The A Line (formerly and colloquially the Blue Line) is a light rail line in Los Angeles County, California. Part of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system and operated by Los Angeles Metro, it is the world's longest modern light rail line at . The A Line serves 48 stations, running east–west between Pomona and Pasadena, then north–south between Pasadena and Long Beach. In Downtown Los Angeles it interlines with the E Line, sharing five stations. Service operates about 19 hours daily with headways as short as 8 minutes during peak 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 the Pacific Electric's former Long 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 standalone Gold Line (renamed the L Line in 2020) opened in 2003 from Union 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 the Regional Connector tunnel across Downtown Los Angeles in 2023, which linked the A Line to the former L Line. The line was extended further east to Pomona in 2025.
Service description
left|thumb|A southbound A Line train departing [[Highland Park station (Los Angeles Metro)|Highland Park station]]
Route description
The A Line runs The entire section of the line north of Union Station follows the current and former right of way of the Pasadena Subdivision, which was originally built by the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Railroad between 1883 and 1887.
South of Union Station, trains use the Regional Connector through Downtown Los Angeles. In Little Tokyo, the line enters the new tunnel north of Temple Street to serve the replacement underground Little Tokyo/Arts District station, where the line merges with the E Line. The two lines turn west to run under 2nd Street and the 2nd Street Tunnel, as well as the B and D lines, with clearances as low as . The Regional Connector tunnel connects to the north end of 7th 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, and Grand/LATTC stations.
The A and E Lines diverge at Flower Street and Washington Boulevard. E Line trains continue south along Flower Street, and the A Line turns east onto Washington Boulevard before turning south into the former Pacific 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 eliminate grade crossings in more densely populated areas or pass over diverging freight tracks. Passengers can connect with the C Line at the Willowbrook/Rosa Parks station. Just south of Willow Street station, A Line trains exit the rail corridor and begin street running in the median of Long 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.
Hours and frequency
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
!Time
!4a
! colspan="2" |5a
! colspan="2" |6a
!7a
!8a–1p
!2–6p
!7p
!8p–12a
|-
!Weekdays
| colspan="2" |20
| colspan="4" |8
|10
|8
|10–12
|20
|-
!Weekends/Holidays
| colspan="4" |20
| colspan="4" |10
|10–12
|20
|}
Speed
The full travel time of the line is about 2 hours and 12 minutes, including a brief layover at Union Station for a crew change. The line's scheduled average speed is , with maximum speeds ranging from under at surface level in Downtown Los Angeles to on dedicated corridors.
Station listing
The following table lists the stations of the A Line, from north to south:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! width="190" | Station
! Date Opened
! City/Neighborhood
<!-- Do not add addresses. They are listed on station pages -->
! Major connections and notes
! Grade
|-
|
| rowspan="4" |September 19, 2025
|Pomona
|Park and ride: 530 spaces<br />
| rowspan="11" | At-grade
|-
|
|La Verne
|Park and ride: 262 spaces
|-
|
|San Dimas
|Park and ride: 280 spaces
|-
|
|Glendora
|Park and ride: 298 spaces
|-
|
| rowspan="6" |March 5, 2016
| rowspan="2" |Azusa
|Park and ride: 206 spaces
|-
|
|Park and ride: 534 spaces
|-
|
|Irwindale
|Park and ride: 350 spaces
|-
|
|Duarte
