L Line (Los Angeles Metro)

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Metro Gold Line
Metro Gold Line train using AnsaldoBreda P2550 trains at Atlantic Station.
Overview
StatusIn service
Line number804
Termini
Stations21[1]
WebsiteGold Line
Service
TypeLight rail
SystemMetro Rail
Operator(s) Metro (LACMTA)
Depot(s)Division 21 (Chinatown)
Rolling stockAnsaldoBreda P2550
History
OpenedJuly 26, 2003
Technical
Line length19.7 mi (31.7 km)[1]
Track length2–3 cars
CharacterMostly at-grade in private right-of-way, with some street-running, elevated and underground sections.
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Route map
Template:Infobox rdt

The Gold Line is a 19.7-mile (31.7 km)[1] light rail line running from Pasadena to East Los Angeles via Downtown Los Angeles serving several attractions, including Little Tokyo, Union Station, the Southwest Museum, Chinatown, and the shops of Old Town Pasadena. The line, which is one of six in the Metro Rail system, entered service in 2003 and is operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). The Gold Line serves 21 stations[1] (including two subway stations).

Service description

Route

Beginning in East Los Angeles, the Gold Line initially runs west toward Downtown Los Angeles. From its southern terminus at Template:LA Metro station, the line travels west along Third Street to Indiana Street, where it turns north for two blocks to First Street. From here, the line continues west to Little Tokyo, partly through a tunnel under Boyle Heights with two underground stations. At Alameda Street in Little Tokyo, the line turns north and crosses over the Hollywood Freeway, and stops at Union Station on tracks 1 and 2. At Union Station, riders can connect with the Metro Red and Metro Purple Lines, the Metro Silver Line bus rapid transit line as well as the Metrolink regional system.

From Union Station, the Gold Line proceeds north on elevated rail to Chinatown, and then crosses the Los Angeles River adjacent to the Golden State Freeway (Interstate 5). From here, the route continues north/northeast, serving the hillside communities north of downtown, including Lincoln Heights, Mount Washington, and Highland Park. Through this stretch, the Gold Line operates primarily at grade, except for a short underpass below Figueroa Street.

North of Highland Park, the route crosses over the Arroyo Seco Parkway (State Route 110). The route continues through South Pasadena and then downtown Pasadena, primarily at-grade. In Old Town Pasadena, the line travels underground for almost half a mile long, passing under Pasadena's main thoroughfare, Colorado Boulevard. (Template:LA Metro station station, just north of Colorado Boulevard, is below grade.) Finally, the Gold Line enters the median of the Foothill Freeway (Interstate 210) and continues east to Template:LA Metro station station, in Pasadena just west of the Sierra Madre city limit.

Hours of operation

Metro Gold Line trains run between approximately 4:30 a.m. and 12:45 a.m. daily.[4] Service on Friday and Saturday nights continues until approximately 2:00 a.m. First and last train times are as follows:

To Sierra Madre Villa Station

Northbound
  • First Train to Sierra Madre Villa Station (from Union Station): 3:40 a.m.
  • First Train to Sierra Madre Villa Station (from Atlantic): 4:21 a.m.
  • Last Train to Sierra Madre Villa Station: 11:46 p.m. (1:43 a.m. Friday and Saturday nights)
  • Last Train to Union Station only: 12:43 a.m. (2:03 a.m. Friday and Saturday nights)

To Atlantic Station

Southbound
  • First Train to Atlantic Station (from Chinatown station): 3:41 a.m.
  • First Train to Atlantic Station (from Sierra Madre Villa station): 4:36 a.m.
  • Last Train to Atlantic Station (from Sierra Madre Villa station): 11:41 p.m. (1:38 a.m. Friday and Saturday nights))
  • Last Train to Union Station only: 12:58 a.m. (2:09 a.m. Friday and Saturday nights)

Headways

Trains on the Gold Line operate every six minutes during peak hours Monday through Friday.[5][4] Middays consist of 12 minute headways, while weekends all day have a frequency of seven to eight minutes.[5][4] Nighttime service operates every 15 minutes, with 20 minute headways during late night weekend service.[5][4]

Ridership

Following the extension to East Los Angeles in 2009, the line's ridership increased to almost 30,000 daily boardings.[2] As of October 2012, the average weekday daily boardings for the Gold Line stood at 42,417, and as of October 2013 the average daily weekday boardings had increased to 43,923.[2][3]

Speed

The Gold Line takes 54 minutes[4] to travel its 19.7-mile (31.7 km) length.[1] This means the Gold Line averages 21.9 mph (35 km/h) over its length, making the Gold Line the slowest of all of Metro Rail's lines. In particular, 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).

