| B Line | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
.png) B Line train atUnion Station in 2025 | |||
| Overview | |||
| Other name | Red Line (1993–2020) | ||
| Owner | Los Angeles Metro | ||
| Line number | 802 | ||
| Termini | |||
| Stations | 14 | ||
| Website | metro | ||
| Service | |||
| Type | Rapid transit | ||
| System | Los Angeles Metro Rail | ||
| Depot(s) | Division 20 (Los Angeles) | ||
| Rolling stock | Breda A650 orCRRC HR4000 running in 4 or 6 car consists | ||
| Daily ridership | 65,512 (weekdays, April 2025) | ||
| Ridership | 22,471,851[a] (2024) -13.2% | ||
| History | |||
| Opened | January 30, 1993; 32 years ago (1993-01-30) | ||
| Completed | June 24, 2000; 25 years ago (2000-06-24) | ||
| Technical | |||
| Line length | 14.7 miles (23.7 km)[1] | ||
| Number of tracks | 2 | ||
| Character | Fully underground (except yard) | ||
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge | ||
| Electrification | Third rail, 750 V DC | ||
| Operating speed | 70 mph (110 km/h) (max.) 33.9 mph (54.6 km/h) (avg.) | ||
| |||
TheB Line (formerly theRed Line from 1993–2020) is a fully underground 14.7 mi (23.7 km)[1]rapid transit line operating inLos Angeles, running betweenNorth Hollywood andUnion Station inDowntown Los Angeles. It is one of six lines in theLos Angeles Metro Rail system, operated byLos Angeles Metro. Built in four stages between 1986 and 2000, the line cost $4.5 billion.
The B Line is one of the city's two fully-underground subway lines (along with theD Line). The two lines share tracks throughKoreatown and Downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024[update], the combined B and D lines averaged 66,642 boardings per weekday.[2]
In 2020, Metro renamed all of its lines using letters and colors, with the Red Line becoming the B Line (retaining the red color in its service bullet) and the Purple Line becoming the D Line.
The B Line is asubway that begins atNorth Hollywood station inNorth Hollywood, in theSan Fernando Valley. The line turns southeast underneathCahuenga Pass and passes throughHollywood andKoreatown, traveling east alongHollywood Boulevard and then south alongVermont Avenue. Arriving atWilshire/Vermont station, the line merges with theD Line, and the lines continue betweenWilshire Boulevard and7th Street (and briefly Ingraham Street), where the lines interchange with theA andElight rail lines at7th Street/Metro Center station. The lines then pass northeast throughDowntown Los Angeles, passing through theFinancial District,Pershing Square (near theHistoric Core), and theCivic Center, before terminating atUnion Station.
The B Line throughCahuenga Pass roughly follows the route of a branch of the oldPacific Electric system, although it does not use the former line's surface right-of-way.
B Line trains run every day between approximately 4:30 a.m. and midnight. Trains operate every 12 minutes during peak hours. Early morning and night service is approximately every 20 minutes.[3]
| Time | 5a | 6a | 7a | 8a–6p | 7p | 8p | 9p–12a |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weekdays | 14–18 | 12 | 20 | ||||
| Weekends/Holidays | 20 | 16–20 | 12 | 20 | |||
The following table lists the stations of the B Line, from north to south. All stations are located in the city ofLos Angeles, California.
| Station | Date opened | Neighborhood | Major connections and notes[4][5] |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Hollywood | June 24, 2000 | North Hollywood |  Park and ride: 1,085 paid spaces |
| Universal City/Studio City | Studio City | Universal Studios Hollywood shuttle Park and ride: 782 paid spaces | |
| Hollywood/Highland | Hollywood | ||
| Hollywood/Vine | June 12, 1999 | ||
| Hollywood/Western | East Hollywood | ||
| Vermont/Sunset | |||
| Vermont/Santa Monica | |||
| Vermont/Beverly | |||
| Wilshire/Vermont | July 13, 1996 | Mid-Wilshire/Koreatown |  |
| Westlake/MacArthur Park | January 30, 1993 | Westlake | Park and ride: 6 spaces |
| 7th Street/Metro Center | Downtown Los Angeles |    | |
| Pershing Square | | ||
| Civic Center/Grand Park | | ||
| Union Station |  Amtrak, LAX FlyAway and MetrolinkPaid parking: 3,000 spaces |
Note: Ridership figures are for B and D Line combined.
