Los Angeles Metro Rail

Lines

In Los Angeles Metro terminology, common with most other metro systems, a line is a named service, defined by a route and set of stations served by trains on that route. (The word does not refer to a physical rail corridor, as it does in New York City Subway nomenclature.) Metro Rail lines are named after colors (with the exception of the Expo Line), and these colors are used to distinguish the lines on Metro's maps. Metro also uses colors for its Metro Liner services (which are bus services operating in transitways). Some Metro Rail lines (in particular, the Crenshaw/LAX Line) have no colors assigned to them yet. There is currently a proposal to rename all metro rail and BRT lines with letters. This proposal would be fully implemented after completion of the Regional Connector project, assigning letters in the order that the lines were, or will be, put into service.

Six Metro Rail lines operate in Los Angeles County:

The Red and Purple lines follow a fully underground route (subway), and the Green Line follows a fully elevated route. The Blue, Expo and Gold Line routes run in a mix of environments, including at-grade street running, at-grade ROW, elevated, and underground.

The two heavy-rail lines (Red and Purple) share right-of-way between Union Station and Wilshire/Vermont, while two of the light-rail lines (Blue and Expo) share right-of-way between 7th St/Metro Center and Pico, since they use compatible technologies. Future system expansions are expected to use shared light-rail rights-of-way.

Stations

Stations include at least two ticket machines, wayfinding displays, electronic displays, and bench seating. Surface stations are designed with shade canopies. Many suburban stations also have free or reserved parking available and some have bike storage available. After many years lacking them, locking fare gates (turnstiles) have been phased in at all underground stations and many surface stations.

Most stations are unstaffed during regular hours. Call boxes are available at most stations to allow employees at the Metro Rail Operations Control Center to assist passengers with concerns.

All street-level light rail stations feature platforms with segregation from nearby roads and sidewalks. All heavy rail stations have a mezzanine; the mezzanine is often heavily decorated with artwork while the platform level typically has a simple, functional design.

The large majority of light rail stations are either at ground level or elevated, while a handful are located underground. All heavy rail stations are located underground. Each station features unique artwork reflecting local culture and/or the function of transit in society. Subway stations and tunnels are designed to resist earthquakes of up to magnitude 7.5.

Wi-Fi and cellular phone service will be installed in stations and tunnels along the Metro Rail system as a $800,000 project. Coverage will be rolled out in phases, starting with portions of the Red and Purple lines, then later the Gold Line by March 2017.

Rolling stock

Metro Rail maintains two distinct systems of rail: a light rail system and a heavy rail system. The heavy rail and light rail systems are incompatible with each other, even though they both use 4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in (1,435 mm) standard gauge. Metro's heavy rail lines are powered by third rail, whereas its light rail lines are powered by overhead catenary. Also, the two separate systems have different loading gauge, and platforms are designed to match the separate car widths.

Hours of operation

All Metro Rail lines run regularly between 5am and midnight, seven days a week. Limited service on particular segments is provided after midnight and before 5am. On Friday and Saturday evenings, service operates until approximately 2am. There is no rail service between 2am and 3:30am, except on special occasions such as New Year's Eve. Service operates every 5–10 minutes during the peak period, every 10–15 minutes during middays and during the day on weekends, and every 20 minutes during the evening until the close of service. Exact times vary from route to route.

Fares and fare collection

The standard Metro base fare applies for all trips. Fare collection is based on a partial proof-of-payment system. At least two fare machines are located at each station. Fare inspectors and deputy sheriffs police the system and cite individuals without fares. Passengers are required to purchase a TAP card to enter stations equipped with fare gates. Passengers using a TAP card can transfer between Metro routes for free within 2 hours from the first tap.

The following table shows Metro fares, effective September 15, 2014 (in US dollars):

Transit Access Pass (TAP) and fare gates

Metro has implemented a system of electronic fare collection using a stored value smartcard called the Transit Access Pass (or TAP Card). This card was intended to simplify fare collection and reduce costs. In 2012, paper monthly passes were phased out and replaced with the TAP Card. As of September 2013, first-time Metro riders must deposit an additional $2 (or $1 at TVMs) on top of their first fare payment in order to obtain a reloadable TAP Card.

In addition, Metro began installing fare gates in 2008, at all heavy rail stations, select light rail stations, and all future stations. Implementation of both programs (the TAP Card and the fare gate program) has turned out to be expensive ($154 million in total, so far) and its initial rollout was problematic.

