D Line (Los Angeles Metro)
Metro Purple Line | |||
---|---|---|---|
Overview | |||
Owner | Metro Rail | ||
Transit type | Heavy rail | ||
Line number | 805 | ||
Number of stations | 8 | ||
Daily ridership | 149,096 (July 2016; avg. weekday, combined with Metro Red Line)[1] | ||
Website | Purple Line | ||
Operation | |||
Began operation | January 30, 1993 | (as a branch of the Red Line, renamed in 2006)||
Operator(s) | Metro (LACMTA) | ||
Character | Subway (fully underground) | ||
Number of vehicles | Breda A650 | ||
Train length | 4 cars (2 cars during off-peak hours) | ||
Technical | |||
System length | 6.5 mi (10.5 km)[2] | ||
No. of tracks | 2 | ||
Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge) | ||
Electrification | 750 V DC third rail | ||
|
The Purple Line is a heavy rail subway line operating in Los Angeles, running between downtown and the Mid-Wilshire/Koreatown districts. It is one of six lines on the Metro Rail System, operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
The Metro Purple Line is one of the city's two subway lines (along with the Metro Red Line). Although they separate west of Downtown Los Angeles, the two subway lines (Purple and Red) were originally branded as two branches of the Red Line. The Purple Line was instituted as its own line, separate from the Red Line, in 2006. As of October 2013[update], the combined Red and Purple lines averaged 169,478 boardings per weekday.[1] Out of the eight stations served, only two of them are exclusive to the Purple Line, with the other six shared with the Red Line.
Service description
Route
The Metro Purple Line begins at Union Station. At Union Station, passengers can connect to the Metro Silver Line bus rapid transit line, and the Metro Gold Line. The Purple Line travels southwest through Downtown Los Angeles, passing the Civic Center, Pershing Square (near the Historic Core) and the Financial District. Passengers can connect to the Metro Silver Line (both directions) at Civic Center Station. At Pershing Square Station, passengers can board the northbound Metro Silver Line bus at Olive Street/5th Street. At Template:LA Metro station Station, travelers can connect to the Metro Blue Line, Metro Expo Line and the Metro Silver Line. From here, the train travels between 7th Street and Wilshire Boulevard (and briefly Ingraham Street) west through Pico-Union and Westlake, arriving at Template:LA Metro station in the city's Mid-Wilshire/Koreatown district. Up to this point, track is shared with the Metro Red Line: at Wilshire/Vermont, the two lines diverge. The Purple Line continues west for one additional mile, and terminates at Template:LA Metro station.
Duplicate service on Wilshire
The Purple Line runs underground, below Wilshire Boulevard which is served on the surface by Metro Local route 20 and Metro Rapid route 720. Despite the duplicate service, Metro considers the redundant bus service justified because both bus routes run frequently from Downtown Los Angeles. Unlike the Purple Line, they run along the entire Wilshire corridor, west to Beverly Hills, Westwood and Santa Monica.
Hours of operation
Trains run between approximately 4:45 a.m. and 11:30 p.m. daily, with late night weekend service running until approximately 2:00 a.m.[3]
First and last train times are as follows:
To/From Wilshire/Western
- Eastbound
- First Train to Union Station: 4:41 a.m.
- Last Train to Union Station: 11:42 p.m. (2:01 a.m. Friday and Saturday nights)
- Westbound
- First Train to Wilshire/Western: 4:56 a.m.
- Last Train to Wilshire/Western: 11:27 p.m. (2:12 a.m. Friday and Saturday nights)
During the evenings Purple Line trains sometimes run as shuttles. Passengers must transfer to a Red Line train at Wilshire/Vermont. This will change once the Purple Line is extended to Westwood.
Headways
Trains on the Purple Line operate every ten minutes during peak hours Monday through Friday.[4] They operate every twelve minutes during the daytime weekdays and all day on the weekends after approximately 10 a.m. (with a 15-minute headway early Saturday and Sunday mornings). Night service can range between 10–20 minutes. Due to being paired with the Red Line, the headways between Union Station and Wilshire/Vermont are cut in half, so the Red/Purple Line trunk has trains running five to ten minutes throughout service times.
