L Line (Los Angeles Metro)

L Line (Los Angeles Metro)
Company type	Light rail transit line
Industry	Public transportation
Founded	2003
Defunct	October 2020 (service division), June 16, 2023 (line retired)
Fate	Integrated into A Line and E Line after Regional Connector opening
Headquarters	Los Angeles, United States
Area served	Los Angeles metropolitan area
Owner	Los Angeles Metro
Website	www.metro.net

The L Line, previously identified as the Gold Line, was an integral part of the Los Angeles Metro Rail network, providing light rail service between Azusa, California and East Los Angeles. Since its inauguration in 2003, it encompassed 26 stations, linking prominent commercial and cultural districts such as Little Tokyo, Union Station, Chinatown, Los Angeles, California, and Old Pasadena.

In October 2020, operations were divided due to the closure of the Little Tokyo/Arts District station to facilitate construction of the Regional Connector tunnel. This $1.9 billion project was designed to enhance transit efficiency by connecting several lines through downtown Los Angeles. The tunnel, along with a new underground Little Tokyo/Arts District station, commenced service on June 16, 2023, allowing passengers to transfer seamlessly between the two former segments of the L Line.

Following this development, the northern portion was integrated into the A Line, while the southern portion became part of the E Line. The distinctive gold color previously associated with the L Line was reassigned to the E Line to improve brand identification. Although this restructuring ended direct rail service between East Los Angeles and Pasadena, it introduced enhanced connectivity with direct routes extending to Long Beach via the A Line and to Santa Monica via the E Line, in line with Metro’s strategy to optimize regional transit operations.

Route description

The northern endpoint of the line was at APU/Citrus College station, situated near two universities. From there, it traveled westward through Azusa with a stop at Azusa Downtown station, then crossed over the I-210 before running parallel to it into Irwindale, where it served Irwindale station. Continuing westward, the route spanned the San Gabriel River and passed beneath I-605 into Duarte, stopping at Duarte/City of Hope station adjacent to the City of Hope National Medical Center.

The alignment followed Duarte Road into Monrovia, then veered northwest to reach Monrovia station. Upon entering Arcadia, most street crossings were traversed via bridges except for an at-grade crossing at Arcadia station. The route then returned to the I-210 freeway median, proceeding westward to serve Sierra Madre Villa station in Pasadena. Pasadena was served by six stations in total, three of which were located within the freeway median. In Old Pasadena, the line transitioned underground beneath Colorado Boulevard at Memorial Park station, providing access to key shopping and civic destinations. The line continued south through downtown Pasadena and into South Pasadena, primarily operating at street level. North of Highland Park, it crossed over the Arroyo Seco Parkway via the Santa Fe Arroyo Seco Railroad Bridge to reach Highland Park.

Beyond the Highland Park station, trains operated within Marmion Way’s median at reduced speeds. Past 50th Avenue, the route ran mostly at grade on a dedicated right-of-way, including a short underpass beneath Figueroa Street. The line served residential hillside neighborhoods north of downtown such as Lincoln Heights, Mount Washington, and provided access near the Southwest Museum of the American Indian. Northeast of Chinatown, it crossed the Los Angeles River on an elevated viaduct before stopping at Chinatown station and then arriving at Union Station. Union Station offered connections to the B and D subway lines, commuter rail services via Metrolink, Amtrak trains, and various bus routes. North of Union Station, the line followed what was once part of the right-of-way for the Pasadena Subdivision.

Heading south from Union Station, the L Line crossed US 101 on an elevated viaduct into Little Tokyo and served the former ground-level Little Tokyo/Arts District station. It then proceeded into the median of 1st Street, crossing over the Los Angeles River again as it entered Boyle Heights. Stations along this stretch included Pico/Aliso station, followed by underground stops at both Mariachi Plaza station and Soto station. Near Evergreen Cemetery, the line surfaced back to grade along 1st Street before turning eastward to serve Indiana station. The route continued within the median of 3rd Street through East Los Angeles, passing beneath SR 60 and above I-710 before stopping at Maravilla, East LA Civic Center stations, and terminating at Atlantic station.

Prior to its cessation in October 2020, service on the L Line was divided into two separate segments following closure of tracks between Union Station and Pico/Aliso station—including Little Tokyo/Arts District station—in preparation for the Regional Connector’s launch on June 16, 2023. During this interval, passengers relied on a temporary shuttle bus service to bridge between these disconnected sections.

