Infra Insight Blog

The wait is nearly over: for those living on the Westside of Los Angeles, passenger rail transit will be available in just a few short months. Officials announced last month that the final extension of the Expo Line will open on May 20, extending service from Culver City to just a few blocks from the Santa Monica pier.

This will be the first passenger rail transit service to the far Westside since Pacific Electric streetcars stopped running to Santa Monica in 1953. The project completes the 15-mile Expo Line between downtown Los Angeles and Santa Monica. Train trips between downtown Santa Monica and downtown L.A. will take 46 minutes, giving riders a great alternative to driving the often congested Santa Monica Freeway.

Metro Board Chair Mark Ridley-Thomas voiced his support for the various transportation projects underway in Los Angeles County:

The progress that Metro has made building transportation infrastructure and providing better transit service in the last few years has been impressive, thanks to Los Angeles County voters. We’ve completed two rail projects, are building three others and we have a massive highway modernization project underway.

The Expo Line is an exciting and community-transforming project. Projects such as this are appearing more and more frequently in California and around the country and present great opportunities for both public agencies and the constituents they serve.