"Officials struggled for several months to set an opening date because of various problems uncovered during testing. Those included technical issues where the Expo Line shares tracks with the Blue Line, which runs between Long Beach and downtown L.A.
"Rail operators receive signals from the track, but at the junction between the two lines at least one of those signals was not going through. Officials said Friday the problems had been fixed, the line would be safe and the California Public Utilities Commission had cleared it to open in late April.
"The entire first phase of the line was supposed to open another 0.7 miles west into Culver City, but officials said that station wouldn't be ready for service until some time this summer."
"It took 24 minutes to get from the second-to-last station at La Cienega and Jefferson boulevards (the final Phase 1 station won't open until this summer) to the 7th Street/Metro Center station downtown. It won't go that fast in the real world; it skipped some stations during the media preview, and a ride along the full 8.6-mile route will probably take closer to 30 minutes. The train goes 55 miles per hour between La Cienega and Arlington Avenue, where cross-streets are blocked off with safety gates, but after that there are no more gates so it must slow to 35. It's still faster than driving surface streets because the traffic lights are timed to stay green when the train approaches."
Expo Line light rail operator Sheila Celestain, 55, guides the lead car down the tracks during a media test ride of the soon-to-open Expo Line from the new station at La Cienega/Jefferson to downtown. (Mark Boster/Los Angeles Times)
All aboard! Join us as we celebrate the opening of the Metro Expo Line. There'll be music, entertainment and family fun at four stations, plus free rides on the entire line between Downtown LA and the Westside.
Enjoy these special activities Saturday, April 28, 10am-4pm
FREE! Live music
FREE! On-stage karaoke
FREE! Local dance and entertainment
Tasty treats from food trucks and local eateries for purchase
Activity Locations
7th St/Metro Center Station
Expo Park/USC Station
Expo/Crenshaw Station
La Cienega/Jefferson Station
Free fare on Metro Expo Line only, April 28 and 29, 2012 only, from 5am-7pm (special schedule on Expo Line for opening weekend only). Regular fares apply on all other Metro Rail, Metro Rapid, and Metro Local lines.
With the Expo Line's revenue service opening imminent (as in tomorrow), news stories have clearly reached spate proportions. And that's a good thing! This L.A. Times article includes a 1:48 time lapse video of a ride aboard an eastbound Expo Line train, beginning at the current west end at La Cienega/Jefferson station and concluding as the train heads into the hole in dowtown Los Angeles.
"Almost 60 years after the Pacific Electric Railway stopped running trains to Santa Monica, the resurrection of passenger rail service to the Westside will begin with the grand opening of the $930-million Expo light rail line.
"Saturday's start of service marks the first step in an effort to bring rail service back to one of the region's most traffic-clogged areas, something transportation experts have long said is crucial to developing a workable rail network for Los Angeles County.
"Expo Line trains are scheduled to roll into Culver City by midsummer and Santa Monica within several years, although the segment opening this weekend stops at La Cienega and Jefferson boulevards."
Accompanying Photo Gallery: Expo Line - "The Expo Line opens its first segment -- between downtown Los Angeles and La Cienega Boulevard -- on Saturday, allowing passengers to ride the rails west of Western Avenue for the first time in about half a century."
An Expo Line test train rests at the La Cienega/Jefferson station, with the Downtown L.A. skyline in the distance. Wikimedia photo.
Accompanying Photo Gallery: Expo Line - "The Expo Line opens its first segment -- between downtown Los Angeles and La Cienega Boulevard -- on Saturday, allowing passengers to ride the rails west of Western Avenue for the first time in about half a century."
Update: Opening ceremonies have actually already occurred today - Friday - and this photo gallery has been expanded since posting above to include several shots of confetti, first rides, and such.
"Both Santa Monica and Culver City are making big bets that the rail line will be a boon to their bustling but traffic-clogged communities.
"The cities combined are spending more than $80 million — and developers hundreds of millions of dollars more — to design future developments around the line. They envision high-density housing, new parks and plazas, boutique hotels, retail shops, offices, shuttle services and bike facilities to make it easier for residents to get to and from the stations.
"'It's going to be a pretty game-changing thing to get that line to Santa Monica,' said Gary Kavanagh, 27, a video game developer who serves on the community's bicycle advisory panel. 'The moment there is a way to get all across Los Angeles without the 10 Freeway mess … to get down to the beach, it's going to take off in a way quite unlike the opening of any other rail line in L.A.'"
Expo Line route map. Trains will run only as far west as LaCienega/Jefferson for now, with service to Culver City expected by this summer.
Just wondering, but is there a longer-term plan to extend the line all the way down to the beach (or at least a bit closer to it)? The mention of Santa Monica makes me wonder, especially as Culver City is still 4-8 miles from the oceanfront/Santa Monica proper.
Capitol Limited (7), CA Zephyr (4) Lake Shore Limited (1), Acela (2), NE Regional (2), Sliver Meteor (4)
Upcoming: Silver Meteor (1), Lake Shore Limited (1), SW Chief (2), MO River Runner (1), Texas Eagle (1)
Possibly Upcoming: Either Texas Eagle (1), Capitol Limited (1), Silver Meteor (2) or Texas Eagle (1), Capitol Limited (1), Silver Meteor (1)
Ah...sorry, I missed that link above when I was looking at the story below it (and the map showing the line truncating at Culver City), which alongside the "Subway to the Sea" mess made me wonder if there weren't going to be two lines that got stuck with stub ends.
Capitol Limited (7), CA Zephyr (4) Lake Shore Limited (1), Acela (2), NE Regional (2), Sliver Meteor (4)
Upcoming: Silver Meteor (1), Lake Shore Limited (1), SW Chief (2), MO River Runner (1), Texas Eagle (1)
Possibly Upcoming: Either Texas Eagle (1), Capitol Limited (1), Silver Meteor (2) or Texas Eagle (1), Capitol Limited (1), Silver Meteor (1)
"Nearly two years behind schedule and almost $300 million over budget, the first phase of Los Angeles' newest rail line opened to White and the rest of the public Saturday with free rides between downtown and the outskirts of Culver City. The first train left the station just before 5 a.m.
"Passengers boarded in increasing numbers by the hour and took pictures of the route on digital cameras and iPads. There was music, food and other vendors at special celebrations at many of the stops, including 7th Street/Metro Center and Expo/Crenshaw." __________
"The rail line runs 7.9 miles from downtown to the station at La Cienega and Jefferson in about 30 minutes. Officials said a 0.7-mile extension to Culver City will open sometime this summer.
"In four years, when officials plan to open the second phase of the line, passengers will be able to ride all the way to Colorado Avenue and 4th Street in Santa Monica, within walking distance of the beach."
After years of watching and waiting and posting and yammering, it woulda made little sense to miss the Expo Line's grand opening if I could possibly make it. So last Sunday Team Whooz fueled the MayhemMobile and headed to Los Angeles with a song in our hearts and trains on our minds, under blue skies and a Goodyear blimp, on wide open (for a change) freeways with a Dodger game on the radio, to see for ourselves what's what with this here new light rail line.
The wide open freeways didn't last long once we got over the Cahuenga pass (former Pacific Electric route between L.A. and the San Fernando Valley) and into the L.A. basin on the 101, so we exited and took surface streets to intersect Exposition Blvd. and the new line - Expo Line on EXPOsition Blvd. - near the west end of the USC campus. Turning right to drive westbound alongside the line, it became quite clear as we began passing stations that free train rides on a new line and great weather had combined to make for a powerful draw; people everywhere around stations and on the platforms, full (but not standing room only) trains passing our car in both directions.
Because of the crowd situation, parking scarcity, and the fact that other L.A. area activities were on our agenda, we decided to forgo until another day actually riding the new line (no free rides for us), but we did spend several hours along the line and at some of its stations. And I did NOT forgo the opportunity to give a new camera (and myself) a bit of a workout - something it and I have been lacking since I got the thing last November.