|Park and ride: 125 spaces
|-
|
|Monrovia
|Park and ride: 350 spaces
|-
|
|Arcadia
|Park and ride: 302 spaces
|-
|
| rowspan="13" |July 26, 2003
| rowspan="6" |Pasadena
|Park and ride: 1,017 spaces
|-
|
|
|Elevated
|-
|
|Park and ride: 22 spaces
|rowspan="2"|Below-grade
|-
|
|
|-
|
|Park and ride: 610 spaces
|rowspan="6"|At-grade
|-
|
|Park and ride: 155 spaces
|-
|
|South Pasadena
|Park and ride: 142 spaces
|-
|
|Los Angeles (Highland Park)
|
|-
|
|Los Angeles (Mount Washington)
|
|-
|
|Los Angeles (Montecito Heights)
|Park and ride: 129 spaces
|-
|
|Los Angeles (Lincoln Heights/Cypress Park)
|Park and ride: 94 spaces
|rowspan="2"|Elevated
|-
|
|Los Angeles (Chinatown)
|
|-
|
|Los Angeles (Downtown)
|<br />Amtrak, LAX FlyAway and Metrolink<br />Paid parking: 2,189 spaces
|At-grade
|-
|
|November 15, 2009
|Los Angeles (Little Tokyo/Arts District)
|
|rowspan="4"|Underground
|-
|
| rowspan="2" |June 16, 2023
| rowspan="5" |Los Angeles (Downtown)
|
|-
|
|
|-
|
|February 15, 1991
|
|-
|
| rowspan="17" |July 14, 1990
|
|rowspan="5"|At-grade
|-
|
|
|-
|
| rowspan="4" |Los Angeles (South Los Angeles)
|
|-
|
|
|-
|
|
|-
|
|
|Elevated
|-
|Florence
| rowspan="2" |Florence-Graham
|Park and ride: 116 spaces
|At-grade
|-
|
|
|Elevated
|-
|
|Los Angeles (Watts)
|Park and ride: 64 spaces
|rowspan="4"|At-grade
|-
|
|Willowbrook
|<br />Park and ride: 234 spaces
|-
|
| rowspan="2" |Compton
|
|-
|
|Park and ride: 290 spaces
|-
|
|Carson
|Park and ride: 362 spaces
|Elevated
|-
|
| rowspan="8" |Long Beach
|Park and ride: 139 spaces
|rowspan="8"|At-grade
|-
|
|Park and ride: 1,068 spaces
|-
|
|
|-
|
|
|-
| ()
| rowspan="4" |September 1, 1990
|
|-
| ()
|
|-
| ()
|
|-
| ()
|
|}
Ridership
{| class="wikitable" style="border-spacing: 1px; text-align:center; font-size:95%;"
|+ Annual ridership
|-
! style="border-bottom:1px solid black"| Year !! style="border-bottom:1px solid black"| Ridership !!style="border-bottom:1px solid black"| !! rowspan="18" style="background:#fff;" | <timeline>
ImageSize = width:auto height:250 barincrement:30
PlotArea = left:30 bottom:15 top:11 right:15
AlignBars = justify
Period = from:0 till:30
TimeAxis = orientation:vertical
Colors =
id:gray value:gray(0.5)
id:line1 value:gray(0.9)
id:line2 value:gray(0.7)
ScaleMajor = start:0 increment:5 gridcolor:line2
ScaleMinor = start:0 increment:1 gridcolor:line1
PlotData=
color:blue width:22
bar:2009 from:start till:25.735979
bar:2010 from:start till:25.119753
bar:2011 from:start till:26.053645
bar:2012 from:start till:28.959483
bar:2013 from:start till:28.185745
bar:2014 from:start till:27.276468
bar:2015 from:start till:24.457253
bar:2016 from:start till:24.988825
bar:2017 from:start till:22.383828
bar:2018 from:start till:19.836016
bar:2019 from:start till:8.905140
bar:2020 from:start till:9.290318
bar:2021 from:start till:9.099416
bar:2022 from:start till:11.350035
bar:2023 from:start till:15.819994
bar:2024 from:start till:22.282648
bar:2025 from:start till:22.269829
</timeline>
|-
| 2009 || || —
|-
| 2010 || ||
|-
| 2011 || ||
|-
| 2012 || ||
|-
| 2013 || ||
|-
| 2014 || ||
|-
| 2015 || ||
|-
| 2016 || ||
|-
| 2017 || ||
|-
| 2018 || ||
|-
| 2019 || ||
|-
| 2020 || ||
|-
| 2021 || ||
|-
| 2022 || ||
|-
| 2023 || ||
|-
| 2024 || ||
|-
| 2025 || ||
|- class="sortbottom"
| colspan="3" style="border-top:1px solid black; font-size:85%; text-align:left" |Source: Metro
|}
History
thumb|LA Metro Blue Line (now A Line) opening celebration on July 14, 1990
thumb|[[Nippon Sharyo P865 train (now retired) leaving Downtown Long Beach station.]]
Long Beach Line
Much of the initial segment of the A Line from Downtown Los Angeles to Long Beach follows the route of the Pacific Electric's Long Beach Line, which ended service in 1961. The old route gave the new light rail trains a private right of way between and stations allowing them to reach higher speeds between stops.
