The E Line largely follows the right-of-way of the former Pacific ElectricSanta Monica Air Line. Passenger service ended in 1953; freight-only service ended by March 1988. Several E Line stations are built in the same location as Air Line stations, although no original station structures have been reused.[2]
Originally named the Expo Line after Exposition Boulevard, along which it runs for most of its route,[3][4] the line was renamed the E Line in late 2019, while retaining the aqua-colored line and icons used to designate it on maps.[5] When the Regional Connector is complete in 2023, the current E Line will be joined with the Eastside portion of the L Line to create an extended E Line, which will be colored yellow on maps.[6]
Route and stations of the E Line, relative to other Metro lines. Under construction or planned segments are shown as dashed lines.
Service description
Hours and frequency
E Line trains run every day between approximately 4:30 a.m. and 12:30 am. Trains operate every ten minutes during peak hours Monday through Friday, and every twelve minutes during the daytime on weekdays and all day on the weekends after approximately 8 a.m. (with a 15 to 20-minute headway early Saturday and Sunday mornings). Night service is every 20 minutes.[7]
Speed
Though the E Line can reach a maximum speed of 55 mph (89 km/h), it only rarely does so.[8] It takes 46 minutes[9] to travel the line's 15.2 mi (24.5 km) length,[1] at an average speed of 19.8 mph (31.9 km/h), making it the slowest line in the system.
Station listing
The following is the complete list of stations, from west to east:
Local advocacy groups including Friends 4 Expo Transit[16] supported the successful passage of Proposition C in 1990, which allowed the purchase of the entire right-of-way from Southern Pacific by Metro. In 2000, an urban art group called Heavy Trash placed signs advertising a fictional "Aqua Line." The signs, with the text "Coming Soon," showed a subway route extending along Wilshire to the ocean, with 10 station stops. Although the campaign was a hoax, it demonstrated newfound support and revealed the frustrations surrounding the lack of rail service connecting Santa Monica and the Westside with Downtown Los Angeles.[17][non-primary source needed] Metro released a Major Investment Study in 2000 which compared bus rapid transit and light rail transit options along what was now known as the "Mid-City/Exposition Corridor".[18]
Construction
Completed E line track passing through a residential area
An independent agency, the Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority, was given the authority to plan, design, and construct the line by state law in 2003. After construction of the second phase was completed, the line was handed over on January 15, 2016, to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.[19]
The line was built in two phases; the first phase comprised the 8.6-mile (13.8 km)[1][20] section between Downtown Los Angeles and Culver City. Construction began in early 2006, and most stations opened to the public on April 28, 2012.[20][21] The Culver City and Farmdale stations opened on June 20, 2012.[20][22]
Design and construction on the 6.6-mile (10.6 km)[1] portion between Culver City and Santa Monica started in September 2011. Testing along the phase 2 segment began on April 6, 2015,[23] and the segment opened on May 20, 2016.[24]
The Regional Connector is an under-construction light-rail subway corridor through Downtown Los Angeles that is to connect the current A and E Lines to the current L Line and to allow a seamless one-seat ride between the A and E Lines' current 7th Street/Metro Center terminus and Union Station.[25]
Once the Regional Connector is completed, the alignment of the L (formerly Gold) Line will be split into two parts at Little Tokyo/Arts District station, with the portion north of this station joined to the A Line, extending it to connect Long Beach with Azusa. The alignment east of Little Tokyo/Arts District station will be assigned to the E Line, extending it to connect Santa Monica and East Los Angeles directly. At this time, the L Line will cease to exist as a separate line.
In 2019, Metro began using a renaming system where each rail and bus rapid transit line was rebranded with a letter name and an associated color to be used on maps and other wayfinding signs. As a result, the Expo Line became the E Line in 2019, and will be recolored from aqua to yellow upon completion of the Regional Connector.[26][27][6]
The groundbreaking for the project took place on September 30, 2014, and the alignment is expected to be in public service by 2023.[28][29]
Interior of a westbound train, first day of operation to Culver City
Maintenance facilities
Previously, the light rail vehicles used on the E Line were maintained at the division 11 yard in Long Beach, California, the same maintenance facility that is used by the A Line. However, the new division 14 yard, located east of Stewart Street and north of Exposition Boulevard[31] in the vicinity of the 26th Street/Bergamot station in Santa Monica, was opened with the completion of Phase 2.
Compatible with the rest of Metro's light-rail network, the E Line shares standard Metro light rail vehicles (Kinki SharyoP3010) with the A Line. Metro estimates that it has 47 light rail cars to provide service on the E Line under the peak-hour assumption of 3-car trains running at 6-minute headways.
The E Line Bike Path parallels the route of the light rail line and includes a mixture of bike lanes on Exposition Boulevard and off-street paths alongside the rail tracks.[32]
Incidents
Flower Street tunnel
On November 29, 2018, a pedestrian was struck and killed. The man had been attempting to cross the tracks.[33]
On January 15, 2019, a passenger fell from the platform between the cars and was dragged to death. They "have not yet been able to identify the individual as pieces of the victim's body are spread out."[34]
On May 2, 2019, a man climbed a nearby construction crane and jumped to his death at the Expo/Sepulveda station, landing on the tracks and temporarily halting transportation. Graphic footage of the incident was spread on social media websites, most notably Reddit.[35]
References
^ abcd"Expo Line project fact sheet"(PDF). Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2012. Archived(PDF) from the original on July 8, 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
^Hymon, Steve (November 22, 2011). "Our first ride on the Expo Line". The Source. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on September 19, 2015. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
^"E Line (Expo) timetable"(PDF). Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. December 13, 2020. Archived(PDF) from the original on January 10, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
^"Santa Monica Air Line". Electric Railway Historical Association of Southern California. Archived from the original on February 26, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2006.
^Morgenthaler, Anne (March 14, 1988). "End of the Line: The last train out of SM blows a final whistle". Santa Monica Outlook.
^"Archived copy". Twitter. Archived from the original on September 27, 2022. Retrieved September 21, 2022.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^Hymon, Steve (March 21, 2012). "Expo Line Maintenance Facility". The Source. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). Archived from the original on August 20, 2019. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
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