History

Planning

The Gold Line's initial route was formerly the right-of-way of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, where passenger trains like the Southwest Chief and the Desert Wind once operated, until Amtrak service was re-routed along the Southern Transcon to San Bernardino via Fullerton. Although this route was better suited for and already built to long distance commuter standards which would have allowed Metrolink to begin service almost immediately at minimal cost, the city of Pasadena was adamantly opposed to continued running of conventional diesel locomotives running through the city and lobbied hard for Light Rail because of the latters aesthetic visual appeal that would highlight Pasadena as a modern 'progressive' transit oriented city, even if it meant several times the cost and wait time of nearly a decade. This is evidenced by the rehabilitation and subsequent development along the route including at and around the site of the former Santa Fe depot.

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. Because planned extensions would go beyond Pasadena, the LACMTA board voted to name the line the "Gold Line".

Operation

Original Gold Line to Pasadena

The original Gold Line, between Union Station and Sierra Madre Villa, opened in July 2003.

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 direction calling on at Union Station, Highland Park, Mission, Del Mar, and Sierra Madre Villa, eliminating five minutes of travel time from end-to-end.

Since October 29, 2006 end to end travel time were reduced by five minutes, resulting in 30% less waiting time at stations. Ridership hit an all-time high of 21,000 boardings in September 2006.[6]

A noise barrier was constructed along the route in South Pasadena between the Mission and Fillmore stations to address noise complaints from South Pasadena residents between April 2007 and July 2007 during the track construction.

In December 2007, Express Service was discontinued and (local) trains began to run more frequently at 8 minute intervals. Service was increased to every 6 minutes in June 2011 as a result of increased ridership.[7]

Gold Line Extension to Eastside

Gold Line Maravilla station under construction in December 2008.

In November 2009, Metro opened the first phase of the Gold Line Eastside Extension. The project extended the Gold Line from Union Station to Atlantic Blvd. near Monterey Park. The extended route now serves Little Tokyo, Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles. The project added eight stations, two of which (Mariachi Plaza and Soto) are underground stations, only the second set of subway stations in the light rail portion of the Metro Rail system (after the 7th Street/Metro Center station).

Proposed developments

Foothill Extension

Map of the Gold Line, with the Foothill Extension along the top.
Main article: Gold Line Foothill Extension

Metro and the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority plan to extend the Gold Line beyond Pasadena into the northeastern part of the county. The Gold Line Foothill Extension project will extend the Gold Line through the foothill region to Montclair, California. The Construction Authority is also working to extend the line even further, to Ontario, California.

Eastside Extension Phase 2

Metro is considering a new extension of the Metro Gold Line in the Eastside. This second phase of the Eastside Corridor would extend the Gold Line's southern leg eastward, from its current terminus at Atlantic station to the San Gabriel River.

As of August 2010, Metro has completed the Alternatives Analysis phase. The next step for Metro is to conduct an initial environmental study, leading to publication and approval of a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR).[8]

The two alignments to be studied in the DEIR are:

Regional Connector Transit Corridor

Main article: Regional Connector Transit Corridor

Once the Regional Connector Transit Corridor is constructed, the northern leg of the Gold Line through the San Gabriel Valley will be joined with the current Blue Line connecting downtown Los Angeles and Long Beach, creating what will be the longest light rail transit line in the United States. The Eastside leg of the Gold Line will be connected to the current Expo Line, which by that time will be running between downtown Los Angeles and near the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica. Names and/or colors for these new lines have not yet been determined. In the construction of this project, the current Gold Line Little Tokyo station will be demolished, and a new below grade station will be constructed.

Station listing

The following table lists the current stations of the Gold Line, from south to north.