The line initially opened as the Blue Line on Saturday, July 14, 1990, and ran from to . The Long Beach Loop section to opened in September 1990, followed by the tunnel into in February 1991. The initial light rail segment cost US$877 million ($ in adjusted for inflation).
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. 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 other rail transit projects from advancing.
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. The renovation helped improve the line's speed and reliability by replacing and modernizing old tracks, signals, train control systems, and bridges.
Pasadena Blue Line
thumb|[[AnsaldoBreda P2550 train at Chinatown station]]
Much of the A Line's right of way north of through the San Gabriel Valley was built by the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Railroad in 1885. It was eventually taken over by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, as part of the Pasadena Subdivision, which saw Amtrak service until 1994, when construction began on the conversion to light rail. The light rail project was initially called the "Pasadena Metro Blue Line."
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. 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.
Foothill Extension Phase 2A
thumb|Construction of Foothill Extension Phase 2A, near Duarte in 2014. Tracks were laid, but the [[overhead catenary was not yet installed.]]
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 the Foothill Extension, running between Sierra Madre Villa and 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.
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.
Regional Connector
thumb|The alignment of the Regional Connector Transit Project
The Regional Connector Transit Project constructed a 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 and Santa Monica. The new east-west line kept the E Line name but uses the L Line's gold color. Two new stations were also constructed in the tunnel, providing more service to destinations and communities in Downtown Los Angeles.
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. To accommodate the new tunnel, the existing at-grade L Line Little Tokyo/Arts District station was demolished in 2020 and rebuilt as a subway station approximately 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. The project officially opened for revenue service on June 16, 2023.
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 and East Los Angeles directly. At this time, the L Line ceased to exist as a separate line.
Foothill Extension Phase 2B to Pomona
thumb|Pomona North station platform on opening day, September 19, 2025
The first part of Phase 2B of the Foothill Extension, running between APU/Citrus College station in Azusa and Pomona 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).
Future developments
Foothill Extension Phase 2B to Claremont
The second part of the Foothill Extension Phase 2B project will further extend the A Line east to the Claremont San Bernardino Line station. Construction is expected to break ground in 2027 and be completed in 2031.
Southeast Gateway Line
The Southeast Gateway Line is a planned light rail line, mostly following the Pacific Electric's historic West Santa Ana Branch, connecting Downtown Los Angeles to the city of Artesia, along with other cities in southeastern Los Angeles County. It will link the southeast/Gateway cities with the A Line at Slauson station. Construction is planned to begin in 2025 with service starting in 2035. Metro estimates it will take 10 years to build.
Current issues
Capacity limits
thumb|A Line train arriving at 7th Street/Metro Center.
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 at level crossings. Since the opening of the Regional Connector, ridership on the A Line continues to increase, potentially resulting in even more capacity problems.
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.
Safety at level crossings
thumb|A southbound A Line train arriving at Willow station.
Over 120 motorists and pedestrians have been killed at A Line level crossings since 1990. There have been more than 800 collisions, making the line easily the country's deadliest and most collision-prone rail line.
thumb|A Line train at [[Slauson station (A Line)|Slauson station]]
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:
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 from Washington station to Willow station, where trains operate at a maximum of between stations.
Due to this, Metro started in the early 2000s to install four-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. Metro also improved the safety of the A Line's pedestrian crossings by 2018.
Operations
On Metro Rail's internal timetables, the A Line is called line 801.
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.
Maintenance facilities
The A Line is operated out of two divisions, Metro's term for train maintenance and storage facilities.
Rolling stock
thumb|Blue Line train in the 1990s
thumb|Blue Line train at [[Long Beach Boulevard (California)|Long Beach Blvd. and 20th St., 1995]]
The A Line operates trains with three light rail vehicles on weekdays and two on weekends.
In 2012, Metro transferred some Siemens P2000 light rail vehicles from the Gold 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.
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.
References
External links
- Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
- Blue Line homepage
- A Line schedule
- Blue Line connections overview
- A History of the Blue Line: A Light Rail Success Story by the Transit Coalition
- Killing Time on the Ghetto Blue from the LA Weekly
- Delivery of The First Metro Blue Line Vehicle