Expo Line (Los Angeles Metro)

This article is about the light-rail line in Los Angeles. For other uses, see Expo Line (disambiguation).

Metro Expo Line
Expo Line Culver City Station platform looking east.
Overview
Type	Light rail
System	Metro Rail
Status	Phase 1: in service Phase 2: under construction
Termini	7th St/Metro Center Culver City
Stations	19
Daily ridership	Phase 1: 25,983 (March 2013) Phase 2: 64,000 (estimated 2030)
Line number	806
Website	Expo Authority
Operation
Opened	Phase 1: April 28, 2012 (April 28, 2012) Phase 2: 2015 (2015) (approx.)
Operator(s)	Metro (LACMTA)
Character	Mostly at-grade in private right-of-way, with some street-running, elevated, and trench sections.
Depot(s)	Phase 1: Division 11 (Long Beach) Phase 2: New division at Stewart St and Exposition Blvd in Santa Monica
Rolling stock	Phase 1: Siemens P2000, Nippon Sharyo P865 and P2020 Phase 2: Kinkisharyo P3010
Technical
Line length	15.3 mi (24.6 km)
Track length	3 cars
No. of tracks	2
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	750 V DC overhead catenary
Operating speed	55 mph (89 km/h)
Route map Legend mi. min. Holding stub 0.0 0 7th St./Metro Center Flower St. 0.7 2 Pico Interstate 10 Blue Line to Long Beach Washington Bl. 1.6 5 23rd Street Interstate 110 2.1 9 Jefferson/USC Flower St. trench Figueroa tunnel Exposition Bl. trench 2.7 11 Expo Park/USC 3.1 13 Vermont 4.1 16 Western Arlington Av. 7th Av. 11th Av./Degnan Bl. 5.6 20 Crenshaw Buckingham Rd. 6.2 22 Farmdale 6.8 24 La Brea Hauser Bl. 7.7 26 La Cienega Jefferson Bl. Ballona Creek/ City of Culver City National Bl. Washington Bl. 8.7 29 Culver City End Phase 1 Venice Bl. City of Los Angeles Bagley Av. National Bl. 9.6 31 Palms Motor Av. Interstate 10 Northvale trench Overland Av. 11.0 34 Westwood Westwood Bl. Military Av. 11.5 35 Sepulveda Interstate 405 Sawtelle Bl. Pico Bl. Gateway Bl. Barrington Av. 12.6 38 Bundy City of Santa Monica Centinela Av. Maint. fclt. Stewart St. 13.6 40 26th/Bergamot 26th St. Cloverfield Bl. Olympic Bl. 20th St. 19th St. 14.3 42 17th/SMC 15.3 44 Downtown Santa Monica

The Expo Line is a light-rail line running between Downtown Los Angeles and Culver City - with service to Santa Monica planned to begin in 2015. The line is named "Expo" as it follows Exposition Boulevard for most of its route.

Operating hours

The Expo Line operates from approximately 5 am to 12:30 am on weekdays and until 2 am on Fridays and Saturdays. Maximum speed on the route is 55 mph (89 km/h). Trains run approximately every 12 minutes during the daytime and every 20 minutes at other times.

Route of the Expo Line

Construction

Interior of a westbound train, first day of operation to Culver City

The line is being built in two phases; the first phase comprises the section between Downtown Los Angeles and Culver City. Construction began in early 2006 and most stations opened to the public on April 28, 2012. Culver City and Farmdale stations opened June 20, 2012.

Design and construction on the portion between Culver City and Santa Monica started in September 2011 with opening anticipated in 2015.

Operation

Compatible with the rest of Metro's light-rail network, the Expo Line shares standard Metro light rail vehicles with the Blue Line. Metro estimates that it has 47 light rail cars to provide service on the Expo Line under the peak-hour assumption of 3-car trains running at 6-minute headways.

Expo vehicles are currently maintained at the Blue Line's maintenance facility in Long Beach, California; however, a new yard is slated to open in the vicinity of the Olympic/26th Street Station in Santa Monica with the completion of phase 2 construction.

History

Steam railroad

Main article: Los Angeles and Independence Railroad

The line was built in 1875 as the steam-powered Los Angeles and Independence Railroad intended to bring mining ore to ships in Santa Monica harbor, and as a passenger excursion train to the beach. Eventually purchased by Southern Pacific Railroad it was converted to electric passenger and light freight use in 1909 - after the Santa Monica harbor closed to shipping traffic.

Early electric service

Main article: Santa Monica Air Line (Pacific Electric)

By 1920 the line was known as the Santa Monica Air Line providing electric-powered freight and passenger service between Los Angeles and Santa Monica. Service was discontinued in 1953 but the tracks continued to be used sporadically for diesel-powered freight deliveries to warehouses along the route until about 1989.

Abandonment

From 1989, Southern Pacific maintained ownership of the right-of-way, but no longer used or continued maintenance on the rails. Portions of the right-of-way were leased for use as storage facilities, parking lots, impound lots, and various businesses, but no permanent structures were built.

Community rescue

The abandonment of the line spurred concerns within the community to prevent the line from being sold off piecemeal, destroying one of the few remaining intact rail corridors within Los Angeles County. Advocacy groups including Friends 4 Expo Transit supported the successful passage of Proposition C in 1990, which allowed the purchase of the entire right-of-way from Southern Pacific by Metro (LACTC).

Metro successfully lobbied the federal government to use the remainder of Red Line funding for a different project to the Mid-City district of Los Angeles in 1998. That same year Los Angeles County voters approved Proposition A, another sales tax increase for transit, allowing Metro access to additional funds for transit projects. Metro then released a Major Investment Study in 2000 which compared bus rapid transit and light rail transit options along what was now known as the "Mid-City/Exposition Corridor".

External links

• Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro)
• Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority
• VIDEO
  • Expo Phase I Construction Drive By
  • Los Angeles Metro Expo Line - Phase II Tour, Part 1