Station Station Connections Date Opened City/ Neighborhood
Template:LA Metro stationL Line  Metro Local: 260
Metro Rapid: 762
Montebello Transit: 10, 40, 341, 342
El Sol: City Terrace/ELAC, Whittier Blvd/Saybrook Park 		November 15, 2009 East Los Angeles
Template:LA Metro stationL Line  Metro Local: 258
Montebello Transit:40
El Sol: City Terrace/ELAC, Union Pacific/Salazar Park, Whittier Blvd/Saybrook Park 		November 15, 2009
Template:LA Metro stationL Line  Metro Local: 256
Montebello Transit: 40
El Sol: Union Pacific/Salazar Park, Whittier Blvd/Saybrook Park 		November 15, 2009
Template:LA Metro stationL Line  Metro Local: 30, 68 Shuttle (Weekdays Only), 254, 620, 665
Montebello Transit: 40
Whittier Blvd/Saybrook Park 		November 15, 2009
Template:LA Metro stationL Line  Metro Local: 30, 251, 252, 605
Metro Rapid: 751 		November 15, 2009 Boyle Heights
Template:LA Metro stationL Line  Metro Local: 30, 620 November 15, 2009
Template:LA Metro stationL Line  Metro Local: 30 November 15, 2009
Template:LA Metro stationL Line  Metro Local: 30, 40, 330
LADOT: DASH Routes: A, D 		November 15, 2009
Template:LA Metro stationB Line D Line L Line J Line  Metro Red LineB Line 
Metro Purple LineD Line 
Metro Silver LineJ Line 
Metro Local: 33 (owl), 40, 68, 70, 71, 78, 79, 378
Metro Express:485, 487, 489
Metro Rapid: 704, 728, 733, 745, 770
Foothill Transit: Silver Streak
Amtrak Metrolink 		July 26, 2003
Template:LA Metro stationL Line  Metro Local: 45, 76, 81, 83, 84, 90, 91, 94, 96
Metro Rapid: 794
LADOT DASH: B, Lincoln Heights/Chinatown;
Commuter Express: 409, 419 		July 26, 2003
Template:LA Metro stationL Line  Metro Local:81, 84, 90, 91, 94, 251
Metro Rapid: 751, 794 		July 26, 2003
Template:LA Metro stationL Line  Metro Local: 81, 83 July 26, 2003
Template:LA Metro stationL Line  Metro Local: 81, 83 July 26, 2003
Template:LA Metro stationL Line  Metro Local: 81, 83, 256
DASH: Highland Park/Eagle Rock 		July 26, 2003
Template:LA Metro stationL Line  Metro Local: 176 July 26, 2003 South Pasadena
Template:LA Metro stationL Line  Metro Local: 260, 686, 687
Metro Rapid: 762 		July 26, 2003 Pasadena
Template:LA Metro stationL Line  Metro Local: 177, 256, 260, 686, 687
Metro Rapid: 762 		July 26, 2003
Template:LA Metro stationL Line  Metro Local: 180, 181, 256, 260, 267, 686, 687
Metro Rapid: 762, 780 		July 26, 2003
Template:LA Metro stationL Line  Metro Local: 180
Metro Express: 485 		July 26, 2003
Template:LA Metro stationL Line  Metro Local: 256, 686 July 26, 2003
Template:LA Metro stationL Line  Metro Local: 181, 264, 266, 268
Metro Express: 487
Foothill Transit: 187 		July 26, 2003

Operations

A new AnsaldoBreda P2550 train at Highland Park

The Gold Line is operated out of the Division 21 Yard (Los Angeles River Yard) located on Elysian Park Drive overlooking the Los Angeles River. This yard stores the fleet used on the Gold Line. It is also where maintenance is done on the fleet. Trains access this yard via a single track junction near North Broadway. Northbound Trains may enter without difficulty, while soutbound trains must transfer onto a side track then reverse into the yard.

Rolling stock

Gold Line trains are typically two-car trains, except in evenings and weekend mornings when they consist of single cars. On New Year's Day, the Gold Line uses three-car trains for service to the Tournament of Roses Parade and the Rose Bowl Game. Service operates from approximately 4 am to 1 am, with service approximately every 6 minutes during peak hours, 12 minutes middays, every 6 minutes on weekends, and 20 minutes until the close of service.

Trains are composed of articulated light rail vehicles (LRVs) which are compatible with Metro's light rail systems. As of April 2012, the Gold Line uses 50 AnsaldoBreda P2550 LRVs. The Metro Gold Line has 50 active cars (701–750).

The Metro Gold Line has 50 AnsaldoBreda P2550 cars (701–750) in use. P2550s have been featured in many television ads by Metro. Metro transferred the last of the Gold Line's Siemens P2000 trains in April of 2012 to the Blue Line to transfer some overhauled Nippon Sharyo P850 (100–153) cars to Expo Phase 1 while the Ansaldobreda P2550 cars replaced the Siemens P2000 trains on the Gold Line.

Commemorative cars

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".[9]

Advertising

On October 3, 2007, Metro Gold Line trains began having advertisement banners on the sides of trains, like on the Metro Green Line. 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 were added on car 246. On July 14, 2008, banner ads were added on cars 229, 235, 236, 238, 239, 244, 250, and 302.

