Los Angeles Metro Rail

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"Gold Line" train (Line L) at Atlantik station in East Los Angeles

As Los Angeles Metro Rail refers to the metro and light rail network of Los Angeles County . It is from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority operates (marketed as "Metro") and consists of six lines, of which two lines full subways ( heavy rail ) and the other four lines rail lines ( Light rail ) are.

According to the latest statistics from January 2017, the system is used by an average of around 363,000 people on workdays (372,000 people in October 2013). In comparison to European local transport systems in metropolises of a comparable size, this is rather little. In contrast, the total length of the system is also short at only 158.5 km. The number of passengers, however, is comparable to the BART system in San Francisco , which bills around 330,000 journeys per day over a route length of around 160 km. Los Angeles County's voters approved an additional one-half percent sales tax in November 2008 in favor of the local transportation system.

Since Los Angeles is one of the most important world centers for cinema and television film productions, the stations and trains in the system are often the setting for scenes from well-known films, such as: B. Collateral , Speed and The Italian Job .

history

Former network of red cars on the Pacific Electric Railway

At the beginning of the 20th century, Los Angeles had one of the longest streetcar networks in the world. The two operators of this network were the Pacific Electric Railway and the Los Angeles Railway . The Red Cars of the Pacific Electric Railway already connected the cities that are still part of the greater Los Angeles area today. The Yellow Cars of the Los Angeles Railway, on the other hand, supplied today's downtown Los Angeles and the inner suburbs with a dense network of lines . Earlier than in most other cities, however, the automobile dominated traffic as well as traffic and urban planning in Los Angeles . As early as the 1930s, one tram line after the other was shut down. In 1963 the last tram lines were finally given up. In addition to other cities, Los Angeles was involved in the great American tram scandal .

A good 20 years later, it was recognized that the state of the automotive city was not particularly future-oriented, and planning of today's network began. When building the new routes, the particular problem of the earthquake in Los Angeles had to be addressed. They should be able to withstand tremors of 7.5 on the Richter scale . Because of this, and also because of the fact that the greater Los Angeles area is much more densely populated today than it was over a hundred years ago, building a new light rail network is now much more expensive and time-consuming than building the network that was shut down.

Line network

Map of light rail vehicles and express buses in Los Angeles (as of March 2016)

Overview

The rail network of the Los Angeles Metro consists of two separate systems: the light rail network, the routes of which run largely on the surface, some have level crossings and the trains of which draw their power from an overhead line , and the subway network ("heavy rail") ), which runs exclusively in tunnels and is operated with a power rail . Both systems currently extend over a total of 158.5 km, of which 28 km are in the tunnel.

The number of stops is 87, of which 16 are on the tunnel routes.

The Union Station and 7th St / Metro Center stations have so far developed into central transfer hubs .

Union Station serves as the terminus for lines B and D and as a through station for line L. There is also the option of changing to the Metrolink and Amtrak trains.

7th St / Metro Center , colloquially abbreviated to "Seventh and Metro", is located in downtown Los Angeles south of Pershing Square and serves as the terminus for lines A and E. There is also a connection to lines B and D.

The Los Angeles Metro system also includes two Bus Rapid Transit lines: the 22.5 km long G line and the 61 km long line J.

line Color & former name Means of transport Line route Stations opening
A. Blue line Light rail 7th Street / Metro Center - Pico - Florence - Willowbrook & Rosa Parks - Downtown Long Beach 22nd 1990, 1991
B. Red Line Subway Union Station - Civic Center / Grand Park - 7th Street / Metro Center - Wilshire / Vermont - Vermont / Sunset - Hollywood / Vine - Universal City / Studio City - North Hollywood 14th 1993, 1999, 2000
C. Green Line Light rail Norwalk - Long Beach Boulevard - Willowbrook & Rosa Parks - Harbor Freeway - Crenshaw - Aviation / LAX - Redondo Beach 14th 1995
D. Purple line Subway Union Station - Civic Center / Grand Park - 7th Street / Metro Center - Wilshire / Vermont - Wilshire / Western 5 1993, 1996
E. Expo Line
(light blue)
Light rail 7th Street / Metro Center - Pico - LATTC / Ortho Institute - Expo / Crenshaw - Culver City - Downtown Santa Monica 19th 1990, 2012, 2016
G Orange line Bus rapid transit North Hollywood - Chatsworth 17th 2005, 2006, 2012
J Silver Line Bus rapid transit 7th Street / Metro Center - Pico - LATTC / Ortho Institute - Expo / Crenshaw - Culver City - Downtown Santa Monica 11+ 2009
L. Gold line Light rail APU / Citrus College - Monrovia - Sierra Madre Villa - Pasadena Memorial Park - South Pasadena - Highland Park - Union Station - Soto - East LA / Civic Center - Atlantic 27 2003, 2009, 2016

First planned in 2015, Metro decided on November 15, 2018 to abolish the previous line names, which were mainly based on color names. Since 2019 and 2020, letters have been used instead, with the colors being used for labeling.