Ridership
The Purple Line is utilized mostly as a downtown shuttle on its shared segment with the Red Line. The stub between Vermont and Western has a very low ridership. According to Metro Service Coordinator Conan Cheung, the stub is operating 11% full during peak hours, and even lower at other times.[5]
History
The "Purple Line" was originally one of two main branches of the Red Line, which was completed in 1996 and opened as the second segment of the Red Line. It was part of a much longer Red Line plan to the Westside, until that plan was scrapped due to political opposition and geotechnical difficulties. Therefore, only one mile of this branch was ever built: a short stub connecting Template:LA Metro station and Template:LA Metro station. In 2006, the route operating between LA Union Station and Wilshire/Western Station was renamed the "Purple Line" to help distinguish it from the North Hollywood branch, which retained the name Red Line.
Current and proposed extension
Metro is now aiming to complete the subway to the Westside. The new project is called the Purple Line Extension (the project was previously called the Westside Subway Extension) and the first phase broke ground on November 7, 2014. Metro released the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) on March 19, 2012, and the first phase of the project (to Wilshire / La Cienega) was approved by Metro's Board of Directors on April 26, 2012.[6]
Station listing
The following table lists the stations of the Purple Line, from east to west:
Station | Connections | Date Opened | Station Parking | City/ Neighborhood |
---|---|---|---|---|
Union Station |
Metro Red Line
|
January 30, 1993 | Nearby Paid Parking (Independent) | Downtown Los Angeles |
Civic Center/Grand Park |
Metro Red Line
|
Nearby Paid Parking (Independent) | ||
Pershing Square |
Metro Red Line
|
Nearby Paid Parking (Independent) | ||
7th Street/Metro Center |
Metro Red Line
|
None | ||
Westlake/MacArthur Park |
|
None | Westlake | |
Wilshire/Vermont |
|
July 13, 1996 | Nearby Paid Parking (Independent) | Mid-Wilshire Koreatown |
Wilshire/Normandie |
|
None | ||
Wilshire/Western |
|
None | ||
Wilshire/La Brea (under construction) |
2023 | Miracle Mile | ||
Wilshire/Fairfax (under construction) |
Beverly Grove | |||
Wilshire/Cienega (under construction) |
Beverly Hills |
Operations
Maintenance
The Purple Line is operated out of the Division 20 Yard (Santa Fe Yard) located at 320 South Santa Fe Avenue Los Angeles. This yard stores the fleet used on the Red and Purple Line. It is also where heavy maintenance is done on the fleet. Subways get to this yard by continuing on after Union Station. Trains make a right turn before coming to surface level at Ducommun Street, and then travel south to 1st Street where they enter the yard.
Rolling stock
The Purple Line uses Breda A650 75-foot (23 m) electric multiple unit cars built by Breda in Italy. Trains usually run in four-car consists during peak hours and two-car consists outside of peak hours. The acceleration for cars #530 and up is similar to that of cars used by the Washington Metro because they both use General Electric traction motors.[7][8] The cars are maintained in a Metro yard on Santa Fe Drive near 4th Street alongside the Los Angeles River in Downtown Los Angeles.
See also
- Purple Line Extension
- Red Line (Los Angeles Metro)
- Los Angeles County Metro Rail
- Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
References
- ^ a b "Ridership Statistics - Rail Ridership Estimates". Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority. August 20, 2013. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
- ^ Simon, Richard; Rabin, Jeffrey L. (October 22, 1997). "Beleaguered MTA on Verge of Tunnel Triumph". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
- ^ "Red & Purple lines timetable" (PDF). Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority. June 23, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
- ^ "Metro Bus & Rail System Map" (PDF). Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority. December 2013. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
- ^ Gabbard, Dana (November 23, 2010). "Metro's Conan Cheung Updates on Next 18 Months of Service Planning". Streetsblog LA. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
- ^ "Purple Line Extension - Final EIR/EIS". Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority. February 6, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
- ^ Red line train
- ^ Washington Metro train