Orange Line (Los Angeles Metro)

Operation

Metro Orange Line buses to Chatsworth operate 24 hours a day.^[3] At peak hours (between 6 am and 7pm eastbound, 5 am and 6 pm westbound), alternate buses run only between North Hollywood and Canoga Station. Passengers can transfer at Canoga to a shuttle bus that serves the Warner Center area, including the former Orange Line station.

Station list

Former Stations

Stations	City/ Neighborhood	Date Opened	Date Closed
Warner Center	Woodland Hills	October 29, 2005	June 24, 2018[6]

Gallery

Metro Orange Line departing Balboa Station for North Hollywood 

Canoga Station, Canoga Park 

Warner Center Transit Hub, Woodland Hills 

Ridership

Maximum recorded average weekday boardings were 31,904 during September 2013.^[1] While usage initially fell during the Great Recession with average weekday boarding running at 22,669 in 2010, it has since rebounded, averaging 28,263 weekday boardings so far in 2015.^[1]

Level crossings

Collisions

Orange Line bus crossing a level crossing at Burbank Boulevard and Fulton Avenue

Detail of yellow LED BUS sign

Collisions with automobiles occurred weekly during the first several months of operations. Metro has noted that the Orange Line had about the same accident rate as other bus lines in the city on a per-mile basis,^[7][8] and has stated that the line's accident rate is "less than half" of Metro's entire fleet of buses.^[9] The Blue Line also had a significant number of collisions in its early years and currently has the highest fatality rate in North America.^[10]

Metro issued slow orders after two collisions in November 2005 involving a critically injured driver. Buses were required to slow to 10 mi/h (16 km/h) vs. 25–30 mi/h (40–50 km/h).^[11][12]

In December 2005, Metro called for the installation of red-light cameras at most intersections.^[13]

Capacity

There is concern that the Orange Line will soon reach its engineered capacity, and has exceeded its designed capacity during peak periods^[14] During peak hours, the signaling system is designed to balance the Orange Line buses with vehicle cross traffic. Adding more buses requires platooning, or bunching, which is the running of convoys of two or more buses together, similar to what rail achieves in having multiple cars per train. Greater signal prioritization is also an option, and comes at the cost of decreasing cross street travel times and capacity. Another alternative requires the changing of state law or the granting of a Caltrans exemption from state law and the purchasing of 80-foot-long (24 m) buses.^[15]

Objections

Objections cited included noise and perceived danger to a large Orthodox Jewish community which the line bisects. Because Shabbat prohibits driving or using electricity from sundown Friday through Saturday, those travelling to synagogue are compelled to walk and, while not backed by any studies, claim to be exposed to greater potential danger by crossing the line on foot, especially at night. Groups were organized and funded by the community to kill anything but a subway.^[17][18]

Prior to his 1993 conviction and prison sentence for accepting bribes,^[19] California state Senator Alan Robbins introduced a piece of legislation which prohibited the use of the corridor for "any form of rail transit other than a deep bore subway located at least 25 feet below ground." The California Legislature passed it as law in 1991 during what was called "the days of LA anti-rail zealotry".^[20][21][22] Governor Jerry Brown eventually repealed the Robbins Laws (via State Assembly Bill 577 [AB 577]) on July 8, 2014, permitting the corridor to be used for railroad purposes.^[23]

Busway option proposal

In response to the Robbins law, supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky promoted and Los Angeles County passed Proposition A in 1998, which prohibited Metro from using its county sales tax funding to build subways anywhere in the county.^[21] With subway and light rail legally prohibited, but with growing political pressure to use the former railbed for "something," the only available, legal option to make use of the transit corridor was to build a busway—which was also immediately opposed by neighborhood groups, however a restriction on busways was never included in the already-passed Robbins law—allowing it to move forward.

$44.8 million of Proposition 108 money, (the Passenger Rail and Clean Air Bond Act of 1990) was used for the purchase of the roadbed. Since the voter-approved bond specifically stated that the money was to be used only for rail infrastructure and operation, the California Transportation Commission is entitled to repayment of said funds in current dollars unless the Orange Line is converted to a railway within ten years of completion of the busway (this repayment deadline would be 2015).^[21]

Construction began in September 2002. During construction the contractor experienced several delays: a dead body found tucked in a barrel along the alignment, and toxic soil had to be removed.

Construction halt

In July 2004, an appeal by a local citizens' group known as C.O.S.T. (Citizens Organized for Smart Transit) was successful in convincing the California Court of Appeal to order a temporary halt to construction, claiming a network of Rapid Lines should have been studied as a possible alternative to the Metro Orange Line. The legal maneuver was unsuccessful in terminating the project, but costs to taxpayers for the 30-day shutdown were $70,000 per day ($2.1 million total) to hold workers and equipment while the matter was resolved. The lawsuit was eventually thrown out of court by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David P. Yaffe who also ordered C.O.S.T. members to pay $37,415.81 to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for document-preparation work related to the case.^[24]

Opening

The line opened on October 29, 2005, at a final cost of $324 million ($23 million per mile).^[25]

Operational adjustments

On December 12, 2006, Metro closed the transitway between Tujunga Avenue in North Hollywood and Fulton Avenue in Valley Glen (at the Valley College station) to repave the transitway surface that Metro says is showing signs of wear.^[26] The closure was expected to last approximately two weeks to rebuild the busway's crumbling pavement.

