Metro Rail Past and Future in Los Angeles Metro Rail – System Description / Current
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Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Metro Rail Past and Future In Los Angeles Metro Rail – System Description / Current The Los Angeles Red Line: Union Station Metro Rail to North Hollywood 14.8 Miles System consists of two Heavy Purple Line: Union Rail (Subway) Station to Wilshire/Western 5 Miles lines and three Light Rail 4 Miles shared Track, (Interurban) lines 15.7 Miles total Blue Line: 7th Street to Long Beach Transit Mall 22 Miles Green Line: Norwalk to Marine 20 Miles Gold Line: Sierra Madre Villa to Atlantic 19.4 Miles Metro Rail Lines Vehicle Overview Red & Purple Blue Green Gold Gold Line Red & Purple Blue Green & Gold Gold Color zzz zzz zzz zzz zzz zzz Miles 15.9 22 19.6 13.7 6.8 (Eastside) 650A / P865 / P2000 / P2550 / Type / Mfg. Breda Nippon Sharyo Siemens Duewag Breda Weight Empty (lbs.) 80,000 94,000 98,000 109,000 Length (ft.) 75 90 90 90 Passenger 220 276 262 264 Max. Load Max. Speed (mph) 70 55 65 55 Original Agencies • The Heavy Rail lines were built and originally operated by the Southern California Rapid Transit District (SCRTD) which was the immediate predecessor agency of the present-day Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA or Metro) Original Agencies • The Light Rail lines were built by the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission (LACTC) which was founded in 1977 to handle planning and construction of highway and transit projects in Los Angeles, they too were merged into Metro in 1993 • The SCRTD operated the Light Rail Line built by LACTC up until the merger Metro Blue Line • The First new rail line in Los Angeles was the Metro Blue Line • Ground was broken at the Shop facility October 1, 1985 • The first segment from Pico to Anaheim opened July 14, 1990 Metro Blue Line • The original fleet was built by Sumitomo Nippon/Sharyo under contract P-865 including cars 100-153 (54 cars) in 1989 and 1990 • Heavily modified the entire fleet remains in service today (Cyclops light, electronic horns, Schunk Pantographs, LED lights, automated PA, Kenwood radio system, CCTV/DVR system) Metro Blue Line • Two extensions completed the line within a year: – Long Beach Loop added 5th St, 1st St, Transit Mall, and Pacific St stations opening September 1, 1990 – Los Angeles’ first modern subway station opened February 15, 1991 at 7th St/Metro Center, the future Heavy Rail station completed on lower level in anticipation of future addition of the Metro Red Line Metro Blue Line – Historical Perspective • The Metro Blue Line is mostly built on the historic route and property of Pacific Electric’s Long Beach line opened on July 4, 1902 and operated continuously through April 9, 1961 Taken over first by the Los Angeles Metropolitan Coach lines in 1953 and the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority in 1958 it was the last operating electric Interurban rail line in Southern California Metro Blue Line • The original line (before modifications for EXPO) had: – 22 Stations / 1 Yard – 2 Terminal Double Crossovers – 3 Manual Crossovers – 2 Interlocking Pockets – 2 Manual Turnouts – 2 Mixed Interlockings with SPRR crossings – 1 Crossover Interlocking – 1 Station Siding – 20 Traction Power Substations Metro Blue Line • Over 20 years many changes have already occurred: – Station platforms extended to accommodate 3-car trains – Both Amoco and Vargas railway crossings removed – Pico and San Pedro manual crossovers removed – New full interlocking crossovers added to Venice and Maple, half crossover at Compton – New junction at Washington and Flower to new EXPO line – Washington tail track and turnout upgraded to 4 storage tracks and full interlocking – T signals changed to Bar signals with Train Coming warnings added – Replacement of all Controlled Power Corporation CPC TPSS with Siemens has begun – Platform Between Car Barriers Metro Red Line MOS-1 • The First Heavy Rail line in Los Angeles was the Metro Red Line • Ground was broken at the Shop facility September 29, 1986 • The first segment from Union Station to Westlake opened January 30, 1993, the last act of the SCRTD before merging into LACMTA Metro Red Line MOS-1 • The original fleet was built by Breda Costruzione Ferroviarie under contract A-650 including cars 501-530 (30 cars) in 1992 • Budd cars were borrowed from the recently opened Miami Metro Dade Heavy Rail system for testing purposes due to delays in delivering the Breda cars Metro Red Line – Historical Perspective • The First Segment of the Metro Red Line was built along Wilshire Blvd which never saw rail service before • It was then, as it is now, the premier boulevard of Los Angeles and was served by Double Deck buses operated originally by the Los Angeles Motor Bus company