Our first stop, for food, parking, and railfanning, was a Jack-In-The-Box at the intersection of Jefferson and LaBrea, conveniently adjacent to the Expo Line Expo/LaBrea station. Off topic for a moment: We hadn't known it, but one look at the inside of the Jack-In-The-Box informed us that the neighborhood has crime issues. Ordering/serving area behind heavy (bulletproof?) glass from countertop to ceiling; hinged compartments like airlocks for bags and trays of food to be placed in on the kitchen side, then closed before the customer opens the other end to receive the goods. Just plain weird to my low crime area suburban eyes.
Anyway...
The Expo/LaBrea station is elevated; an island platform with street entrances on both sides of LaBrea, which runs perpendicular underneath. Here, as at all Expo Line stations on opening weekend, there were numerous L.A. Metro workers decked out in blue t-shirts proffering timetables, brochures, answering questions, and giving directions. Those we encountered were invariably smiling and upbeat; maybe it was the great weather. After watching and shooting a few arrivals and departures we were back in the car, driving further west to the initial western terminus at the LaCienega/Jefferson station on the outskirts of Culver City. For those who maybe haven't been following this Expo Line thing, another segment of the first phase of the line - another mile or so further into Culver City - is expected to be in operation by sometime this summer. Beyond that, the second phase is under construction, and the full line to Santa Monica - ending within walking distance of the Pacific Ocean - is planned to open in 2016.
Even without riding the new line it was fun to drive alongside and enjoy the sight of trains running back and forth, east and west, to and fro, at frequencies that I'm pretty sure are higher than they'll be in normal service. And a couple times it became obvious that trains were running on headways that were TOO short, as one would have to poke along on departure from a station that had just been vacated by the one running ahead of it.
We'd been told that plenty of parking was available at the end of the line - LaCienega/Jefferson - and I suppose if we had gotten there a few hours earlier that woulda been true. As it was, however, there was not a spot to be had in the trackside multilevel (5, I think) parking structure. The open air top level offered good photo ops though, so Executive Assistant Alice spotted the MayhemMobile temporarily between rows, and pretty much out of anybody's way, while I hopped out to take advantage.
Vehicles parked in the structure comprised an interesting, and very upscale, mix. Mercedes, BMWs, Caddies, many high end SUVs and other truckoids, Volvos, Porsches, Jaguars, and like that. Of course there were Fords, Chevys, Dodges, Toyotas, Nissans, etc., but the prevalence of pricey models was notable, and they struck Team Whooz as being the cars of people who were happy to ride the new trains for free and for fun on a weekend outing, but who will be unlikely to use the Expo Line as a real transportation option. Kinda like the situation with the transit oriented development around the Red Line subway in Hollywood: Housing that's popular enough, but really expensive, and unlikely to be occupied by folks who will actually forsake their cars to take advantage of the convenient transit-adjacent location.
Similar concerns have been raised regarding the Expo Line, i.e. those who need the line the most, and could most benefit from it, could well be priced out of living near it by people who won't even use it; as has happened in Hollywood (and in Pasadena, along the Gold Line).
Afterward we drove back eastbound, stopping here and there along the way at grade crossings, driving down side streets, and once into a park, seeking views of the line from angles other than right next to it on the street and looking to avoid fencing or other obstructions. Young trees have been planted next to long stretches of the right of way, and once those mature it's gonna be hell to photograph trains running at speed, at grade, from trackside; not a piece of cake as it is, and clearly gonna get worse.
On some weekday in the not-to-distant future Team Whooz will buy L.A. Metro day passes ($5), or maybe ride in on Metrolink and take advantage of using those tickets as Metro day passes (great deal!), and ride the Expo Line from end to end (hopefully including Culver City by then), and report back about those experiences. In the meantime...