Operating Hours and Service Frequency

Prior to the 2023 integration of the L Line into the A and E lines, train operations occurred daily from roughly 4:30 a.m. until about 12:15 a.m. During weekday rush periods, trains arrived every 10 minutes. Outside of peak times on weekdays and throughout weekends, service intervals were approximately 12 minutes, while evening operations after 7 p.m. ran at 20-minute intervals.

Velocity

Trains on the L Line achieved a top speed of . The entire journey along the route was completed in 48 minutes, resulting in an average speed of . A significant reduction in speed was observed in the Highland Park area, specifically where the line runs along Marmion Way streets, with velocities decreasing to .

List of Stations

The previous L Line comprised the stations detailed below, arranged from north to south:

Station	Opening Date	Location/Neighborhood	Key connections and remarks
Template:LAMs	March 5, 2016	Azusa	Park and ride facility with 200 spaces
Template:LAMs		Azusa	Park and ride lot offering 521 spaces
Template:LAMs		Irwindale	Park and ride area with 350 spaces
Template:LAMs		Duarte	Parking available for 125 vehicles
Template:LAMs		Monrovia	Park and ride accommodating 350 cars
Template:LAMs		Arcadia	Parking lot with capacity for 300 vehicles
Template:LAMs	July 26, 2003	Pasadena	Park and ride with space for 965 vehicles
Template:LAMs
Template:LAMs			Parking available for 22 cars
Template:LAMs
Template:LAMs			Park and ride lot accommodating 610 vehicles
Template:LAMs			Parking space for 155 cars
Template:LAMs		South Pasadena	Park and ride with 142 spaces
Template:LAMs		Los Angeles (Highland Park, Los Angeles)
Template:LAMs		Los Angeles (Mount Washington, Los Angeles)
Template:LAMs		Los Angeles (Montecito Heights)	Park and ride facility with 129 spaces
Template:LAMs		Los Angeles (Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles/Cypress Park)	Parking available for 94 vehicles
Template:LAMs		Los Angeles (Chinatown, Los Angeles)
Template:LAMs		Los Angeles (Downtown Los Angeles)	Template:LACMTA icon strip Template:Rint Amtrak, Template:Rint LAX FlyAway and Template:Rint Metrolink Paid parking available with 3,000 spaces
Template:LAMs	November 15, 2009	Los Angeles (Little Tokyo/Arts District, Los Angeles)	Ground-level station closed as of October 24, 2020
Template:LAMs	November 15, 2009	Los Angeles (Boyle Heights)
Template:LAMs
Template:LAMs
Template:LAMs		East Los Angeles	Park and ride lot with capacity for 42 vehicles
Template:LAMs
Template:LAMs
Template:LAMs			Parking available for up to 289 cars

Ridership

After the 2009 extension reached East Los Angeles, daily boardings approached 30,000. By October 2012, average weekday ridership had increased to 42,417, rising further to 44,707 by December 2014. Following the Azusa extension, ridership grew to 49,238 as of May 2016.

Annual ridership
Year	Ridership	%±
2009	7,629,332	—
2010	10,800,092	Template:Change
2011	11,935,709	Template:Change
2012	13,142,757	Template:Change
2013	13,415,083	Template:Change
2014	13,828,323	Template:Change
2015	14,267,244	Template:Change
2016	16,483,545	Template:Change
2017	16,546,196	Template:Change
2018	15,956,214	Template:Change
2019	15,090,394	Template:Change
2020	6,786,457	Template:Change
2021	4,999,638	Template:Change
2022	5,907,262	Template:Change

History

The San Gabriel Valley portion of the L Line's right-of-way was initially constructed in 1885 by the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Railroad and later became part of the Pasadena Subdivision under the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Amtrak continued operations on this corridor until light rail conversion commenced in 1994. Originally designated the "Pasadena Metro Blue Line," plans to extend the Blue Line from Long Beach were suspended following a 1998 sales tax prohibition on subway tunnels. Consequently, the project was redesigned as an independent line terminating at Union Station.

Service on the Gold Line began between Union Station and Sierra Madre Villa in East Pasadena on July 26, 2003.

The Gold Line Eastside Extension pushed service further east from Union Station to East Los Angeles, opening on November 15, 2009.

Phase 2A of the Foothill Extension extended the route from Sierra Madre Villa to APU/Citrus College station in Azusa, commencing operations on March 5, 2016.

