L.A. Rail Extension Enables Trips Between Downtown and Santa Monica

Los Angeles’s first rail line connecting downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica in more than six decades went into service on May 20.

LA Metro’s Expo Line began ferrying riders to downtown Santa Monica following the completion of a 6.6-mile leg between Santa Monica and Culver City that cost $1.5 billion. On the first commuter day after service began, about 12,000 new riders used the line.

The 15-mile route, which takes about 45 minutes, is the first rail line connecting downtown Los Angeles to the beach since the Pacific Electric streetcar system (known locally as the Red Car System) stopped running in 1953. The downtown Santa Monica station is three blocks east of the Santa Monica pier.