ran up and down most major streets in Los Angeles and its suburbs. In addition to the Pacific Electric, most of the streetcars in the central city and surrounding neighborhoods were operated by Henry Huntington's Los Angeles Railway, later Los Angeles Transit Lines, who ran the "Yellow Cars." The "Red Cars" were mostly interurban trains connecting widely separated cities with each other, with the exception of a few small neighborhood lines in areas like Echo Park and Redlands.
Ridership of the Pacific Electric and Los Angeles Railway peaked in the early 1930s, with another increase during World War II, however, as increasing automobile traffic both drew riders away from the Red Cars and Yellow Cars and caused its lines — which usually operated in mixed traffic and had at-grade street crossings — to slow to a grinding halt. (At one point late in the Red Car's life, average speeds on the busy Santa Monica Boulevard line had fallen below 15 mph.)
Throughout the United States in the 1950s, the emergent middle class poured into automobile-dependent outer-ring suburbs, which were gradually connected to urban centers and to one another by a web of freeways. This process accelerated in the 1950s, when a variety of factors, such as relaxation of automobile loan rules by the Federal Reserve, falling automobile prices, and federal subsidies for freeway construction led to a nearly wholesale switch from transit systems to freeway systems. Most electric rail systems, including the Pacific Electric, either switched to buses or closed down altogether. According to the General Motors streetcar conspiracy, GM and a number of conspiring corporations were responsible for the closure of the rail lines; however, Pacific Electric had in fact begun the transition from streetcars to buses in the mid-1920s due to a variety of factors. In any case, a private company, Metropolitan Coach Lines, purchased and closed most of Pacific Electric's remaining rail lines in 1954 and converted them to buses. The state government would not allow MCL to shutter the most used rail lines, which caused MCL to seek to sell off its rail operations instead.
A public agency, the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority, a predecessor to the RTD and the current MTA, took control of all remaining Los Angeles County passenger rail lines in 1958. The agency closed the remaining interurban rail and streetcar lines over the course of the following five years. After almost 90 years of streetcars and electric rail in Los Angeles, the last remaining Red Car line went out of service in 1961 and the last streetcar lines, remnants of the Yellow Car, originally operated by the Los Angeles Railway, followed suit two years later.
After years of debate and a twenty-year flirtation with monorail technology, MTA began construction on several new conventional rail lines in the 1980s. In 1990, rail transit returned to Los Angeles with the Blue line, a light rail line from Downtown Los Angeles to Long Beach, using largely the right-of-way last used by the Pacific Electric in 1961. Plans originally called for subway lines to the San Fernando Valley (via Hollywood), Pasadena, and East Los Angeles, but budget concerns and political opposition meant that only 18 of the planned 50+ miles of subway were built. Today, there are five rail lines that cover 73.1 miles (118 km) of track. However, several expansion projects are currently in the works as noted below.

Hours of operation

Metro Rail generally operates from 5:00 AM to midnight. However, exact times vary from route to route. See individual route articles for more information.

Fares

All fare collection is based on a proof of payment system. At least two fare machines are outside each station. Fare inspectors and deputy sheriffs police the system and cite individuals without fares. The standard Metro base fare applies for all trips.

'Fare'	'Regular'	'Senior/Disabled/Medicare'
'Base Fare'	US$1.25	US$.55
'Tokens'	US$1.25	--
'Metro Day Pass'	US$5.00	US$1.80
'Weekly Pass'	US$17.00	--
'Student Fare Card (with monthly stamp)'	US$24.00	--
'College/Vocational (with monthly stamp)'	US$36.00	--
'Monthly Pass'	US$62.00	US$14.00
'Metro-to-Muni Transfer'	US$.30	US$.10

Current projects

★ The 'Gold Line Eastside Extension' is a six-mile extension of the Gold Line to East Los Angeles. It is currently under construction and is scheduled to be completed in late 2009. Due to the narrowness of First Street, a 1.8 mile section of the extension in the working-class neighborhood of Boyle Heights containing two stations will be underground.

★ The 'Expo Line' (official name: "Metro Rail Mid-City/Exposition Transit Project") will be a light-rail line from Downtown L.A. to Santa Monica via the Exposition Boulevard corridor in northern South Los Angeles. Construction of the first phase (9.6 miles) from the 7th Street/Metro Center station in downtown to Washington and National in Culver City, began in September 2006. On May 30, 2006, surveying activities began along the line, with construction completion slated for 2010. No color identifying the line has yet been chosen due to a conflict among the MTA Board members on this issue. No funding has yet been identified for the second phase of the Expo Line, which aims to bring the line from Culver City to Santa Monica, a short distance from the Pacific Ocean.

Expansion proposals

Official

★ Purple Line: This unfunded proposal championed by Los Angeles mayor and former MTA chair Antonio Villaraigosa would extend the Purple Line from its current terminus at Wilshire and Western Avenue in the Korea Town district of Los Angeles to the City of Santa Monica. As there is no funding and numerous obstacles the MTA has not officially announced this proposal. Congressional Representative Henry Waxman iniated federal ban on tunnel construction in the Miracle Mile District, due to lingering concerns over large pockets of methane gas underneath it. However, on October 27, 2005, a panel selected by the MTA Board and Congressman Henry Waxman declared that extension of the subway was safe and agreed to seek lifting the ban. On December 16, 2005, Waxman introduced H.R. 4571 to the U.S. House to allow subway tunneling under Wilshire Boulevard. On September 19, 2006, H.R. 4571 passed the U.S. House of Representatives. However, a Senate version of the bill stalled in the U.S. Senate and was never passed before the end of the congressional session. On January 4, 2007, Waxman reintroduced the bill as H.R. 238, and was passed by the House on February 7. The bill currently awaits a vote in the Senate. Both houses must approve the measure before the ban can be lifted.

★ Regional Connector: Plans in the 1970s and 80 called for a light rail line from Long Beach to Pasadena along a former right-of-way. This is why Gold Line was at one time known as the "Pasadena Blue Line." Today, the Gold Line and Blue Line do not connect. Some citizens and planners have called for a connection through Downtown Los Angeles of approximately two miles (known as the "Downtown or Regional Connector") that would connect the 7th St/Metro Center to the future Eastside Gold Line Extension at First and Alameda. This would allow the Blue and Expo Lines to reach Union Station, Pasadena and the Eastside, and vice versa. In September 2005, the MTA board publicly indicated its desire to take up this project again, a call heartily endorsed by the editorial page of the ''Los Angeles Times''.

★ Gold Line: Using former Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway trackage and right-of-way in the San Gabriel Valley, The ''Metro Gold Line Foothill Construction Authority'' is working to extend the northern branch of the Gold Line eastward, from its current terminus in Pasadena to the city of Montclair in San Bernardino County, or even possibly to L.A./Ontario International Airport. As the population density is lower in this portion of the county and projected ridership is lower, other projects have been given a higher priority than this extension. The 24-mile (39 km) Foothill Extension (so named because the route is just to the south of a mountain range) does enjoy popular support from all of the twenty-three cities along its route. The San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments recently obtained federal funding for environmental studies however at this time there is still no funds to construct this extension. Construction of the first segment to Azusa can begin in as early as 2007 with a possible completion in 2010. The agency hopes the second segment can be completed by 2014. That the extension has been seriously considered at all is due in large part to the advocacy of former Azusa city manager Rick Cole, a vocal smart growth proponent. With the completion of the Foothill and Eastside extensions by 2014, the Gold Line would become the longest Metro Line, and maybe even the longest light rail line in North America, surpassing the 22-mile (35 km) Blue Line with over 50 miles (80 km) of rail.