Gallery

  • Gold Line train platform at Union Station.
    Gold Line train platform at Union Station.
  • Gold Line train crosses W Avenue 33 at Artesian St with gates down, northeast of Lincoln Heights / Cypress Park Station
    Gold Line train crosses W Avenue 33 at Artesian St with gates down, northeast of Lincoln Heights / Cypress Park Station
  • Gold Line train runs through South Pasadena.
    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
    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
  • Construction (2014) of the Gold Line, near Duarte, CA. Tracks are laid, but overhead catenary has not been installed yet.
    Construction (2014) of the Gold Line, near Duarte, CA. Tracks are laid, but overhead catenary has not been installed yet.

Incidents

The following noteworthy incidents have occurred on the Gold Line since opening.

  • August 12, 2004 – An SUV flipped and crashed into the center wall of the Foothill Freeway (Interstate 210) near the Madre Street exit killing three and injuring five others, including an 8-year-old boy who was hurled onto the adjacent Metro Gold Line tracks where his foot was severed by a passing train. No train passengers were hurt. Investigators believe the driver drifted to the right and then swerved to the left to avoid hitting another vehicle.[10]
  • September 11, 2007 – A driver was critically injured and six passengers, including an LA County Deputy Sheriff and the train operator, suffered minor injuries when a pickup truck ran a red light at Avenue 55 and Marmion Way before being hit by a train.[11][12]
  • September 21, 2007 – Six people suffered non-life threatening injuries, including two minor injuries after 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. The vehicle caught fire and a section of the train was also burnt. It was claimed that the female SUV driver had tried to beat the train. A local resident extinguished the fire in the car with a garden hose before Los Angeles Firefighters arrived.[13][14][15]
  • October 13, 2007 – Service was suspended for 12 hours at 1:20 am after a big rig hit the center divider of the eastbound Foothill Freeway at Sierra Madre Blvd. and went on the Metro Gold Line tracks. During the course of the accident, buses were provided to bypass the accident site.[16][17]
  • August 26, 2011 – An altercation between passengers resulted in a non-fatal stabbing during a trip through Pasadena. The train was stopped at the Memorial Park station where the victim was transported to a hospital and the suspect was detained.[18]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Facts at a Glance".  Metro (LACMTA). Retrieved November 16, 2013.
  2. ^ a b c "Ridership Statistics - Rail Ridership Estimates".  Metro (LACMTA). August 20, 2013. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Monthly Ridership Plot" (PDF) (pdf).  Metro (LACMTA). November 2013. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Gold Line timetable" (PDF) (pdf).  Metro (LACMTA). December 15, 2013. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  5. ^ a b c "Metro Bus & Rail System Map" (PDF) (pdf).  Metro (LACMTA). December 2013. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
  6. ^ "Metro Gold Line Trains Now Run Faster, More Frequently".  Metro (LACMTA). November 3, 2006. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
  7. ^ "More frequent Gold Line and Silver Line service begins soon". The Source.  Metro (LACMTA). June 21, 2011. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
  8. ^ "Eastside Transit Corridor Phase 2".  Metro (LACMTA). December 16, 2011. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
  9. ^ "L.A. Metro, Rose Queen® and Royal Court Roll Out Special Commemorative Metro Gold Line Train for 119th Tournament of Roses Parade and 94th Rose Bowl Game®".  Metro (LACMTA). December 21, 2007. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
  10. ^ Allen, Marshall; Hoffman, Gretchen (August 13, 2004). "3 killed, 5 injured in crash on Foothill Freeway". Pasadena Star News.
  11. ^ "7 hurt when Gold Line train hits truck at Highland Park crossing – Los Angeles Times". [dead link]
  12. ^ Train, truck collide – Pasadena Star-News
  13. ^ Abdollah, Tami; Rabin, Jeffrey L. (September 22, 2007). "6 hurt when Gold Line train hits vehicle". Los Angeles Times.
  14. ^ http://www.myfoxla.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=4422027&version=9&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1
  15. ^ abc7.com: Car Collides With Metro Gold Line Train 9/25/07
  16. ^ Big rig hits Gold Line tracks, causes traffic – Pasadena Star-News
  17. ^ http://cbs2.com/topstories/local_story_286160310.html
  18. ^ Knoll, Corina. "Gold Line stabbing victim in critical but stable condition". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 27, 2011.

External links

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