Photos:
L.A. Expo Line Opening Weekend - A few photos - several with screwed-up white balance - of the latest addition to southern California rail, L.A. Metro's Expo Line. Free rides were offered aboard Expo Line trains for the inaugural weekend, and passengers turned out in large numbers to give the new line a try. Numerous Metro workers were on hand at each station to help with directions, hand out timetables and brochures, and generally enhance the Expo Line experience. The initial western terminus is the LaCienega/Jefferson station at the outskirts of Culver City, with service further into that town expected by summer. Extension westward to Santa Monica - within walking distance of the beach - is under construction and planned for 2016. The Expo Line connects directly with Metro's Blue and Red lines in downtown L.A. at the 7th/Flower station (underground).
Video:
L.A. Expo Light Rail Inbound @ LaBrea - A train inbound from Culver City to downtown Los Angeles makes like a caterpillar as it climbs uphill to the elevated station at La Brea on the afternoon of 4-29-12. Crowds were heavy as L.A. Metro offered free rides aboard the new Expo Line on its opening weekend. The new line connects with Metro's Blue and Red lines, and will be extended west to Santa Monica.
L.A. Expo Line Train Departs LaBrea Inbound - Heading east to downtown Los Angeles, this Expo Line train runs downhill from the elevated station at LaBrea & Expo on the afternoon of 4-29-12, during the line's opening weekend. Passengers were many and good parking spots were few as L.A. Metro offered up free rides for the new line's inauguration.
Expo Line Arriving La Brea Outbound - Outbound from downtown Los Angeles, an Expo Line light rail train runs westward and climbs to a stop at the La Brea station elevated platform on the afternoon of 4-29-12, during the line's opening weekend. Crowds were heavy as L.A. Metro offered free rides for the grand opening. The first segment to open runs to the outskirts of Culver City, with service further into the city expected to open by the summer. Extension of the line further west to Santa Monica - walking distance from the beach at the Pacific Ocean - is planned by 2016.
Eastbound to downtown Los Angeles and running at speed alongside Exposition Blvd., this Expo Line train bleats its weak excuse for a horn as it nears and passes a grade crossing near Culver City.
Smiling L.A. Metro workers pause to pose for pics near the LaBrea station. They and their colleagues were a helpful presence at all Expo Line stations on opening weekend, passing out directions, timetables, and brochures to throngs of passengers out to enjoy the great weather and free train rides on the new line.
Crowd on the platform at LaCienega/Jefferson as a train boards for the return run to downtown Los Angeles.
Very nice Patrick; thanks for the opening day photos! As well as the narrative.
Even if you and Alice didn't get to ride it.
Quite welcome, Alan, and we'll get to the riding part soon.
In the meantime, here are some recent L.A. Times readers' views on the Expo Line, copy/pasted as usual to save the slog through letters on off topic topics...
Will Westside residents leave their cars and ride the train? Yes! Have you taken the Eastbound 10 in the morning lately? On the Expo line my morning commute time can be transformed into leisure time to read a good book. Let Metro worry about the traffic.
And consider the economics of the situation. A Metro day pass costs way less than a day's parking downtown and only a little more than a single gallon of gas. If I can save wear and tear both on my car and its driver, what's not to love about the train?
I have my Transit Access Pass card loaded with cash for fares and my Kindle loaded with good books to read. Let the train roll.
The Expo Line light rail will not improve traffic congestion much, even though it was advertised as a relief for gridlock.
It will, however, lead to increased business development, which will increase traffic congestion around the train stations. And as this development occurs, current residents will likely be priced out when rents rise. Who is this benefiting for all the expense?
Los Alamitos
Metro worker at the unopened Farmdale station waves to motorman of inbound train on 4-29-12. A lengthy dispute over the nature of this station was a major factor in delaying Expo Line construction, and also contributed to cost overruns. After losing a routing battle, NIMBYs and other anti-rail factions claimed that the crossing the street at grade here would be too hazardous to students of the adjacent Dorsey high school, and that the station should be either elevated or underground. They lost that one too, but not before striking a compromise that required two stations, slow running, and operating procedures unique to the situation.
