TheA Line (formerly and colloquially theBlue Line)[4][5] is alight rail line inLos Angeles County, California. Part of theLos Angeles Metro Rail system and operated byLos Angeles Metro, it is the world's longest modern light rail line at 57.6 miles (92.7 km). The A Line serves 48 stations, running east–west betweenPomona andPasadena, then north–south between Pasadena andLong Beach. InDowntown Los Angeles it interlines with theE Line, sharing five stations. Service operates about 19 hours daily withheadways as short as 8 minutes duringpeak hours. It is the busiest light rail route in the system, carrying over 22 million riders in 2024 and averaging 69,216 weekday boardings in May 2024.
The A Line's first segment, between the southern edge of Downtown Los Angeles and Long Beach, opened in 1990 as the inaugural line of the Metro Rail system, using much of thePacific Electric's formerLong Beach Line. Plans to extend the line north through Downtown Los Angeles to Pasadena were proposed in the 1980s but delayed due to funding constraints. Instead, the standaloneGold Line (renamed the L Line in 2020) opened in 2003 fromUnion Station at the northern edge of Downtown Los Angeles to Pasadena, and was extended east to Azusa in 2016. The original plan was realized with the completion of theRegional Connector tunnel across Downtown Los Angeles in 2023, which linked the A Line to the former L Line. The line was extended further east toPomona in 2025.
The A Line runs 57.6 miles (92.7 km)[2] betweenPomona andDowntown Long Beach, serving 48 stations.
The line's northern terminus is atPomona North station inPomona, shared with theMetrolinkSan Bernardino Line. The line briefly runs northwest, enteringLa Verne before stopping atLa Verne/Fairplex station, located adjacent to the campus ofUniversity of La Verne. The line continues northwest, enteringSan Dimas before stopping atSan Dimas station at San Dimas Avenue. The line continues northwest, enteringGlendora and crossing underneath theSR 57 andI-210 freeways, curving through the city, before stopping atGlendora station at Vermont Avenue. The line continues northwest, curving west and enteringAzusa before stopping atAPU/Citrus College station just west of Citrus Avenue and north of the two universities. The line runs west through Azusa before stopping atAzusa Downtown station at Azusa Avenue, north of Foothill Boulevard. Continuing west, the line crosses over the I-210 freeway and runs parallel to it, enteringIrwindale before stopping atIrwindale station at Irwindale Avenue. After this station, the line continues west, crossing over theSan Gabriel River and underneath theI-605 freeway, diverging from I-210 and enteringDuarte, before stopping atDuarte/City of Hope station located on the north side of Duarte Road, across from theCity of Hope National Medical Center.
Continuing west, the line parallels Duarte Road, enteringMonrovia, before diverging northwest just before arriving atMonrovia station. EnteringArcadia, the line crosses all street crossings on bridges except for First Avenue at theat-gradeArcadia station. Continuing west, the line reconverges with and enters the median of I-210 and continues west toSierra Madre Villa station inPasadena. Six stations serve different parts of Pasadena, with three of them in the freeway's median. InOld Pasadena, the line travels underground for almost half a mile, passing under Pasadena's main thoroughfare,Colorado Boulevard, which makes theMemorial Park station below grade. The station serves most of Pasadena's fine dining, shops, malls, and civic center. The line continues south through downtown Pasadena andSouth Pasadena, primarily at grade. North of Highland Park, the line crosses over theArroyo Seco Parkway (State Route 110) via theSanta Fe Arroyo Seco Railroad Bridge towardsHighland Park.
AfterHighland Park station, the line runs in the median of Marmion Way, where trains go at only 20 miles per hour (32 km/h). After Avenue 50, the line runs primarily at grade in its own right of way, except for a short tunnel underneath the intersection ofFigueroa Street and Pasadena Avenue. From here, the line continues, with a handful of stations serving the hillside areas north of downtown, includingLincoln Heights,Mount Washington, and theSouthwest Museum of the American Indian. Northeast ofChinatown, the line crosses over theLos Angeles River on an elevated viaduct. Continuing on the elevated viaduct, the line stops atChinatown station before arriving atUnion Station. At Union Station, passengers can transfer to theB andDrapid transit lines,Metrolinkcommuter rail,Amtrak, and buses.[6] The entire section of the line north of Union Station follows the current and formerright of way of thePasadena Subdivision, which was originally built by theLos Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Railroad between 1883 and 1887.
