Metro Gold Line (LACMTA)

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Metro Gold Line
Two Gold Line trains at Memorial Park station in Pasadena, a below-grade station.
Overview
Type	Light rail
System	Los Angeles County Metro Rail
Locale	Los Angeles, California
Termini	Sierra Madre Villa Atlantic
Stations	21
Daily ridership	24,175 [1] Eastside Extension: 13,000 expected
Operation
Opened	July 26, 2003
Operator(s)	Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA)
Rolling stock	Siemens P2000, Breda Costruzioni Ferroviarie P2550
Technical
Line length	19.7 mi (22 km)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) (standard gauge)
Electrification	Overhead lines
Route map Legend Sierra Madre Villa Allen Lake Villa Parke Tunnel Memorial Park Downtown Pasadena Tunnel Del Mar Fillmore State Route 110 Mission Arroyo Seco High Bridge State Route 110 Highland Park Southwest Museum Figueroa Street Heritage Square/Arroyo State Route 110 Arroyo Seco Low Bridge Lincoln Heights/Cypress Park Interstate 5 Metrolink and Amtrak Los Angeles River Los Angeles River Yard Chinatown Metro Red Line, Metro Purple Line Union Station Union Station Connections: Metro Red Line, Metro Purple Line, El Monte Busway, Metrolink, Amtrak, FlyAway U.S. Route 101 Little Tokyo/Arts District Metrolink and Amtrak Los Angeles River Metrolink Pico/Aliso Mariachi Plaza Soto Indiana State Route 60 Interstate 710 Maravilla East L.A. Civic Center Atlantic This route map:  view • talk • edit

The Metro Gold Line is a light-rail line in the Los Angeles County Metro Rail System. The route operates in a "C" shape between Pasadena to the northeast and East Los Angeles to the southeast, passing through Downtown Los Angeles. The line is operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The Gold Line is the newest rail addition to the Metro system. It serves several tourist attractions, including Little Tokyo, Union Station, Southwest Museum, Chinatown, and the shops of Old Town Pasadena. In Metro internal timetables, the Gold Line is also called line 804.

[edit] History

A line through Pasadena was proposed in the early 1980s as a part of a more extensive regional urban rail network, however it would not come to fruition until almost two decades later. Initial planning and construction was done by the LACMTA. After the project was halted due to a lack of funding the 'Los Angeles Pasadena Blue Line Construction Authority' was established by State legislation to reactivate and complete the then 11% completed project.

The Gold Line was originally planned as a part of the Blue Line. Making that connection as originally planned would require a new "Regional Connector" to connect Metro Center with Union Station. Because this light rail line did not connect to the Blue Line, to avoid confusion the line was given a different color. The Rose Line was a strong contender because of Pasadena's Rose Bowl and Rose Parade. However, because future planned extensions would go beyond Pasadena, the LACMTA board voted to name the line the "Gold Line."

[edit] Recent enhancements

In April 2007, to address noise complaints from South Pasadena residents, Metro began constructing a soundwall along the Metro Gold Line in South Pasadena between the Mission and Fillmore stations. Construction occurred weekdays during the non-peak hours during the day with one track out of service. Service was placed on a temporary schedule for 2–3 months, running every 20 minutes. Regular service resumed on July 3, 2007.

[edit] Accidents

According to Metro, Metro Gold Line accidents are rare since most intersections have four-quadrant gates to prevent car versus train accidents. However, unlike the Metro Green Line, the section along the Foothill Freeway (Interstate 210) lacks fencing, which does not protect the trains from cars landing on the Metro Gold Line tracks.

• On August 12, 2004, an SUV carrying seven passengers rolled over on the Foothill Freeway at Sierra Madre Blvd. and landed on the Metro Gold Line tracks, and a train hit the vehicle, killing three passengers. Four passengers were seriously injured.

• On September 11, 2007, a pickup truck ran a red light at Avenue 55 and Marmion Way (two blocks from the Highland Park Station) and a southbound Metro Gold Line train (248) struck the vehicle, causing a derailment and damaging a concrete pillar. The driver was critically injured and six people on the train, including an LA County Deputy Sheriff and the train operator, suffered minor injuries and were all taken to Huntington Hospital in Pasadena. This was the most serious accident since the opening of the Metro Gold Line in 2003.^[1][2]

• On September 21, 2007, an SUV broke off the crossing arms and was struck by a northbound Metro Gold Line train (243) at Avenue 50 and Marmion Way in Mt. Washington, resulting in the vehicle catching fire and a section of the train suffered significant burns. Authorities say that the driver, 56-year old Diane Cordero, tried to beat the train. Some nearby residents rushed to the scene to pull the victim out of her SUV and one resident put out the fire in the car with a garden hose before Los Angeles Firefighters arrived. There were six non-life threatening injuries, including two minor injuries, and three were transported to hospitals, including Huntington Hospital in Pasadena and Glendale Adventist Medical Center in Glendale. The train operator was unharmed.^[3][4][5]