★ Green Line: The long-delayed reconstruction of Los Angeles International Airport may include a Green Line spur to the new terminal. Los Angeles City Council member Bill Rosendahl has called for this spur to be extended to Marina Del Rey or even Venice along Lincoln Boulevard, citing MTA white papers indicating the feasibility of such an extension. The extension would fix the Green Line's issue of being a route that goes "from nowhere to nowhere." The MTA has also in the past listed on its list of possible projects an extension at the Green Line's eastern end, linking the Green Line to the Metrolink station in Norwalk, possibly with a short underground segment.

Citizens' advocacy

Rail advocates have proposed the following lines:

★ The ''Yellow Line'' is a proposed light-rail line which would run from North Hollywood to Downtown L.A., serving the communities of Burbank, Glendale, Silver Lake, and Echo Park en route. Part of the proposed route, a former Southern Pacific railway alignment along Chandler Boulevard in Burbank, has recently been converted by the City of Burbank to a bicycle path and parkway, thus reducing the likelihood this line would come to fruition. The Yellow Line proposal also advocates use of the former Belmont tunnel built by the Pacific Electric system, not in use since 1955. The land adjacent to the tunnel exit near Second Street and Beverly Boulevard in downtown Los Angeles, long vacant, has recently been sold. An apartment complex is now being built on the site, making it much less likely this area could be used for a new rail line.

★ The ''Silver Line'' is another light-rail proposal which would operate from El Monte to Hollywood, passing through the western San Gabriel Valley, University of Southern California Health Sciences Campus & Los Angeles County Hospital, Union Station, Downtown L.A., Echo Park, and Silver Lake along the way. It would use existing rail between El Monte and Union Station in downtown Los Angeles. (This is unrelated to the Foothill Transit "Silver Streak" bus service, which also serves the San Gabriel Valley as of March 19, 2007, and uses buses similar to those of the Metro Orange Line.) The Silver line website is no longer online. An ''archived version of the Silver Line website'' can be found from the ''The Transit Coalition'' website. Since there is no active website for this proposal, discussions about the silver line have moved to the ''The Transit Coalition's Discussion Board''.

★ The ''Harbor Line'' would serve residents of the Harbor Area, by connecting it to the rest of Los Angeles by linking it to the MTA's existing light rail system. The line would serve as a convenient way for people to visit San Pedro, which is currently undergoing a state of rapid redevelopment (with the Port's Bridge to Breakwater proposal and other condo projects). This route would use the long-abandoned right-of-way known as the Harbor Subdivision, which MTA currently owns.^[5] Part of this route would also form the basis of the proposed LAX Express.

★ The ''Get L.A. Moving Plan'' is a proposal lead by author Damien Goodmon which primarily combines already built lines, and extensions that have been thoroughly studied by the MTA and predecessor agencies to illustrate the type of rail transit system that would exist if they came to fruition. The Get L.A. Moving Plan includes cost estimates, suggested construction schedules, construction methods and financing, and cites rail construction systems around the world including Madrid, Washington D.C. and several Asian countries as precedents.

See also

★ List of rapid transit systems

★ List of United States rapid transit systems by ridership

References

1. LA Metro - Mott MacDonald Project Page
2. Heavy Rail Transit Ridership Report, Fourth Quarter, 2006. Retrieved December 29, 2006
3. APTA Light Rail Transit Ridership Report, Third Quarter, 2006. Retrieved December 29, 2006
4. http://www.apta.com/research/stats/ridership/riderep/indexus.cfm
5. "Harbor Subdivision Technical Feasibility Analysis." Metropolitan Transportation Authority Memo, 17 January 2007. http://www.mta.net/board/Items/2007/01_January/20070117P&PItem6.pdf

External links

★ Official Metro website

★ Gold Line Foothill Extension website

★ Official Gold Line Eastside Extension website

★ History of the Metro Rail System

★ Citizens For A Harbor Line website

★ The Transit Coalition