The system’s oldest operating light rail line has been undergoing a major renovation and modernization in two phases, shutting the southern half from January to May and the northern portion since June.
When finished, it will be the first of 11 Metro rail projects designated under its “Twenty-Eight by ’28” plan to be ready for the city to host the Summer Olympics in 2028.
Metro says construction on the northern segment, from Los Angeles to Compton, is almost complete and train testing will begin shortly. The line serves Long Beach, and bus shuttles have run throughout the closures to accommodate riders.
Separately, the agency recently began testing operations at the Green Line junction, where the under-construction Crenshaw/LAX Line joins the existing Green Line.
A video showing a test run from the train operator’s viewpoint was released by Metro. Signal and software testing will continue over the coming weeks.
At its September meeting, the Metro board of directors moved forward on a congestion pricing study, awarding consulting contracts to WSP USA and Guidehouse LLP totaling nearly $5 million. The agency is also adding experts to its policy advisory committee.
During an interview with Trains earlier this year, LA Metro chief of staff Nadine Lee said, “If we can address the use of the single-occupant vehicle through pricing, then we might actually be able to move the needle on our air quality impacts and also promote equity for all users of the transportation system.”
I hope they add more security. This is one of the most dangerous transit lines in LA.
Anna,
The Blue line after leaving Washington Blvd turns south on to the old PE four track main line. It leaves the old Balboa line (visible on Google as open space and bike paths) in Long Beach. A third track for local freight along most the R/W is still in use.
A portion of the Green Line, which was built in the median of the Century a.k.a. Morton Anderson Freeway (which took over 1/4 century to build) is on the old Santa Ana Line.
The portion of the Santa Line south and east of the freeway will be restored as part of Metro’s West Santa Ana Line. It will go all the way to the Orange County. Since it can not connect to the Blue Line, it use the UP’s Old Harbor Line north to about Slauson Blvd, then turn west to Blue Line where it will turn north (restoring a portion of the four track main line up to Washington. From here the alignment is not yet decided. One proposal would have it go up Alameda Blvd thru the same construction area whete the downtown connector (connecting the Blue, Gold and Expo lines) is presently under construction….which is why this alignment is opposed; it would be the 3rd Metro construction project in the neighborhood immediately south of the 101 amd Union Station.
Finally most of the Expo Line running primarily along Exposition Blvd runs over the PE’s Santa Monica Air Line. Only the east end leaves the old R/W at Flower Street , turning left to meet the Blue Line at Washington Blvd.
Portions of Metro’s Orange Line, a BRT line, follow tje SP’s San Fernando Valley branch line. Portions of this branch fro North Hollywood to Van Nuys Blvd were previously part of the PE.
Portions of the Red Line subway run under Hollywood Blvd. The PE used to run in the street above.
I forgot one. The San Fernando Valley light rail project will run from San Fernando to Van Nuys, a portion of which go back down Van Nuys Blvd – the same wide street on which the PE ran.
I was two when the PE’ shutdown. But in the late ’90,s I chauffeured my father along the Blue, and Green Rail lines while under construction. He knew every alley and shortcut.
Metrolink uses portions of the PE too.
Mister Blaubach:
Thank you. I ran across an article which states that even though the PE is gone, the overall structure of the basin is still influenced by how it was laid out. So, I suppose that now that they are putting it back in, it makes sense that (broadly) the new metro has roughly the same layout.
I still think they were damn fools for taking it out in the first place. I wasn’t born there but I spent part of my childhood there and I can tell you that the air pollution was truly horrific. Taking it out and putting in freeways was definitely not a service to the citizens.
For what it’s worth, I rolled a pickle truck one time during rush hour on the downtown stack. I was going round one of the connectors and the outside front axle broke. Shut the whole thing down, pickles everywhere. I will wager there was many a commuter wishing the PE was still in service that day, let me tell you.
The above comments are generic in nature and do not form the basis for an attorney/client relationship. They do not constitute legal advice. I am not your attorney. Find your own damn geriatric case.
It is also worth pointing out that the Pacific Electric never really made any money for its owners. On the other hand, they realized the money was not in the transit system, but in the real estate that the transit system made accessible. Without the transit system the land was largely worthless except possibly as farmland. With the transit system it could be built up, as people could get from the (then) bedroom communities in the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys into Los Angeles.
I do not expect the Metro to make money. That is not its purpose. Its purpose is to add value to the areas its serves, and it will always have to look to those areas for funds to make up what it does not recover from the fare box. It has always been thus, it will always be thus.
The above comments are generic in nature and do not form the basis for an attorney/client relationship. They do not constitute legal advice. I am not your attorney. Find your own damn Menshevik shyster.
Has anyone done an overlay of the old Pacific Electric system on the new Metro system? If so, how closely do they match?
The above comments are generic in nature and do not form the basis for an attorney/client relationship. They do not constitute legal advice. I am not your attorney. Find your own damn lawyer.
Ya … I thought so. They’re putting the PE back in. There are differences of course, but the basic structure is the same. I remember LARy streetcars going down the road (which dates me), and I have probably ridden a PE car or two as a child.
They pulled out the PE system and built freeways and I can remember smog so bad your eyes burned and it hurt to breathe. And now, at great expense, they are putting it back in.
The fools.
The above comments are generic in nature and do not form the basis for an attorney/client relationship. They do not constitute legal advice. I am not your attorney. Find your own damn acerbic reprobate.
Anna I’m sure if this helps. It is a n overlay map of the PE on a earth image of the LA area. I’m working off a tablet so I couldn’t look too close.
https://la.curbed.com/2015/11/9/9902244/red-car-map-los-angeles
I can not speak first hand only what I remember being said when the line opened.
What I remember was that in most places the blue line was built on the original PE right of way. The right of way was intact into the 70’s as the ownership had never changed from the 1920’s.
I’ll look this evening as best I can.
Usual disclaimers apply. I’m just a well worn out truck driver. Anyway
I couldn’t find a direct overlay, but these two maps are pretty compatible in terms of design and if you put them side by side, you get a pretty good idea of how the systems match up.
PE circa 1926 (from L.A. TACO): https://i1.wp.com/www.lataco.com/wp-content/uploads/old-pacific-electirc-rail-system-in-Los-Angeles.png
Metro today: https://media.metro.net/documents/8f0fe43e-da3b-4a10-bd8e-4cfd54e30eb3.pdf