• On October 13, 2007 at 1:20am, a big rig hit the center divider of the eastbound Foothill Freeway at Sierra Madre Blvd. and went on the Metro Gold Line tracks. There was no service at the time of the accident, but the tracks were out of service for 12 hours. During the course of the accident, buses were provided to bypass the accident site.^[6][7]

[edit] Information

The Gold Line, which opened in July 2003, operates on the former right-of-way of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, where intercity trains like Amtrak's Southwest Chief and the Desert Wind once operated. Trains run at grade between the Lincoln Heights/Cypress Park and Del Mar stations. Trains start at Union Station's tracks 1 & 2 and proceed on an elevated rail line running between Union Station (where it meets the Metro Red Line and Metro Purple Line) to Chinatown, and then cross the Los Angeles River adjacent to the Golden State Freeway (Interstate 5) before serving the hillside communities just north of downtown.

The line runs underground for a very short segment underneath Figueroa Street, and then runs in the median of streets in Highland Park. After crossing over the Pasadena Freeway (Interstate 110), the Gold Line serves the city of South Pasadena, and then downtown Pasadena. This portion of the line has a longer underground segment, almost half a mile long where the line passes under Pasadena's main thoroughfare, Colorado Boulevard. The Memorial Park station, just north of Colorado Boulevard, is below grade. The last leg of the Gold Line runs in the median of the Foothill Freeway (Interstate 210) and terminates at Sierra Madre Villa station, just west of the Pasadena city limit.

At just over 24,000 average weekday boardings^[8], Gold Line ridership has been below projections, which has resulted in cuts in service midday and at night. This should change with the opening of the East Los Angeles extension on November 15, 2009, the planned Azusa extension in 2013, and the eventual extension from Azusa to Montclair (or possibly as far as Ontario Airport). Service previously operated every 15 minutes during the day with limited stop service during rush hour, which was long by Los Angeles standards but is similar to other light rail lines in the United States such as the San Diego Trolley and UTA TRAX. This Express service was eliminated as of December 16, 2007 (see below).

In the evening hours of August 19, 2007, a power outage between the Highland Park and Mission Stations occurred, resulting in the Southbound tracks being out of service. This led to cancellation of Express service and trains running on three-car trains during peak hours. Regular service resumed August 24. [2]

Stations are not equipped with marquees, which displays train arrival and other information, unlike the other Metro Rail lines. The station platforms appear to be capable of accommodating three car trains, although the aforementioned ridership issues seem to make this a remote possibility in the near future.

On October 3, 2007, Metro Gold Line trains began having advertisement banners on the sides of trains, like on the Metro Green Line.

On December 21, 2007, Metro introduced cars 233 and 235, which are the special commemorative trains for the 119th Tournament of Roses Parade and the 94th Rose Bowl Game. These are known as the 2008 "Tournament Train." [3]

On February 13, 2008, Metro removed the banner ads on all Metro Gold Line trains. But in mid-June 2008, banners promoting the Long Range Transportation Plan was added on car 246. On July 14, 2008, banner ads were added on cars 229, 235, 236, 238, 239, 244, 250, and 302.

On November 15, 2009, a long-awaited extension to East Los Angeles via Little Tokyo and Boyle Heights opened.^[9] The project began on December 19, 2005 when tunnel boring machines were lowered into a pit at First Street and Boyle Avenue in Boyle Heights, which is the first of the two underground stations, and began the tunneling of twin 1.7 mile (2.8 km) long tunnels with a planned completion time of less than one year. There are two underground stations located in these tunnels – Mariachi Plaza Station and Soto Station. The tunnel boring machine (TBM) nicknamed “Lola” reached the underground station box at First and Soto Streets Friday evening, July 21, 2006. Sister TBM "Vicki" was scheduled to arrive about four weeks later.^[10] On November 14, 2006, Lola reached the station box at First and Lorena Streets.^[11] On December 12, 2006, both TBMs finished boring the entire tunnel of the line, exactly as scheduled.

[edit] Rolling stock

A new Breda P2550 train at Highland Park

The Gold line uses two-car trains, with the exception of one-car trains used during the evenings and weekend mornings. On New Year's Day, the Gold Line uses three-car trains due to the Tournament of Roses Parade and the Rose Bowl Game. The cars are Siemens P2000 LRVs. Each train car is articulated.

As of January 2010, the Metro Gold Line has 53 active cars (227-242, 244-250, 301, 302, 704-730, 736). Car 243 is unused due to burns sustained from an accident on September 21, 2007. Car 302 is the only Metro Gold Line car in the current livery, which is all white with black lettering, similar to Metro Blue Line Car 105.