Ridership

As of the fourth quarter of 2014, the combined Metro Red and Purple lines averaged a weekday ridership of 153,000, making it the ninth busiest heavy rail (rapid transit) system in the United States. Taking overall track length into consideration, Metro Rail's heavy rail lines transport 8,793 passengers per route mile, making this the fifth busiest system U.S. rapid transit system on a per mile basis. This is still a far lower per-mile ridership than the transit systems of New York City (New York City Subway and PATH), Boston (MBTA), and Philadelphia (SEPTA).

Metro's light rail system is the second busiest LRT system in the United States and largest in the Western United States and California by ridership, with 200,800 average weekday boardings during Q4 2014. Additionally, the Blue Line is the second largest light rail line by ridership in the United States with an average weekday ridership of 89,646 in 2013, after the Boston Green Line's daily ridership of 221,400 (in Q4 2013), though the Boston Green Line has four outbound termini, so that its 23 miles (37 km) of route service a larger lateral area than the Blue Line's 22 miles (35 km), but over a shorter length.

Security and safety

Metro Rail's trains and stations are patrolled by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, and are monitored by security personnel via closed-circuit television cameras in Metro Rail stations and subway cars.

Background

Over five decades Southern California had an extensive privately owned rail transit network with over 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of track – operated by Pacific Electric (Red Cars) and Los Angeles Railway (Yellow Cars). However, from 1927 revenue shortfall caused Pacific Electric to begin replacing lightly used rail lines with buses.

In World War II, the system briefly returned to profitability due to gas rationing and troop movement, but after the war Pacific Electric once again maintained an operating deficit and the rail system was slowly dismantled in what became known as the Great American streetcar scandal. In 1958 the remnants of the privately owned rail and bus systems were consolidated into a government agency known as the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority or MTA.

The final removal of the system continued, and by 1963 the remaining rail lines were completely removed and replaced with bus service. In the decades that followed, with growing traffic congestion, public support for the return of rail transit increased.

Planning

Beginning in the 1970s, a variety of factors, including environmental concerns, an increasing population and the price of gasoline led to calls for mass transit other than buses. In 1976, the State of California formed the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission to coordinate the SCRTD's efforts with those of various municipal transit systems in the area and to take over planning of countywide transportation systems. The SCRTD continued planning of the Metrorail Subway (the Red Line), while the LACTC developed plans for the light rail system. After decades, the wheels of government began to move forward, and construction began on the Los Angeles County Metro Rail system in 1985. In 1988, the two agencies formed a third entity under which all rail construction would be consolidated. In 1993, the SCRTD and the LACTC were finally merged into the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA, now branded as Metro).

The LACMTA began construction of the initial lines throughout the 1980s using revenues from a voter-approved increase in sales tax.

Expansions

The Blue Line finally opened on July 14, 1990, some 27 years after the final streetcar line closed. Since that date, the system has been developed to its current size. The following table shows the timeline of this expansion:

Future

Metro has worked over the past several years to plan and prioritize project funding and implementation. Metro's 2009 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) was developed to provide a long-term vision of transportation system development for the next 30 years. Measure R, a countywide incrememental sales tax increase passed by voters in 2008, provides funding for many of the highest priority projects in the LRTP. Measure J, a proposed extension of the Measure R sales tax for an additional 30 years that would have allowed for acceleration of the construction timeline for many of the LRTP projects appeared on the November, 6th 2012 ballot in Los Angeles County. However, Measure J did not succeed, garnering 66.11% of the vote, just short of the ⅔ majority needed to pass. The result has prompted some to reconsider the utility of a ⅔ vote threshold for passage of transit taxes. In 2015, Metro contemplated renaming its light rail lines using a letter-based scheme, but has not adopted the proposal as of November 2016.

In November 2016, voters approved Measure M, a half-cent sales tax increase to fund transportation projects, including Metro Rail expansion.

Current and priority projects

The following rail projects have been given high priority by Metro. They all appear in the 2009 LRTP constrained plan, and all have funding earmarked from Measure R. With the passage of Measure M in 2016, Metro plans to release an updated Long Range Transportation plan in 2017.

Other expansion concepts

The following proposed line/system expansions do not currently have funding or high priority in Metro's long-range plans. Some are listed as "strategic unfunded" in the last Long Range Transportation Plan, indicating some possibility they could be constructed should additional funding materialize. Others have been the subject of Metro Board discussion, with the possibility of future feasibility studies. (More information on each project can be found in the references.)

Note that a major update of Metro plans is underway, with a view to seeking additional funding via a ballot measure and updating the Long Range Transportation Plan. The results of early planning studies as a part of that process are expected to be made public in approximately February 2015, and may result in the addition of new proposed projects, changes to concepts listed below, and the removal of concepts whose popularity has declined since 2009.