South of Union Station, trains use the Regional Connector through Downtown Los Angeles. InLittle Tokyo, the line enters the new tunnel north ofTemple Street to serve the replacement undergroundLittle Tokyo/Arts District station, where the line merges with the E Line. The two lines turn west to run under 2nd Street and the2nd Street Tunnel, as well as the B and D lines, with clearances as low as 7 feet (2.1 m). The Regional Connector tunnel connects to the north end of7th Street/Metro Center station, the former northern terminal of the A Line. The line continues south along Flower Street, transitioning from underground to street level at 11th St. Passengers can connect to the bus rapid transit J Line at 7th Street/Metro Center,Pico, andGrand/LATTC stations.
The A and E Lines diverge at Flower Street andWashington Boulevard. E Line trains continue south along Flower Street, and the A Line turns east onto Washington Boulevard before turning south into the formerPacific Electric right of way at Long Beach Avenue. This historic rail corridor has four tracks, two for A Line trains and two for freight trains. Along the corridor, there are some flyovers to either eliminategrade crossings in more densely populated areas or pass over diverging freight tracks. Passengers can connect with theC Line at theWillowbrook/Rosa Parks station. Just south ofWillow Street station, A Line trains exit the rail corridor and beginstreet running in the median ofLong Beach Boulevard into the city of Long Beach, where trains travel through the Long Beach Transit Mall while making a loop using 1st Street, Pacific Avenue, and 8th Street.
A Line service hours are from approximately 4:30 a.m. and 11:45 p.m. daily. Trains operate every 8 minutes during peak hours, Monday to Friday. Trains run every 10 minutes, during midday on weekdays and weekends, from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Night and early morning service is approximately every 20 minutes every day.[7]
| Time | 4a | 5a | 6a | 7a | 8a–1p | 2–6p | 7p | 8p–12a | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weekdays | 20 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 10–12 | 20 | ||||
| Weekends/Holidays | 20 | 10 | 10–12 | 20 | ||||||
The full travel time of the 57.6-mile (92.7 km) line is about 2 hours and 12 minutes, including a brief layover at Union Station for a crew change.[8] The line's scheduled average speed is 26 miles per hour (42 km/h), with maximum speeds ranging from under 10 miles per hour (16 km/h) at surface level in Downtown Los Angeles to 55 miles per hour (89 km/h) on dedicated corridors.[9]
The following table lists the stations of the A Line, from north to south:
| Station | Date Opened | City/Neighborhood | Major connections and notes[10][11][12] | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pomona North | September 19, 2025 | Pomona | Park and ride: 530 spaces San Bernardino | At-grade |
| La Verne/Fairplex | La Verne | Park and ride: 262 spaces | ||
| San Dimas | San Dimas | Park and ride: 280 spaces | ||
| Glendora | Glendora | Park and ride: 298 spaces | ||
| APU/Citrus College | March 5, 2016 | Azusa | Park and ride: 206 spaces | |
| Azusa Downtown | Park and ride: 534 spaces | |||
| Irwindale | Irwindale | Park and ride: 350 spaces | ||
| Duarte/City of Hope | Duarte | Park and ride: 125 spaces | ||
| Monrovia | Monrovia | Park and ride: 350 spaces | ||
| Arcadia | Arcadia | Park and ride: 302 spaces | ||
| Sierra Madre Villa | July 26, 2003 | Pasadena | Park and ride: 1,017 spaces | |
| Allen | Elevated | |||
| Lake | Park and ride: 22 spaces | Below-grade | ||
| Memorial Park | ||||
| Del Mar | Park and ride: 610 spaces | At-grade | ||
| Fillmore | Park and ride: 155 spaces | |||
| South Pasadena | South Pasadena | Park and ride: 142 spaces | ||
| Highland Park | Los Angeles (Highland Park) | |||
| Southwest Museum | Los Angeles (Mount Washington) | |||
| Heritage Square | Los Angeles (Montecito Heights) | Park and ride: 129 spaces | ||
| Lincoln/Cypress | Los Angeles (Lincoln Heights/Cypress Park) | Park and ride: 94 spaces | Elevated | |
| Chinatown | Los Angeles (Chinatown) | |||
| Union Station | Los Angeles (Downtown) |     Amtrak, LAX FlyAway andMetrolinkPaid parking: 2,189 spaces | At-grade | |
| Little Tokyo/Arts District | November 15, 2009 | Los Angeles (Little Tokyo/Arts District) |  | Underground |
| Historic Broadway | June 16, 2023 | Los Angeles (Downtown) | | |
| Grand Avenue Arts/Bunker Hill | | |||
| 7th Street/Metro Center | February 15, 1991 | | ||
| Pico | July 14, 1990 | | At-grade | |
| Grand/LATTC | | |||
| San Pedro Street | Los Angeles (South Los Angeles) | |||
| Washington | ||||
| Vernon | ||||
| Slauson | Elevated | |||
| Florence | Florence-Graham | Park and ride: 116 spaces | At-grade | |
| Firestone | Elevated | |||
| 103rd Street/Watts Towers | Los Angeles (Watts) | Park and ride: 64 spaces | At-grade | |
| Willowbrook/Rosa Parks | Willowbrook |  Park and ride: 234 spaces | ||
| Compton | Compton | |||
| Artesia | Park and ride: 290 spaces | |||
| Del Amo | Carson | Park and ride: 362 spaces | Elevated | |