Regional Connector

The Regional Connector Transit Project established a light rail tunnel through Downtown Los Angeles that linked the L Line with both the A and E lines. This initiative fulfilled the vision from the late 1990s for a "Pasadena Blue Line," connecting the northern segment of the L Line (Union Station–Azusa) with the A Line (previously known as Blue Line), which runs between Los Angeles and Long Beach. Meanwhile, the southern segment (Pico/Aliso–East LA) was integrated into the existing E Line that operates from Downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica. The unified east–west corridor retained the E Line designation but adopted the gold color associated with the former L Line.

The at-grade Little Tokyo/Arts District station was demolished in 2020 and reconstructed approximately southward as a subway station on the opposite side of Alameda. During construction from 2020 to 2023, shuttle bus service bridged the disconnected line segments.

Construction for the Regional Connector began on September 30, 2014, with its grand opening on June 16, 2023. As a result of this project, the L Line designation was permanently retired, marking it as the first lettered line removed in the Los Angeles Metro Rail network.

Operations

The L Line was managed and operated by Los Angeles Metro.

Maintenance facilities

The L Line's vehicles are housed, serviced, and dispatched from Division 21 and Division 24. Division 21 is situated on Vin Scully Drive (also known as Elysian Park Drive), just north of North Broadway, with a view overlooking the Los Angeles River. Division 24 is positioned south of the I-210 freeway in Monrovia.

In April 2023, operations expanded to include Division 11 and Division 14. Division 11 is located at the terminus of 208th Street between I-710 and the Los Angeles River in North Long Beach, primarily serving the A Line. Division 14 can be found between Centinela Avenue and Stewart Street in Santa Monica, within the E Line's service area.

Rolling stock

During off-peak periods, L Line trains generally operate as two-car sets, while three-car configurations are more common during weekday rush hours. On special occasions such as New Year's Day events like the Tournament of Roses Parade and Rose Bowl Game, three-car trains are deployed.

The trains utilize high-floor articulated light rail vehicles (LRVs), including models such as the AnsaldoBreda P2550, Kinki Sharyo P3010, and Siemens P2000. The Siemens P2000 was in service from 2003 until 2012 before being reassigned to support the A Line following the launch of the E Line. It later returned temporarily during Regional Connector testing for training purposes. Currently, rolling stock is shared between the A and E Lines, which incorporate the former L Line routes.

Incidents

Significant incidents that took place on the L Line throughout its operational history include:

September 11, 2007 – A pickup truck disregarded a red light at Avenue 55 and Marmion Way, colliding with a train. The driver sustained critical injuries, while six passengers—including an LA County Deputy Sheriff and the train operator—suffered minor injuries.
September 21, 2007 – An SUV broke through crossing gates at Avenue 50 and Marmion Way in Mt. Washington and was struck by a northbound train. Six individuals were injured but not critically. The vehicle caught fire, causing damage to a train car that was subsequently repaired and reassigned to the Metro C Line.
October 13, 2007 – A collision occurred when a large truck struck the center divider on the eastbound Foothill Freeway near Sierra Madre Boulevard, ending up on the tracks and halting service for approximately twelve hours.
August 26, 2011 – A non-fatal stabbing happened during an onboard altercation while traveling through Pasadena. The train halted at Memorial Park station where emergency services attended to the victim who was hospitalized; authorities detained the suspect.
April 24, 2014 – Two tractor-trailers collided on the eastbound Foothill Freeway causing one to overturn onto the rail line between Lake and Sierra Madre Villa stations. This incident damaged tracks and overhead electrical wires, resulting in suspended service until full restoration several days later.
March 6, 2016 – Following a semi-truck accident shortly after opening of the Foothill Extension, service between Allen and Arcadia stations was interrupted for most of the evening and resumed by next morning after a trailer landed on the tracks.
February 20, 2018 – A police chase ended when the suspect drove into the tunnel section between Soto and Indiana stations, causing temporary suspension of rail service.
April 26, 2018 – An accident on the Foothill Freeway caused a FedEx truck to overturn onto tracks between Lake and Memorial Park stations, damaging rails and overhead wiring infrastructure.
November 27, 2018 – A fatal stabbing occurred near Azusa station.
May 7, 2022 – At Lake Station, an individual was doused with flammable liquid and set on fire; he sustained serious injuries but survived.

External links