Subway

Station 7th Street / Metro Center lines B and D
  • The line B (also red line or "Red Line") leads from Union Station to North Hollywood . Starting from the city center, the entire route runs underground towards the northwest. The first section between Union Station and Westlake / MacArthur Park Station opened in 1993. At the following underground station Wilshire / Vermont , which was opened together with the Mid-Wilshire route branch (today Line D) in 1996, Line B branches off northwards to follow the course of Vermont Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard . This extension was completed in 1999, the preliminary end point being the Hollywood / Highland station . In 2000 the route was expanded to include Universal City and North Hollywood stations . The latter is the current end point of line B, there is a connection to line G. At the moment, line B is used by an average of 150,000 passengers on weekdays. It has the largest number of passengers of the current lines of the Los Angeles Metro. On line B, as well as on line D, railcars made up of six units each from the Italian manufacturer AnsaldoBreda are used.
  • The line D (also purple line and "Purple Line") runs from Union Station to Mid-Wilshire. It is also a full subway line that runs from the city center in a westerly direction. In 1993 the first section of the line between Union Station and Westlake / MacArthur Park was opened as part of the Red Line , three years later this was then extended to Mid-Wilshire to Wilshire / Western station. In 1999 the Red Line received a second branch to the north, which is why the line from then on had two end points on the northwest side. In 2006 the decision was made to run the smaller part of the Red Line as an independent Purple Line , as the route under Wilshire Boulevard is to be extended in the direction of Beverly Hills in the future. Today, the stations between Union Station and the fork in the old route are served by both line D and line B. The extension of the route to Westwood has been under construction since 2014.

Light rail

Modern Siemens train on line C at the western terminus Redondo Beach
  • The line A (also blue line or "Blue Line") leads from the Metro Center in downtown Los Angeles to Long Beach . It opened in 1990 as Los Angeles' first modern light rail line. Since the closure of the last tram line, Los Angeles had no rail-bound public transport for 27 years. The route runs from the central tunnel station 7th Street / Metro Center (with the option of changing to lines B and D) in a southbound direction. Line A comes to the surface between Metro Center and Pico , where it stays until Long Beach. At Imperial / Wilmington station, it crosses line C. The line splits behind the Anaheim stop . Trains coming from downtown Los Angeles run the last four stations in a large loop to go straight back to Anaheim from the Pacific terminus . On Line A, trains manufactured in Japan (Nippon Sharyo) and Germany ( Siemens ) are used, which are a mixture of trams and light rail vehicles.
  • The line C (including Green Line or "Green Line") leads from Redondo Beach to Norwalk . It was commissioned in 1995 and runs mostly above ground in the median of the Century Freeway . At the 96th Street / Aviation station there is a connection to Los Angeles International Airport , at Imperial / Wilmington it crosses Line A. Since 2000, trains manufactured by Siemens have been in service, previously also vehicles manufactured in Japan, which are now mostly on Line A. on the way.
  • The line E (also called "Expo Line") links the city center with the Pacific coast in Santa Monica . It is the fourth and currently the newest light rail line on the Los Angeles Metro. On April 28, 2012, the first approximately 12-kilometer section between the 7th Street / Metro Center and La Cienaga stops went into operation. The line branches off from the track used jointly with Line A behind the Pico station and runs from there on the surface and roughly parallel to Line D to the north. On June 20, 2012, two more stations became the provisional terminus of the first Culver construction phase City Street opened. With the second construction phase, line E was extended from there to Santa Monica on May 20, 2016. This had been under construction since September 2011.
Breda L line train in Highland Park
  • The line L (also golden line or "Gold Line") leads from East Los Angeles via Union Station and Pasadena to Azusa . It is the third light rail line on the Los Angeles Metro. The first construction phase from the city center to Pasadena to the northeast was put into operation in July 2003. The final stop was Sierra Madre Villa in the urban area of ​​Pasadena until March 5, 2016 . In the southeast, an extension of eight stops (two of them in the tunnel) from Union Station to East Los Angeles was completed in November 2009. The end point here is the Atlantic station . On March 5, 2016, the line was extended by 11.5 miles (approximately 18.5 km) and six stations from Pasadena to Downtown Azusa . Construction work on this section started on June 26, 2010. In addition, the line is currently owned by Azusa from east to Montclair ( Montclair (California) ) expanded . In addition, local politicians brought another extension to neighboring San Bernardino County to Los Angeles-Ontario Airport into play. Should the extensions to Montclair be realized in an easterly direction, the L line with a length of 51 miles (80 kilometers) would be the longest light rail line in the USA. Both light rail vehicles manufactured by Siemens in Germany (P2000) and light rail vehicles from AnsaldoBreda (Breda P2550) are used on Line L.
Valley College Station on Line G in the suburb of Valley Glen in the San Fernando Valley
The Harbor Transitway from the Harbor Freeway seen from

Metro busway

  • The line G (also orange line or "Orange Line") is a special express bus line, which runs also under the umbrella of the Los Angeles County Metro Rail. It is advertised by them as “light rail on rubber tires”. It is a Bus Rapid Transit line operated by 18-meter articulated buses , which runs on special lanes and its own right of way between North Hollywood , the current terminus of line B, and Warner Center in the suburb of Woodland Hills. The fact that the individual stops are about a mile apart also contributes to the character of the express bus route. The stops are equipped with park-and-ride parking spaces. Line G is also operated like a train line in that you have to buy the ticket before boarding.

The 22.5 km long line opened on October 29, 2005. In October 2008, the G buses counted over 25,000 passengers a day, so that at some times it is difficult to get a seat. For this reason, the introduction of 20-meter buses has been tested for some time. On June 30, 2012, the 6 km extension to the Amtrak station in Chatsworth went into operation.

  • The 2009 decorated line J (also silver line or "Silver Line") runs between the stations of El Monte and Artesia Transit Center in the southern suburb of San Pedro . It has its own lanes from El Monte to Union Station and from Figueroa / Adams to the Artesia Transit Center , the so-called El Monte Busway and Harbor Freeway Transitway .

vehicles

Subway vehicles

The underground lines (lines B and D) run with 75-foot (22.86 m) long electric multiple units, which are powered by a power rail. These trains usually run with 6 cars. All vehicles so far belong to the A650 type and were built by Breda in Italy. They are to be replaced by HR4000 vehicles from 2021. 64 vehicles were ordered for $ 647 million in March 2017, with options for an additional 282 vehicles. These are to be delivered in 2020 and 2021 and then used on lines B and D.

Manufacturer Type image Year of manufacture Years of operation Vehicle numbers number Lines Depot
Breda A650 Ansaldobreda A650.jpg 1991-1992 1993– 501-530 30th B, D 20th
Breda A650 Purple Line train on Wilshire-Western line.jpg 1996-2000 1997– 531-604 42 B, D 20th
CRRC Corporation HR4000 2020-2021 2021– TBA 64 (282 options) B, D 20th

Light rail vehicles

The light rail lines (lines A, C, E and L) use articulated railcars 87 feet (26.52 m) long, which are supplied via an overhead line. Metro Rail uses different types of light rail vehicles.

Manufacturer Type image Year of manufacture Years of operation Vehicle numbers number Lines Depot comment
Nippon Sharyo P865 Jefferson & USC Expo Line Station 2.JPG 1989-1990 1990– 100-153 54 A, E 11 Car 109 is silver. This carriage and carriage 148 were painted red for the Pacific Electric Railway anniversary. Car 148 has been in operation in a new yellow-gray paint scheme since 2013.
Nippon Sharyo P2020 Expo & Crenshaw Expo Line Station 2.JPG 1994-1995 1995– 154-168 15th A, E 11 (previously 22) The P2020 series were originally purchased for the C. They are almost identical to the P865 series. These trains have been running on lines A and E since 2000.
Siemens P2000 Harbor Fwy Station-11.JPG 1996-1999 1996– 200-226 27 C. 22nd
Siemens P2000 Metrorail-go1.jpg 1996-1999 1996– 227-250 24 A, E 11 (previously 21) 6th
Siemens P2000 LACMTA Metro Gold Line at South Pasadena.jpg 1996-1999 1996– 301-302 2 A, E 11 Originally this row was supposed to run on Line C. You can drive fully automatically, but this would only be possible on line C.
AnsaldoBreda P2550 Metro Gold Line Breda P2550.jpg 2006-2011 2007– 701-750 50 L. 21st The 701, 704–731, 736 and 737 cars have been in operation since 2010.
Kinkisharyo P3010 Kinki Sharyo P3010 1.jpg 2014-2017 2014– 1001-1235 235 A, C, E, L 11/14, 21/24, 22 / tba Car 243 was damaged in an accident on the Gold Line (L) in 2007 and was used on the Green Line (C) after a reconstruction.

expansion

Regional Connector

Future sections of the route: routes of the Expo Line (under construction), the extension of the Purple Line and the Crenshaw Corridor (both in planning)

Another route through downtown Los Angeles is to be created with the Regional Connector project . A 1.9 mile stretch of tunnel along 2nd Street will connect Line L (from Little Tokyo / Arts District Station) to 7th St / Metro Center Station on Lines A and E. Three new stations are planned ( 1st Street / Central Av , 2nd Street / Broadway and 2nd Place / Hope St ).

The route is then used by the Blue and Gold Line. Line E from Santa Monica runs along the route of Line L to East Los Angeles. In return, Line A from Long Beach takes over the northern part of Line L to Azusa. The opening is planned for 2020. The estimated budget is $ 1.4 billion.

Crenshaw / LAX

This 13.7 km long link will connect the line E from the Crenshaw / Expo stop with the line C near LAX airport . Eight new stops are to be created. Construction began in 2014 and commissioning is expected in 2021.

Purple Line Westside

Line D is to be extended further west in three stages. The 6.3 km long first stage from the previous terminus Wilshire / Western to Wilshire / La Cienga with two intermediate stops is to be opened in 2023. The second stage, 4.2 km long, leads from there via Beverly Hills with an intermediate stop to Century City / Constellation, which is scheduled to open in 2025. The third stage continues 4.1 km with an intermediate stop to Westwood / VA Hospital , opening in 2027.

Gold Line Foothill Extension

A 19.8 km extension of Line L (after the opening of the Regional Connector Line A) from Azusa to Montclair with six new stations is also planned. The groundbreaking ceremony took place in 2017 and the opening is expected in 2026/2027.

Trivia

The 2013 B-movie thriller Subway - Next Stop: Terror (original title: Red Line ) is about a fictional bomb attack on the Red Line of the Los Angeles Metro Rail, as a result of which the survivors in the subway tunnel are buried and gradually discover that the assassin is among them.

See also

Web links

Commons : Los Angeles Metro Rail  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

supporting documents

  1. Interactive Estimated Ridership Stats
  2. bart.gov ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bart.gov
  3. LA Metro Could Switch Rail Line Names From Colors to Letters. Curbed  , April 7, 2015, accessed August 3, 2020 .
  4. ^ Transit Line Operational Naming Convention. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority , November 5, 2018, accessed August 3, 2020 .
  5. Metro Blue Line reopens under new A Line name with the help of rapper Snoop Dogg. ABC 7 , November 4, 2019, accessed August 3, 2020 .
  6. Exposition Corridor Transit Project Phase 2 (eng .; PDF; 538 kB)
  7. Foothill Extension groundbreaking: "This whole county is going to change"
  8. http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Officials-Unveil-Metro-Gold-Line-Extension-371145751.html (English), from March 5, 2016; accessed on March 5, 2016
  9. Orange Line Extension Canoga Park Chatsworth ( Memento of the original from June 16, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.dailynews.com
  10. LA Metro inks pact with CRRC for up to 282 new railcars . Progressive railroading. March 24, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
  11. a b c d Operation Committee June 19, 2008 - Project: Rail Division Capacity Assessment Report (PDF) LACMTA. June 19, 2008. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
  12. http://thesource.metro.net/2013/08/13/restyled-train-car-sighting/
  13. ^ The first of 50 new AnsaldoBreda P2550 LRVs . World.nycsubway.org. August 13, 2005. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
  14. ^ The first of 50 new AnsaldoBreda P2550 LRVs . World.nycsubway.org. August 13, 2005. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
  15. ^ Website Regional Connector Transit Project
  16. Crenshaw / LAX Transit Project. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority , accessed August 3, 2020 .
  17. ^ Purple Line Extension. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority , accessed August 3, 2020 .
  18. ^ Gold Line Foothill Extension. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority , accessed August 3, 2020 .
  19. Elijah Chiland: Metro approves $ 1.4B construction plan for Gold Line extension to Claremont. Curbed, June 23, 2017, accessed August 3, 2020 .