| Wardlow | Long Beach | Park and ride: 139 spaces | At-grade | |
| Willow Street | Park and ride: 1,068 spaces | |||
| Pacific Coast Highway | ||||
| Anaheim Street | ||||
| 5th Street (SB) | September 1, 1990 | |||
| 1st Street (SB) | ||||
| Downtown Long Beach (NB) | ||||
| Pacific Avenue (NB) |
| Year | Ridership | %± |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 25,735,979 | — | |
| 2010 | 25,119,753 | −2.4% | |
| 2011 | 26,053,645 | +3.7% | |
| 2012 | 28,959,483 | +11.2% | |
| 2013 | 28,185,745 | −2.7% | |
| 2014 | 27,276,468 | −3.2% | |
| 2015 | 24,457,253 | −10.3% | |
| 2016 | 24,988,825 | +2.2% | |
| 2017 | 22,383,828 | −10.4% | |
| 2018 | 19,836,016 | −11.4% | |
| 2019 | 8,905,140 | −55.1% | |
| 2020 | 9,290,318 | +4.3% | |
| 2021 | 9,099,416 | −2.1% | |
| 2022 | 11,350,035 | +24.7% | |
| 2023 | 15,819,994 | +39.4% | |
| 2024 | 22,335,581 | +41.2% | |
| Source: Metro[13] | |||
Much of the initial segment of the A Line from Downtown Los Angeles to Long Beach follows the route of thePacific Electric'sLong Beach Line, which ended service in 1961. The old route gave the new light rail trains a private right of way betweenWashington andWillow Street stations allowing them to reach higher speeds between stops.[14]
The line initially opened as the Blue Line on Saturday, July 14, 1990, and ran fromPico toAnaheim Street. The Long Beach Loop section toLong Beach opened in September 1990,[15] followed by the tunnel into7th Street/Metro Center in February 1991.[16] The initial light rail segment cost US$877 million ($2.11 billion in 2024 adjusted for inflation).[17]
The route reached full capacity after one decade of service, and from 1999 to 2001, the Blue Line underwent a US$11 million project to lengthen 19 of its platforms to accommodate three-car trains.[18] There were also plans since the 1980s to extend the Blue Line north to Pasadena but the connection through downtown was postponed due to funding constraints from the voter-approved 1998 Proposition A. The proposition restricted local county subway funding, halting the process of the Blue Line extension and otherrail transit projects from advancing.[19]
The Blue Line was renovated in 2019, with the southern half of the line being closed for the first five months and the northern half closing for the following five months (10 months total). Metro provided a bus shuttle service to compensate for the lack of rail service. Metro officially reopened the line on November 2, 2019, rebranding it as the A Line.[20][21][22] The renovation helped improve the line's speed and reliability by replacing and modernizing old tracks, signals, train control systems, and bridges.[23]
Much of the A Line's right of way north ofUnion Station through theSan Gabriel Valley was built by theLos Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Railroad in 1885. It was eventually taken over by theAtchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, as part of thePasadena Subdivision, which sawAmtrak service until 1994, when construction began on the conversion to light rail.[24] The light rail project was initially called the "Pasadena Metro Blue Line."[25]
Planners envisioned extending the existing Blue Line (A Line) north of 7th Street/Metro Center, but it was canceled due to funding shortages. However, the mostly above-ground segment of the extension from Union Station to Pasadena advanced and began construction in 1994 as a separate line but was suspended again by 1998 due to the Proposition A ban.[26][27] Later that year, a bill was authorized to create a new independent construction authority to finish the line. The agency, now known as the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority, resumed light rail construction in 2000 and completed the line three years later.[25]
The then-renamed Gold Line, between Union Station andSierra Madre Villa station in East Pasadena, opened on July 26, 2003.[28]
In 2016, the Gold Line was extended east from Pasadena as part of Phase 2A (Phase 1 was the initial Los Angeles to Pasadena segment) of theFoothill Extension, running between Sierra Madre Villa andAPU/Citrus College stations in Azusa. The extension was constructed by the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority and added six new stations to the Gold Line serving the cities of Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Irwindale, and Azusa. A groundbreaking ceremony for Phase 2A was held on June 26, 2010; construction began the following summer and was completed in September 2015, with the extension entering service on March 5, 2016.[29][30]
Like other lines in the Los Angeles Metro system, the Gold Line's designation became a letter in 2020. This was the beginning of a process where all Metro Rail and Busway lines would be identified by a letter name rather than a system of colors. The Gold Line was renamed to the L Line.[31]
