A Line (Los Angeles Metro)

A Line
Overview
Other name(s)Blue Line (1990–2019)
Gold Line/L Line (north of Little Tokyo/Arts District)
OwnerLos Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Line number801
Termini
Stations44 (4 more under construction)
Websitemetro.net/riding/guide/a-line
Service
TypeLight rail
SystemLos Angeles Metro Rail
Depot(s)Division 11 (Long Beach)
Division 24 (Monrovia)
Rolling stockKinki Sharyo P3010 or AnsaldoBreda P2550 running in 2- or 3-car consists
Daily ridership69,216 (weekday, May 2024) Increase[1]
Ridership15,819,994 (2023) Increase 39.4%
History
OpenedJuly 14, 1990 (1990-07-14)
Technical
Line length48.5 mi (78.1 km)[2]
Number of tracks2 (except single track Long Beach loop)
CharacterMostly at-grade in private right-of-way, with some street-running, elevated and underground sections
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
ElectrificationOverhead line750 V DC
Operating speed55 mph (89 km/h) (max.)
24 mph (39 km/h) (avg.)
Route map
Map A Line highlighted in blue
Montclair (*2030)
Claremont (*2030)
Pomona Parking
Metrolink (California)
La Verne Parking
San Dimas Parking
Glendora Parking
APU/Citrus College Parking
Azusa Downtown Parking
Irwindale Parking
Duarte/City of Hope Parking
Monrovia Parking
Arcadia Parking
Sierra Madre Villa Parking
Allen
Lake Parking
Memorial Park
Del Mar Parking
Fillmore Parking
South Pasadena Parking
Highland Park
Southwest Museum
Figueroa Street/Pasadena Avenue
Heritage Square Parking
Lincoln/Cypress Parking
Chinatown
Union Station Parking
AmtrakMetrolink (California)FlyAway (bus)B Line D Line J Line 
Little Tokyo/Arts District
E Line 
Historic Broadway
E Line 
Grand Avenue Arts/Bunker Hill
E Line J Line 
7th Street/Metro Center
B Line D Line E Line J Line 
Pico
E Line J Line 
I-10 (1961).svg I-10
Grand/LATTC
J Line 
San Pedro Street
Washington
Vernon
Slauson
Florence Parking
Firestone
103rd Street/Watts Towers Parking
Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Parking
C Line 
Compton Parking
Artesia Parking
Del Amo Parking
Wardlow Parking
Willow Street Parking
Pacific Coast Highway
Anaheim Street
Pacific Avenue5th Street
1st Street
Downtown Long Beach

Multiple
services
Handicapped/disabled access
All stations
are accessible

The A Line (formerly, from 1990 to 2019, and colloquially known as the Blue Line)[3][4] is a 48.5-mile (78.1 km) light rail line in Los Angeles County, California. It is one of the six lines of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system, operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). The A Line serves 44 stations and runs east-west between Azusa and Pasadena, then north-south between Pasadena and Long Beach, interlining and sharing five stations with the E Line in Downtown Los Angeles. It operates for approximately 19 hours per day with headways of up to 8 minutes during peak hours. Since 2023, the line has been the longest light rail line in the world.

The A Line is the oldest and busiest light rail line in the Los Angeles Metro Rail system, carrying over 15 million passengers in 2023, with an average of 69,216 weekday riders in May 2024. Its initial segment from Downtown Los Angeles to Long Beach opened in 1990, utilizing much of the original right-of-way of the former Pacific Electric Long Beach Line. Since its opening, the line has undergone numerous upgrades to improve its capacity, safety, and reliability. Plans to extend the line north to Pasadena in the San Gabriel Valley surfaced in the 1980s but were postponed due to funding constraints. The Gold Line (renamed the L Line in 2020) completed a segment of the planned extension from Union Station to Pasadena on a separate line. It opened in 2003 and extended east to Azusa in 2016.

Planning for the northern extension resumed in the early 2000s as part of the Regional Connector Transit Project, with construction starting in 2014. The project enabled A Line trains to run north to the San Gabriel Valley by constructing a light rail tunnel in Downtown Los Angeles, connecting the A Line to the L Line. The A Line's current Azusa–Long Beach service commenced in June 2023 with the completion of the project, incorporating the Union Station–Pasadena–Azusa portion of the L Line. Subsequently, the L Line ceased service, and as part of the project, three additional downtown stations opened in the constructed tunnel alignment. Construction is underway to extend the A Line further east to Pomona and Montclair.

  1. ^ "Interactive Estimated Ridership Stats". Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on December 8, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  2. ^ "Facts At A Glance". Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. June 2023. Archived from the original on March 19, 2023. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  3. ^ Fonseca, Ryan (September 25, 2019). "Ignore Those 'Line A' Signs. Metro's Blue Line Will Reopen As The 'A Line'". laist.com. Southern California Public Radio. Archived from the original on September 26, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  4. ^ Nelson, Laura J. (October 17, 2019). "Light rail to Long Beach will reopen soon — but it won't be called the Blue Line". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 18, 2019. Retrieved October 18, 2019.

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