Blue Line (Los Angeles Metro)

The A Line (Blue) runs 22.0 miles (35.4 km) between Downtown Los Angeles and Downtown Long Beach and has 22 stations.[2]

The line's northern terminus is the underground 7th Street/Metro Center station, after rising to street level, trains run south along Flower Street, sharing tracks with the E Line (Expo). Passengers can connect to the J Line (Silver) bus rapid transit line at 7th Street/Metro Center, Pico, and Grand stations. The A and E Lines diverge at Flower Street and Washington Boulevard just south of downtown Los Angeles. Here the A Line (Blue) turns east on Washington Boulevard before turning south on Long Beach Avenue where it enters the former Pacific Electric right-of-way. This historic rail corridor has four tracks, with two used by Metro Rail trains and two by freight trains. There are some elevated sections as this private right of way cuts through more densely populated areas. Passengers can connect with the C Line (Green) at the Willowbrook station. Just south of Willow station, A Line (Blue) trains exit the rail corridor and follow Long Beach Boulevard into the city of Long Beach, where trains travel through the Long Beach Transit Mall while making a loop using 1st Street, Pacific Avenue and 8th Street.

Trains run between approximately 4:45 a.m. and 1:00 a.m. the following morning.[7] On Friday and Saturday evenings, trains are extended until 2:00 a.m. of the following morning. First and last train times are as follows:

To/From Long Beach

Northbound

• First Train to 7th Street/Metro Center: 4:46 a.m.
• Last Train to 7th Street/Metro Center: 12:03 a.m. (2:07 a.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings)

Southbound

• First Train to Long Beach: 5:00 a.m.
• Last Train to Long Beach: 1:01 a.m. (2:05 a.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings)

Of note, some trains operate at later or earlier times due to the A Line (Blue) making the turnaround in Downtown Long Beach.

Trains on the A Line (Blue) operate every six minutes during peak hours Monday through Friday.[8] They operate every twelve minutes during the daytime weekdays and all day on the weekends after approximately 9 a.m. (with a 15-minute headway early Saturday and Sunday mornings). Night service consists of ten-minute headways.

Originally during peak hours, every other train served only the stations between Willow and 7th Street/Metro Center to decrease the headway on that portion of the route. Willow was chosen because of its proximity to the A Line (Blue) storage yard and because it was the last southbound station with a park-and-ride lot. In the evening rush hour, riders saw some trains destined to "Willow" and others to "Long Beach". Consequently, those riders destined to Long Beach had to exit at Willow Station and wait for the next train, which would terminate at the Downtown Long Beach Station. This was discontinued after the New Blue Improvements Project was completed in 2019, with all trains now serving the full route from end to end.[9]

When the A Line (Blue) began operation in 1990, it was projected to have a daily ridership of 5,000.[10] However, it performed much better than expected, with daily ridership reaching 12,000 passengers within the first months of service and reaching 32,000 by the end of the first year of service.[10]

As of October 2018, the Blue Line had an average weekday ridership of 63,008, and Saturday and Sunday boardings of 30,579 and 30,314, respectively.[1] In 2017, the line saw a total of 22.38 million boardings.

Metro is currently constructing the Regional Connector, a light rail subway tunnel in Downtown Los Angeles that will connect the A and E Lines to the L Line (Gold) and allow a seamless "one-seat ride" between the A and E Lines' current terminus at 7th Street/Metro Center and Union Station. When this project is completed, the A, E, and L Lines will be simplified into the following:[14]

• A Line (Blue)
  • Northeastern half of the L Line (Gold) (north of Little Tokyo) will serve as an extension to current A Line
  • Will become world's longest light rail line at 49.7 mi (80.0 km) long, surpassing the 42 mi (68 km) Coast Tram in Belgium[15][16]
  • Gold Line Foothill Extension will also be absorbed under the A Line, extending it further to Montclair upon completion
• E Line (recolored from aqua to gold)
  • Southern half of Gold Line to East L.A. will be absorbed under current E Line (Expo)
  • It will not connect to Union Station

The groundbreaking for the construction of the Regional Connector Transit Corridor took place on September 30, 2014, and it is expected to be in public service in 2022.