The Regional Connector Transit Project constructed a 1.9-mile (3.1 km) light rail tunnel across Downtown Los Angeles that connected A and E lines to the L Line, with the purpose of reducing transfers and travel times through downtown. The project completed the late 1990s vision of the "Pasadena Blue Line," connecting the northern (Union Station–Azusa) segment of the L Line to the A Line. This enabled A Line trains to run from Long Beach to Azusa through the new tunnel. The southern (Pico/Aliso–East LA) segment was combined with the existing E Line between Downtown Los Angeles andSanta Monica. The new east-west line kept the E Line name but uses the L Line's gold color.[32] Two new stations were also constructed in the tunnel, providing more service to destinations and communities in Downtown Los Angeles.[33]
Formal studies and planning for the Regional Connector began in 2004 and was approved in 2012. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on September 30, 2014, marking the start of major construction.[34] To accommodate the new tunnel, the existing at-grade L LineLittle Tokyo/Arts District station was demolished in 2020 and rebuilt as a subway station approximately 500 feet (150 m) south and on the opposite side of Alameda Street from its former location. Starting on April 9, 2023, the A, E, and L Line trains ran through the Regional Connector tunnel for final testing.[35] The project officially opened for revenue service on June 16, 2023.[36]
Once the Regional Connector was completed, the alignment of the L Line was split into two parts at Little Tokyo/Arts District station, with the portion north of the station joined to the A Line, extending it to connect Long Beach with Azusa. With this change, the A Line officially became the longest, modern day light rail line in the world. The alignment east of Little Tokyo/Arts District station was assigned to the E Line, extending it to connect Santa Monica andEast Los Angeles directly. At this time, the L Line ceased to exist as a separate line.[37]
The first part of Phase 2B of the Foothill Extension, running between APU/Citrus College station in Azusa andPomona North station in Pomona, opened on September 19, 2025. This section, like the original Gold Line to Pasadena, and Phase 2A of the Foothill Extension, was built by the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority (Foothill Gold Line).[38]
The second part of the Foothill Extension Phase 2B project will further extend the A Line east to theClaremont San Bernardino Line station. Construction is expected to break ground in 2027 and be completed in 2031.[39]
TheSoutheast Gateway Line is a plannedlight rail line, mostly following thePacific Electric's historicWest Santa Ana Branch, connectingDowntown Los Angeles to the city ofArtesia, along with other cities in southeastern Los Angeles County. It will link thesoutheast/Gateway cities with the A Line atSlauson station. Construction is planned to begin in 2025 with service starting in 2035. Metro estimates it will take 10 years to build.[40]
The A Line often operates at capacity, and various options to increase capacity have been considered, such as four-car or more frequent trains. Both have problems: it would be difficult or impossible to lengthen some of the station platforms, and the number of trains already causes delays for other vehicles atlevel crossings. Since the opening of the Regional Connector, ridership on the A Line continues to increase, potentially resulting in even more capacity problems.[41]
One of the biggest constraints on the capacity of the A and E lines is the at-grade section along Flower Street in Downtown Los Angeles, especially Pico Station and the wye junction at Flower and Washington. Pico Station serves both lines and cannot be bypassed, so service on both lines is limited by the capacity of the station and the grade crossing of Pico Boulevard immediately adjacent to it. The wye junction at Flower and Washington is a similar bottleneck, as trains on both lines must cross a busy intersection and freeway onramp at-grade. Accidents, gridlocked traffic, and signal delays at the junction can cause cascading service disruptions across both lines. Various grade separation projects have been considered to improve capacity and resolve the issues with this section of track.[42]
Over 120 motorists and pedestrians have been killed at A Linelevel crossings since 1990. There have been more than 800 collisions,[43][44] making the line easily the country's deadliest and most collision-prone rail line.[45]
In 1998, the MTA commissioned Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc. to evaluate the cause of Blue Line collisions and recommend affordable solutions. The study reported the high ridership (over 70,000 per day) was a contributor:
The MBL has one of the highest ridership counts for light rail lines in the Country. This factor is perhaps the most important contributor to the grade-crossing accident rate. The high ridership results in increased pedestrian traffic near stations compared to other light rail systems. In addition, although MTA Operations does not allow high passenger loads to dictate safe operations, there is pressure to maintain travel times and headway schedule requirements (e.g., a passenger trip from Los Angeles to Long Beach in less than one hour).