In January 2007, Metro began testing a longer 65-foot (20 m) bus to increase capacity. The agency had to receive a special waiver from Caltrans to operate the bus for testing purposes, since current state law only allows the operation of buses 60 feet (18 m) or shorter.^[27] 65-foot (20 m) buses have a seating capacity of 66 passengers and can accommodate 100 passengers.^[28]

From early October to mid-December 2008, Metro again repaved portions of the transitway to repair wear on some segments of asphalt and upgrade the pavement to accommodate future traffic growth.

Chatsworth extension

Metro Orange Line at Chatsworth Metro Orange Line Station. The 4-mile extension from Canoga Station to Chatsworth opened June 30, 2012.

On June 23, 2009 construction began on a four-mile (6 km) extension from Canoga northward to the Metrolink station in Chatsworth. Metro's board approved the plan on September 28, 2006, and it was completed in 2012 at a cost of $215 million.^[29][30][31] This continues to follow the abandoned SP Burbank Branch roadbed. Revenue service opened on June 30, 2012.^[32]

When the Chatsworth extension of the Metro Orange Line opened on June 30, 2012, several NABI 45-foot Compo buses were assigned for the Metro Orange Line weekday peak period shuttle between Chatsworth station and Warner Center. The 45-foot Compo buses are only assigned to run on the shuttle trips. These buses are painted in the Metro Local scheme. Additionally, these buses are similar to the buses used in the Metro Silver Line in terms of length and interior design (except Silver Line buses are painted in a distinctive silver color scheme branding the Metro Silver Line).

Elimination of Warner Center branch

On June 24, 2018, the one-stop branch to Warner Center station was eliminated. Service to the nearby area, including Canoga, Warner Center, and the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center of Woodland Hills, is instead provided by a shuttle bus service with 10-minute all-day headways. With this change, the Orange Line serves platform 3 only for discharge, and does not serve platform 4. Alternating Orange Line buses terminate at Canoga.^[33]

Electrification

In July 2017, Metro voted to begin a transition to an all-electric bus fleet. While the entire fleet will probably not be replaced until 2030, the transition on the two Metro Busway lines will begin much sooner. A contract was signed to purchase 35 60-foot articulated zero emission New Flyer XE60 buses for the Orange Line, with all-electric service on the line expected by 2020.^[34]

Grade separation and crossing gates

As part of the package of enhancement to the LA Metro system approved by voters in 2016 with Measure M, in October 2017 Metro recommended a series of improvements to the Orange Line. These include quad crossing gates at 34 intersections, and the construction of a mile-long elevated section between Sepulveda and Van Nuys Boulevard. These improvements would eliminate much of the time Orange Line buses spend waiting at red lights, and would cut end-to-end travel time along the entire route by 29%. Projected construction costs are $283 million.

The project is currently in the planning and public outreach phase, but the goal is to begin construction in 2019 and complete it by 2025.^[35][36]

Possible Burbank extensions

Two possible extensions of the Orange Line to Burbank have been proposed. One possible extension proposed by transit advocates, including members of The Transit Coalition,^[37] is an extension from North Hollywood station to Hollywood Burbank Airport, which would run north on Vineland Avenue and east on Vanowen Street to the airport, to connect with the Metrolink station.

Another extension proposed is from the North Hollywood Station along Chandler Boulevard that would connect to the Burbank Downtown Metrolink Station.^[38] The 3.9 mile long arrangement would provide increased access to commuter rail as well as transit access to the pedestrian-friendly entertainment and retail district of Downtown Burbank at the proposed new terminus. Proponents of this expansion also argue that the extended line could eventually serve as the beginning of a San Fernando Valley / Orange Line to Pasadena / Gold Line connection.

As of October 2011, both the Bob Hope Airport and Downtown Burbank extension options are being studied, in addition to other potential BRT routes in Los Angeles County. The abandoned roadbed east of North Hollywood Station was converted into the Chandler Bikeway rail trail.^[39]

Conversion to light rail

When purchased in 1991, Metro originally considered the route for use as either light rail or a Red Line extension: both ideas have been discussed repeatedly by train advocates. A railroad route would allow longer vehicles and higher operating speeds. The conversion back to a railroad would be relatively inexpensive: former mayor Richard Riordan described it as the "least expensive rail alternative" of the lines under consideration.^[40] However, there are several legal and political challenges. Until 2014, Metro was prohibited by law from converting the Orange Line to any form of rail other than a subway. Due to a 1998 proposition, Metro also cannot spend the sales tax revenue from previously passed propositions, but can use revenue from subsequent tax increase propositions such as Measure R funds (conversion of Orange Line to rail is not included in any Measure R projects, but does include the "subway to the sea" along Wilshire Boulevard and other subway proposals) and other sources of revenue on subways.

Metro has been criticized for removing railroad tracks that were already in place for a significant length of the Orange Line's route; however, Metro would have had to remove and replace these tracks anyway if the line had been built as light rail or a subway. In October 2013, Los Angeles City 4th District Councilman Tom LaBonge introduced a motion to support the repeal of Public Utilities Code section 130265 (1991's SB 211, or Robbins Bill) and support of any legislative and/or administrative action by Metro which would prioritize the development of rail-based transit. The motion was passed by the City Council on October 29, 2013 and approved by the Mayor on November 6, 2013.^[41]

In April 2015, a report prepared for Metro estimated that conversion of the Orange Line to light rail would take two to three years and cost between $1.2 and $1.7 billion. This price would include not only the upgraded infrastructure but the vehicles to run on it. Improvements to the busway to improve capacity, including more and larger buses and grade separation at busy intersections, could be implemented for $230 to $350 million. The report noted that if not upgraded in some way in the near future, the Orange Line would soon reach capacity at rush hours.^[42]

As the above projects are phased in, long term plans in 2018 had full conversion planned to take place by 2050.^[36]