With the Expo Line open and operating I'd say this thread's about run its course. I do wanna post this item I missed when first published, an architectural appraisal of the Expo Line's stations by L.A. Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne, who also covered the new concepts for the L.A. Union Station of the future that everybody here liked so much () in the main Amtrak forum...
"To be fair, the new stations represent a modest improvement over those on the 2009 Gold Line extension. They're appreciably better than the underground stations on the Red Line, which started service in 1993. Metro has finally abandoned the idea that every rail station ought to be uniquely designed to reflect the demographics of the immediate neighborhood. That approach, employed on the Gold and Red lines, was a misstep architecturally and a disaster in terms of maintenance, since each station has to be cleaned differently, its materials aging and breaking down at a different pace.
"But saying that the new stations aren't quite as bad as the older ones isn't saying much at all. When it comes to architecture, Metro has set a very low bar."
Unidentified Expo Line Station, appears to be one of the elevated ones at the western part of the route. Photo by Mark Boster, L.A. Times.
Rode the line on Saturday (5/5) -- not much to say about it, since it's pretty much the same as the other L.A. Metro light rail lines. Definitely convenient to the Natural History Museum and the California Science Center (and not too far from the Coliseum, either). I was with a friend who'd only ever taken the Red Line before, so she was duly impressed that you could actually see things out the window.
I think the signage at the 7th Street-Metro Center station needs to be improved -- at least when I was there, the main method of communication of the destinations of the light-rail trains seemed to be Metro staff shouting. (The train operators didn't appear to be doing a particularly good job of changing their destination signs in a timely manner, i.e., before opening the doors.) It also seems like there needs to be an indication of whether the next train is going out on Platform 1 or Platform 2 -- if there's any way to tell before a train actually pulls in, I didn't see it.
Russia: Moscow – Vladivostok[Trans-Siberian Express - 7 time zones - 6,152 mi.] o/w Canada: Vancouver BC - Thunder Bay ONo/w; Winnipeg MB - Vancouver BCo/w; Sault St. Marie ON - Hearst ONr/t Kenya: Mombasa - Nairobio/w Japan: Yokosuka - Tokyor/t Costa Rica: San Jose - Alajuela r/t
Of course they are. They know darn well that no one expected the line to make its minimums in the first 2 days. The fear is that if they wait, then they can't run such a story because it probably will be making its minimums before the years end.
I also love how they base their math on total capacity on seats only. Apparently they forgot that people can also stand. People stand on the buses that they tout, so I'm not sure why they feel that people can't stand on the light rail trains either.
Interests:taekwondo, geography, current events, speech and debate, TRAINS
Posted 08 May 2012 - 07:27 PM
They're absolutely jumping the gun. I know for a fact that I will use this line multiple times per year. My grandma got me, her, and my cousin a year-pass to the Natural History Museum, which my cousin loves, and we go there at least every other time I come up. My grandma hates driving, and we almost always already take the subway to Universal City each time she picks me up at the station. We will almost assuredly take the train to get to Exposition Park each time. I can't wait until USC has some home games this fall. Parking at those games is super super sucky to be nice, and I will then accept that the line is not used if it is not running at standing room only.
Amtrak: Pacific Surfliner (100000000000), Southwest Chief (5), California Zephyr (1), Coast Starlight (6), Capitol Corridor (1), Empire Builder (2), Acela Express (1), LSL (1), NE Regional (2) Non-Amtrak: NCTD Coaster (at least 20), Metrolink (4), SD Trolley (at least 20), LACMTA Red Line (at least 50), Seattle Streetcar (1), Chicago 'L' (probably 13), NYC Subway (probably 15), WMATA Mass Transit (probably 20), LIRR (1), Las Vegas Monorail (at least 12), MBTA Mass Transit (16), NJ Transit commuter rail (3), I'm sure there are more that I can't think of right now
upcoming Amtrak: Pacific Surfliner (10000000000 more), upcoming non-Amtrak: Coaster, Red Line/Expo Line in LA