Other contributing factors identified were the high population density leading to more pedestrian and vehicular traffic around the tracks, the diverse, varied socio-economic community around the line that creates literacy and language difficulties for public education campaigns, driver frustration due to the slow traffic speeds around the line that leads to more risk-taking behavior, and the shared right of way with freight traffic in the fastest running section fromWashington station to Willow station, where trains operate at a maximum of 55 mph (89 km/h) between stations.[46]
Due to this, Metro started in the early 2000s to installfour-quadrant gates at crossings where the A Line shares the right of way with freight rail between Willowbrook station and Artesia station. The gates prevent drivers from going around lowered gates.[47] Metro also improved the safety of the A Line's pedestrian crossings by 2018.[48]
On Metro Rail's internal timetables, the A Line is called line801.
Because of the length of the line, operators do not take trains from end to end, swapping out at Union Station. Trains are operated between Pomona and Union Station by employees based at Division 24 in Monrovia. Between Long Beach and Union Station, operators are based out of Division 11 in Rancho Dominguez.[49]
The A Line is operated out of two divisions, Metro's term for train maintenance and storage facilities.[49]
Division 11 is located at 4350 East 208th Street in Cota, North Long Beach betweenDel Amo andWardlow stations. The facility can house and maintain 86 light rail vehicles and can perform heavy maintenance including repainting. Trains get to this yard via a wye junction on the southbound tracks. Northbound trains can enter and exit the yard via the cross tracks on the north and south sides of the junction.
Division 24 is located south of the I-210 freeway in Monrovia betweenMonrovia andDuarte/City of Hope stations. Just like Division 11, trains access the yard via the westbound/southbound tracks from either direction of its wye junction. Crossovers from the eastbound track to the yard junction are located near the California Avenue and Mountain Avenue railroad crossings.[50]
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The A Line operates trains with three light rail vehicles on weekdays and two on weekends.[49] The line currently uses three different types of light rail vehicles: theKinki Sharyo P3010, theSiemens P2000, and theAnsaldoBreda P2550, but has seen every type of light rail rolling stock on Metro's roster throughout its history of operation.
When the A Line, then known as the Blue Line, first opened in 1990, the line had 54Nippon Sharyo P865 light rail vehicles, numbered 100–153. These cars wore a unique livery of several blue stripes and a single red stripe, reflecting the Blue Line's color designation and itsPacific Electric Red Car heritage.
In 2000, Metro transferred all 15 Nippon Sharyo P2020 (numbered 154-168) light rail vehicles from the Green Line (now theC Line) to the Blue Line fleet. These light rail vehicles were nearly identical to the older P865 model but were about five years newer and originally had equipment forautomatic train operation.[51]
In 2012, Metro transferred some Siemens P2000 light rail vehicles from theGold Line to the A (then Blue) Line fleet. These vehicles were used before their refurbishment. As of 2023, some are currently being tested on the A Line, and they made a rocky return to the A Line in late 2024.[citation needed]
In 2017, the Blue Line received 78 Kinki Sharyo P3010 light rail vehicles, the first new cars for the line since it opened in 1990. As the P3010 fleet was introduced, Metro gradually retired all of the remaining P865 light rail vehicles, followed by the P2020 fleet.
In 2023, the AnsaldoBreda P2550 light rail vehicles began service on the A Line. The P2550 trains were tested on the Blue Line in 2009, but were instead assigned to the Gold Line due to weight restrictions.[52]
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