| Year | Ridership | %± |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 47,453,332 | — | |
| 2010 | 47,434,969 | 0.0% | |
| 2011 | 46,964,495 | −1.0% | |
| 2012 | 48,703,612 | +3.7% | |
| 2013 | 51,030,536 | +4.8% | |
| 2014 | 48,645,206 | −4.7% | |
| 2015 | 46,356,726 | −4.7% | |
| 2016 | 45,629,352 | −1.6% | |
| 2017 | 44,861,106 | −1.7% | |
| 2018 | 43,301,200 | −3.5% | |
| 2019 | 41,775,490 | −3.5% | |
| 2020 | 22,776,524 | −45.5% | |
| 2021 | 21,398,104 | −6.1% | |
| 2022 | 25,767,716 | +20.4% | |
| 2023 | 25,899,711 | +0.5% | |
| 2024 | 22,471,851 | −13.2% | |
| Source: Metro[2] | |||
The current B Line is the product of a long-term plan to connectDowntown Los Angeles to central and western portions of the city with a subway system. Original proposals in the 1980s had it running downWilshire Boulevard toFairfax Avenue and then north to theSan Fernando Valley. Residents in some parts of the city bitterly opposed the subway. A 1985 methane explosion at aRoss Dress for Less clothing store near Fairfax gave Rep.Henry Waxman, who represented the Fairfax District, a reason to derail the project that was opposed by his constituents by prohibiting tunnelling in an alleged "methane zone" west of Western on Wilshire.[6] After some political wrangling, a new route was chosen upVermont Avenue toHollywood Boulevard.
The groundbreaking for the first segment of the subway was held on September 29, 1986, on the site of the futureCivic Center/Grand Park station.[7][8] Today's B Line was built in fourminimum operating segments:
Overall, the construction of the subway over the four phases cost $4.5 billion.[12]
On June 22, 1995, during the construction of MOS-2B, asinkhole appeared onHollywood Boulevard, barely missing several workers and causing damage to buildings on the street.[13] Subway construction was delayed during the investigation and repairs of the sinkhole. The contractor on that segment project was replaced, and because of the perceived mismanagement of Red Line construction, in 1998 voters banned the use of existing sales taxes for subway tunnelling.[14]
Construction of MOS-3, by comparison, proceeded with relatively few issues. Tunnelling from North Hollywood for the subway started in 1995. Workers dug under theSanta Monica Mountains using tunnelling machines. Work progressed an average of 50 to 200 ft (15 to 61 m) daily, performed by work crews round-the-clock six days a week.
Original proposals for the subway system included expansions east from Union Station toEast Los Angeles and west from North Hollywood towards theWarner Center transit hub in the San Fernando Valley. Barred from subway tunnelling, Metro turned to other types of mass transit. In the San Fernando Valley, residents passed a law in 1991 mandating that any rail line in the area be built underground,[15][16] so Metro built a busway (now theG Line) from North Hollywood to Warner Center, which opened on October 29, 2005. East of Union Station, Metro built a light rail line with at-grade and underground segments to East Los Angeles, now part of theE Line, which opened on November 15, 2009.
In 2020, Metro renamed all of its lines using letters and colors, with the Red Line becoming the B Line (retaining the red color in its service bullet) and the Purple Line becoming the D Line.
On Metro Rail's internal timetables, the B Line is called line802.
The B Line operates out of the Division 20 Yard (Santa Fe Yard), located at 320 South Santa Fe Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles. This yard stores the fleet used on the B and D Lines, and where heavy maintenance is performed. Cars reach this yard by continuing past Union Station, making a right turn and surfacing at the Eastern terminus of Ducommun Street. They then travel south to 1st Street, through a washing station, and enter the yard.
The B Line usesA650 75 ft (22.86 m) electricmultiple unit cars built byBreda inItaly. Trains usually run in six-car configurations during peak hours and four-car configurations otherwise. The cars are maintained in a Metro yard on Santa Fe Avenue near 4th Street alongside theLos Angeles River in downtown Los Angeles.
In March 2017, Metro ordered newCRRC HR4000 railcars, which also operates on the B Line.[17] In January 2024, Metro ordered 182Hyundai Rotem HR5000 trains, allowing for future replacement of all Breda A650 trains as well as expanded train service including a four minute train frequency.[18]
In 2010, at the request of L.A. City CouncilmanTom LaBonge, Metro staff studied the possibility of adding a station along the west bank of theLos Angeles River to 6th Street and Santa Fe Avenue. The study concluded that such an extension, completed at-grade along Metro-owned right-of-way, could be completed for as little as $90 million.
The study suggested an alternative station at the Division 20 Yard north of 4th Street and Santa Fe Avenue. This station would be closer to the residential population of the Arts District. As new turnback tracks will need to be built as part of theD Line Extension (to allow shorter headways), this Arts District extension could possibly be partially completed as part of the Purple Line Extension project, lowering the incremental cost of the station while increasing its usability.[19][20]
One of the proposals for the Vermont Transit Corridor being considered by Metro would extend a subway line from Wilshire/Vermont station down Vermont Avenue to 120th Street. Metro is also considering other types of mass transit for the line, including light rail and busway options.
Base Order 182 HRVs - Replace Existing Fleet (74 Cars), Support Purple Line Extensions – Section 2 & 3, Add Capacity for 4 Minutes Headway as committed to FTA
| A Line |
|
|---|---|
 B Line | |
 C Line | |
| D Line | |
| E Line |
|
| G Line | |
| J Line | |
 K Line | |
| |
| Services |
|  | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stations | ||||||||||||||
| Bus lanes | ||||||||||||||
| Capital projects |
| |||||||||||||
| Fleet | ||||||||||||||
| Other information |
| |||||||||||||