later merged into the Pacific Electric and Los Angeles Transit Lines in 1949 • It continues to be a major bus corridor with the first Rapid Bus line opened in 2000 supplementing local and limited stop service. Lines 20, 720, and 920 run there now using articulated buses Metro Red Line – Historical Perspective • Los Angeles had a subway from 1925 to 1955 serving Glendale, Burbank, Hollywood, and Santa Monica operated by the Western District of the Pacific Electric Railway • Although a portion of the tunnel was demolished in connection with the construction of the ARCO towers, most of the subway along with the entrance portal, power substation, and terminal station remain intact, tours are still occasionally given • It was an Interurban/Suburban streetcar subway only 1 mile in length similar in application to the present Blue Line underground segment into 7th/Metro (4th and Hill to 2nd and Beverly) Metro Red Line MOS-1 • The original line had: – 5 Stations / 1 Yard – 3 Terminal Double Crossovers – 5 Traction Power Substations – 1 Emergency Generator – All Emergency Exits within station boxes Metro Green Line • LACTC’s second Light Rail line was meant to allow one of the last Los Angeles Freeways to be built, the Glen Anderson I-105 Century Freeway • Ground was broken January 28, 1991 • The entire line from Norwalk to Marine opened August 12, 1995 Metro Green Line • The original fleet was built by Sumitomo Nippon/Sharyo under contract P-2020 including cars 154-168 (15 cars) in 1994 and 1995 • Heavily modified the entire fleet remains in service today on the Blue Line (Cyclops light, electronic horns, Schunk Pantographs, LED lights, automated PA, Kenwood radio system, CCTV/DVR system) Metro Green Line • A new fleet replaced the original cars by 2002 • The cars were built by Siemens Duewag of Germany and took a long time to place in service • Cars 201-228 and 301-302 were delivered between 1998 and 2002 • The 300 series cars were originally configured for driverless operation “robot cars” • Car borne between car barriers were mounted later, first application in Los Angeles, now in process of being removed Metro Green Line – Historical Perspective • The construction of the Century Freeway devastated the existing roads and residences and does not follow pre-existing rail, road, or transit lines with a couple of exceptions – The portion between Harbor and Crenshaw roughly parallels some of the Redondo Beach via Gardena line built November 12, 1911 and closed January 15, 1940. Some tracks remain for freight service The portion between Wilmington and Long Beach stations roughly parallels some of the Santa Ana line which opened November 6, 1905, was shortened to Bellflower on July 2, 1950 and finally closed by LAMTA on May 25, 1958 Metro Green Line • The Green Line has: – 14 Stations / 1 Yard – 2 Terminal Double Crossovers – 1 Double Crossovers – 2 Interlocking Pockets – 8 Crossover Interlockings – 19 Traction Power Substations Metro Red Line Segment 2A • The next Red Line extension was to be broken up into two steps, segments 2A and 2B • Segment 2A continued west from Westlake to Wilshire Western and would later be re-named the Purple line Metro Red Line Segment 2A • This new extension opened to the public July 13, 1996 and included – 3 new stations – 2 new terminal interlockings – A pocket track – 2 new Traction Power Substations and another generator – The first 4 emergency exits outside of a station box Metro Red Line Segment 2B • Segment 2B continued north under Vermont and Hollywood Boulevards to Hollywood and Vine opened on June 12, 1999 • Fleet expansion was necessary to serve this extension bringing cars 531-586 into service from 1997-1998, these cars have AC motors and are considered the “option” cars • Many stations have Joint Development projects which have since changed their surface appearance Metro Red Line – Historical Perspective • Unlike earlier Red Line segments, this extension followed old rail routes – Vermont Blvd was a heavily patronized “Yellow Car” line operated by the Los Angeles Railway and its successors the Los Angeles Transit Lines and LAMTA, the V line was one of 5 lines that ran until the end of streetcar service in Los Angeles on July 30, 1963 Hollywood Blvd was Pacific Electric Western District territory served by the Subway we saw earlier using cars named for this famous thoroughfare. Steam trains opened the line before the turn of the century and the Metropolitan Coach Lines ended rail service on September 26, 1954. The cars are remembered in the Hollywood Western Station mezzanine Metro Red Line Segment 2B • This new extension included: – 5 new stations – 2 new terminal interlockings – 4 new Traction Power Substations – 2 more emergency exits outside of a station box Metro Red Line Segment 3 • The last Red Line extension segment continued under Hollywood Blvd