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Los Angeles Metro Rail

The Los Angeles Metro Rail is an urban transit system in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). The system has a total of six lines and 110 stations. Four lines are light rail (A, C, E, K), and two are rapid transit (B and D). The Los Angeles Metro Rail system also connects to the Metro Busway (G & J), Metrolink, Amtrak, and other transit services.

Los Angeles Metro Rail
Lametro.svg
Info
OwnerLos Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Transit type
Number of lines6
Number of stations110
Daily ridership184,400 (weekdays, Q4 2023)
Chief executiveStephanie Wiggins
Websitemetro.net
Operation
Began operationJuly 14, 1990
Technical
System length121.2 mi (195.1 km)[1]
Route map

Los Angeles Metro System Map.png

The A Line is the oldest in the system. It opened on July 14, 1990. Since then, the system continued to expand to more places. More expansions are currently under construction such as the D Line Extension to West Los Angeles.[2]

As of 2024, the Los Angeles Metro Rail light rail system is the busiest in the United States. The rapid transit lines are the ninth busiest.[3]

Current system

Lines

The Los Angeles Metro Rail system includes six lines and 110 stations. The lines used to be named by colors, but are now known by letters since 2020. Metro also uses the same line letter naming system for its Metro Busway lines.[4] Below is the list of the rail lines and how many stations each go to:

Line Name Stations Termini Type Opened
LACMTA Circle A Line.svg A Line 48 Pomona North

Downtown Long Beach

Light rail July 14, 1990
LACMTA Circle B Line.svg B Line 14 North Hollywood

Union Station

Rapid transit January 30, 1993
LACMTA Circle C Line.svg C Line 11 LAX/Metro Transit Center

Norwalk

Light rail August 12, 1995
LACMTA Circle D Line.svg D Line 11 Wilshire/La Cienega

Union Station

Rapid transit January 30, 1993
LACMTA Circle E Line.svg E Line 29 Downtown Santa Monica

Atlantic

Light rail April 28, 2012
LACMTA Circle K Line.svg K Line 13 Expo/Crenshaw

Redondo Beach

Light rail October 7, 2022

Stations

Metro C Line light rail train at Redondo Beach station

The Los Angeles Metro Rail system has 110 stations.[1] The light rail stations are mostly above ground, but some are underground. All rapid transit stations (B and D lines) are underground.[5][6] Each station has TAP Card machines, maps, electronic displays, and public artwork.[7] All stations are accessible with elevators or ramps.[8]

The underground stations are larger and have two levels. The top level is where passengers can buy tickets. The bottom level is where passengers board trains. The underground stations are built to withstand earthquakes.[9]

Fares

To travel on Metro Rail, all passengers need a Transit Access Pass (TAP) card. Riders can buy the card and add money to it at TAP Card machines at every station, at certain retail locations, or by using a mobile app. With a TAP card, one can switch between Metro lines for free within two hours after starting their ride. There are fare inspectors throughout the system who check if someone has a valid TAP card.[10][5]

Since July 2023, Metro has replaced its 1-Day, 7-Day, and 30-Day passes with fare capping. This means that riders never pay more than $5 (for up to 3 rides) in a day or $18 (for up to 11 rides) within seven days. Fares for students, seniors, disabled, or low-income riders are cheaper.[11][12] The table below shows the different fare types and their prices:

Fare type Regular Senior (62+)

Disabled/Medicare

Students

(K-12; College)

Low Income
One-way trip $1.75 $0.35 (all other times)

$0.75 (rush hours)

$0.75 20 free rides then Regular fare
1-Day Cap $5 $2.50 $2.50
7-Day Cap $18 $5 $6

Safety

The Los Angeles Metro Rail has the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department watch around half of the system's trains and stations. The Los Angeles Police Department is also responsible for stations in the city of Los Angeles. Security staff monitor the system via closed-circuit television cameras.[13]

History

Metro B Line rapid transit train at 7th Street/Metro Center

Before the Los Angeles Metro Rail system, Los Angeles County had two electric rail systems: the Pacific Electric Railway and the Los Angeles Railway. The systems operated in the early 1900s, with most lines closing by 1963.[14] The Pacific Electric Railway (often called the Red Cars) ran long routes between cities in Southern California. These routes were similar to today’s Metrolink commuter rail system. The Los Angeles Railway (often called the Yellow Cars) ran streetcar and trolley bus routes mostly within Los Angeles.[15] Real estate developers built many of these rail lines to serve new suburbs they were also building.[16]: Script error: The function "hyphen2dash" does not exist.  The two systems reached their largest size around 1925, carrying large numbers of riders on many routes. During World War II, ridership increased because gasoline was limited.[15] Overall, these rail lines influenced how the Los Angeles area grew and spread outward over time.[17]