The Metro Gold Line yard has approximately 31 Ansaldobreda P2550 cars (701-750) that are in use in addition to the P2000 cars. Currently, cars 704-730 and 736 are in service in addition to the P2000 cars. It has been featured in many television ads by Metro. Metro is set to transfer the Siemens P2000 trains to the Blue Line to replace the aging Nippon Sharyo P850 (100-153) cars in the future while the Ansaldobreda P2550 cars will replace the Siemens P2000 trains.

[edit] Issues

The major complaint from riders is that the Gold Line is slow through the Highland Park area, where trains reach speeds of only 20 mph (32 km/h), and through the curves, where trains travel at about 25 mph (40 km/h), while the vehicles can easily reach 60 mph. South Pasadena residents (who were vocal against the Gold Line) complain about the bells and whistles at Gold Line crossings. The crossing bells have been adjusted to direct sound toward the street and not adjoining homes. Transit advocates have proposed running the line below grade through South Pasadena, as is done further north on the line in Pasadena, to reduce noise and traffic problems. No funds are available at this time for this project. A soundwall was constructed beginning May 7, 2007 and finishing in mid-June 2007.

[edit] Limited stop service

Between February 13, 2006 and December 16, 2007, the Gold Line was the first in the Metro Rail system to implement both local and express (limited-stop) service during rush hours in both directions. The only stations served by limited trains were Union Station, Highland Park, Mission, Del Mar, and Sierra Madre Villa, eliminating five minutes of travel time from end-to-end. Limited trains ran every 30 minutes in each direction during weekday rush hours. Originally, there were six express trains in each direction during the morning rush hours, but as of April 10, 2006, a service change was implemented, reducing the number of express trains to four in favor of more local trains.^[12]

Since October 29, 2006, Metro Rail Operation systems and rail signal modifications have decreased end to end travel time by five minutes, resulting in 30% less waiting time at stations. According to Metro, the implementation of this limited stop service resulted in weekday ridership hitting an all time high for September 2006 at almost 21,000 boardings.^[13]

In December 2007, Express Service was discontinued and (local) trains now run more frequently. Weekday trains will run every 7–8 minutes, stopping at all stations, during rush hours and every 12 minutes during the midday hours. Weekend trains run every 12 minutes from mid-morning until early evening. Trains still make a complete trip in 29 minutes.^[14]

The Gold Line, including future extensions

Gold Line Maravilla station under construction as of December 2008 with King Taco in the background

[edit] Future extensions

Currently, Metro is considering extending the Gold Line from both terminus stations eastward, along the "Foothill Extension" from Pasadena and the "Eastside Extension, Phase 2" from East Los Angeles.

[edit] Eastside Extension, Phase 2

Two alignments are being studied as potential routes for the second phase. They are:

• SR-60 LRT: Mixture of at-grade and aerial running along the Pomona Freeway to South El Monte
• Washington LRT: Aerial running south on Garfield Avenue and then east on Washington Boulevard to Whittier

[edit] Foothill Extension

An extension of the Gold Line eastward from its terminus on the east side of Pasadena (officially called the "Foothill Extension") to the city of Azusa is in the final design stage. On February 28, 2007, the Metro Gold Line Construction Authority voted to approve the Final Environmental Impact Report. Construction is slated to begin in 2010 and opening of this first phase of the extension is scheduled in 2013 as well as a future extension to Montclair opening in 2017^[15]. This segment would be entirely above ground, with a small portion in the median of Interstate 210. As of April 2006 a draft environmental impact study and report was submitted, and final FTA project approval is pending^[16]; community meetings are being held to gather input on station design and artwork.

In October of 2009, the MTA Board unanimously voted to include the Foothill Extension in its long-range plan, and approved funding for the construction and operation of the Foothill Extension's first phase to Azusa. The terminus of this extension will be at Azusa's eastern border. This phase of the extension is scheduled to break ground in June of 2010, and is expected to be completed and opened in 2013. The Board also directed its staff to seek funding for the second phase of the Foothill Extension, in the hopes of completion by 2017.

The Foothill Extension has strong political support from the governments of multiple cities along its proposed route, while the original segment went through only three jurisdictions (the cities of Los Angeles, South Pasadena and Pasadena). The city of Ontario has joined the group of cities supporting the Gold Line extension citing that the Gold line should make LA/Ontario International Airport its Eastern Terminus, instead of the Montclair Transit station.^[17] The LACMTA has already purchased the entire right of way needed for this project. If all of the proposed extensions were constructed, the resulting 51 mile line would be the longest light rail line in the United States.

[edit] List of stations: North to South

Gold Line train platform at Union Station

Gold Line train runs through South Pasadena.

Memorial Park Station in Pasadena. This station is in an open cut. Memorial Park is to the left and the Holly Street Apartments are directly above the tracks.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Gold Line Eastside Extension website
• Gold Line schedule
• Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority