LA Expo Line Phase 2 slated for late-May start-up
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) Expo Line extension will open the 6.6-mile Expo Line extension between Culver City and Santa Monica on May 20, 2016.
Described as the first rail transit line to the far west side of Los Angeles in 63 years—since Pacific Electric streetcars were removed from service in 1953—the Expo Line extension (Phase 2) is expected to provide an alternative to the congested Santa Monica Freeway. The trip between 7th/Metro Center in downtown Los Angeles and the Downtown Santa Monica Station is expected to take 46 minutes. The current Expo Line (Phase 1) covers 8.5 miles between 7th/Metro Center in downtown Los Angeles and Culver City; the extension adds seven stations: Palms, Westwood/Rancho Park, Expo/Sepulveda, Expo/Bundy, 26th/Bergamot, 17th Street/SMC and downtown Santa Monica.
The Expo Line is named after Exposition Boulevard, which it runs alongside for most of its route. One of six lines in LACMTA’s Metro Rail system, it largely follows the former Pacific Electric Santa Monica Air Line right-of-way that was used by Pacific Electric streetcars and Southern Pacific freight trains. The SP, prior to merging with Union Pacific, sold the right-of-way in the early 1990s to the LACMTA, which wanted to preserve the corridor for possible future use as a rail transit line.
Expo Line construction was accomplished in two phases, based on funding availability. Phase 1 broke ground in 2006 and opened to Culver City in 2012, the same year that primary construction began on Phase 2.