A Line train arriving at 7th Street Metro Center.

The line often operates at capacity, and various options to increase capacity have been considered, such as four-car trains or more frequent trains. Both have problems: it would be difficult or impossible to lengthen some of the station platforms, and the number of trains already causes delays for other vehicles at level crossings. Thus it may not be possible to increase A Line (Blue) ridership without an extremely expensive grade-separation project, either by elevation, by an entrenchment method similar to that used by the nearby Alameda Corridor freight rail "expressway", or by building another parallel transit corridor to relieve capacity strains from the A Line (Blue). When the Regional Connector project linking A and E Line tracks with the L Line tracks in Little Tokyo is completed, this may result in even more capacity problems, with ridership expected to grow even more once the connector is open for service.

A Metro A Line train heading to Long Beach arrives at Willow Station.

Over 120 motorists and pedestrians have been killed at A Line (Blue) level crossings since 1990 and there have been more than 800 collisions,[17][18] making the line easily the country's deadliest and most collision-prone rail line.[19]

Train at the Slauson station

In 1998, the MTA commissioned Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc. to evaluate the cause of A Line collisions and recommend affordable solutions. The study reported the high ridership (over 70,000 per day) was a contributor:

"The MBL has one of the highest ridership counts for light rail lines in the Country. This factor is perhaps the most important contributor to the grade crossing accident rate. The high ridership results in increased pedestrian traffic near stations as compared to other light rail systems. In addition, although MTA Operations does not allow high passenger loads dictate safe operations, there is pressure to maintain travel times and headway schedule requirements (e.g., passenger trip from Los Angeles to Long Beach in less than one hour)."

Other identified contributing factors were the high local population density that leads to more pedestrian and vehicular traffic around the tracks, diverse varied socio-economic community around the line that creates literacy and language difficulties for public education campaigns, driver frustration due to the slow traffic speeds around the line that leads to more risk taking behavior, and the shared right-of-way with freight traffic in the fastest running section from Washington station to Willow station, where trains operate at a maximum of 55 mph (89 km/h) between stations.

The collision rate has declined somewhat following the installation of four-quadrant gates at some crossings where the A Line (Blue) shares the right-of-way with freight rail between Washington station and Del Amo station. The gates prevent drivers from going around lowered gates. In addition, cameras along some problem intersections issue traffic tickets when drivers go around gates.

Interior of a Nippon Sharyo train. The Metro Expo (E) Line used these trains for Phase 1 service.

The A Line (Blue) is operated out of the Division 11 Yard (208th Street Yard) located at 4170 East 208th Street. This yard stores the fleet used on the A Line (Blue). It is also where heavy maintenance is done on the fleet. The Yard is located between Del Amo and Wardlow stations. Trains get to this yard via a wye junction on the southbound tracks. Northbound trains can enter and exit the yard via the cross tracks on the north and south side of the junction.

Blue Line train in the 1990s

The A Line (Blue) uses three different types of rolling stock from Nippon Sharyo, Siemens, and Kinkisharyo.

When the Blue Line first opened in 1990, the line had 54 Nippon Sharyo P865 light rail vehicles, numbered 100–153. These cars wore a unique livery consisting of several blue stripes and a single red stripe, reflecting the Blue Line's color designation and its Pacific Electric Red Car heritage.

In 2000, Metro transferred all 15 Nippon Sharyo P2020 light rail vehicles from the Green Line to the Blue Line fleet. These light rail vehicles were nearly identical to the older P865 model, but were about five years newer.[20]

In 2012, Metro transferred some Siemens P2000 light rail vehicles from the Gold Line to the Blue Line fleet.

In 2017, the Blue Line received 78 Kinkisharyo P3010 light rail vehicles, the first new fleet of vehicles for the line since it opened in 1990. As the P3010 fleet was introduced, Metro gradually retired all of the remaining P865 light rail vehicles, the original vehicles used on the line.

A Line (Blue) vehicles are maintained and stored at the Division 11 yard in Long Beach between Del Amo and Wardlow stations. This facility has capacity for storing and maintaining 86 light rail cars.