In the 1920s, cars became cheaper, and many people were moving to Southern California. More people began using cars instead of public transit for travel. Trains became slower as they started sharing space with vehicle traffic. There were many plans to expand and make rail transit better in Los Angeles. However, city leaders chose to spend more public funds on roads and freeways instead of rail transit.[18] Starting in the mid-1920s, the electric rail lines began closing. Those routes were replaced with motor buses. Transit agencies thought buses were better because they were cheaper to run and could use the roads and freeways being built across the county.[15] In 1958, the systems were taken over by a government agency called the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA).[19] By 1963, the remaining lines were closed and replaced with buses.[20]

The A Line is the first light rail line in Los Angeles County

In the 1970s, people started wanting the return of rail transit. This was because traffic was increasing on the county's freeways and roads. Also, gasoline prices and the population of the area were growing quickly. During the decade, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) began planning the first new train lines. In 1980, Proposition A was passed to pay for the construction of the new lines.[21]

The Blue Line (now the A Line) was the first light rail line in Los Angeles constructed since Proposition A. It opened on July 14, 1990. It initially ran from Downtown Long Beach to Downtown Los Angeles at 7th Street/Metro Center station. From its start, the line was very popular.[22]

Los Angeles's first rapid transit lines (B and D) opened later in January 1993. The light rail system continued to expand with the C Line in 1995, the L Line in 2003 (now part of the A and E Lines), and the E Line in 2012. The newest line, the K Line, opened in 2022.[14]

Los Angeles Metro Rail Media

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Metro Facts at a Glance (November 12, 2024)Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
  2. ↑ Wiekel, Dan (November 7, 2014). "L.A.'s not-quite 'subway to the sea' finally breaks ground". Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-westside-subway-20141108-story.html. Retrieved 10 May 2015. 
  3. ↑ Public Transportation Ridership Report | Fourth Quarter 2023 (March 4, 2024)American Public Transportation Association. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  4. ↑ LA, meet our new lineup. LA Metro. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Guide to Los Angeles Public Transit (in en). Discover Los Angeles (December 8, 2025). Retrieved December 30, 2025.
  6. ↑ Division 20 Portal Widening & Turnback Facility (in en-US). LA Metro. Retrieved December 30, 2025.
  7. ↑ Artworks by Location (in en-US). Metro ArtLos Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
  8. ↑ Accessibility on Metro (in en-US). LA Metro. Retrieved December 30, 2025.
  9. ↑ Hymon, Steve. Designing a subway to withstand an earthquake (in en-US). The Source (August 10, 2012). Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  10. ↑ Fares (in en-US). LA Metro. Retrieved December 30, 2025.
  11. ↑ Fare Capping (in en-US). LA Metro. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  12. ↑ L.A. Metro Fare Capping Starts July 1 (in en). Streetsblog California (June 7, 2023). Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  13. ↑ LAPD Officers to Patrol Metro Buses, Trains in the City of Los Angeles (February 23, 2017)lamayor.org. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Elkind, Ethan. From Rail to Roads and Back Again: The Rebirth of L.A.'s Public Transit (in en-US). PBS SoCal (March 16, 2022). Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Barrett, Matthew. New Mass Transit Plans: Los Angeles 1951-PresentLos Angeles Metro. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
  16. ↑ Bottles, Scott L.. Los Angeles and the Automobile: The Making of the Modern City (1987). Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-91113-0. OCLC 44964634.
  17. ↑ Elkind, Ethan N.. Railtown : the fight for the Los Angeles metro rail and the future of the city (2014). Los Angeles: University of California Press. p. 6-7. ISBN 978-0-520-95720-6. OCLC 868963746.
  18. ↑ Bicknell, Kenn. Past Visions of Los Angeles’ Transportation Future: 1920s (in en-US). Metro's Primary Resources (August 8, 2020). Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  19. ↑ Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority (1951-1964) (in en-US). Metro's Primary Resources (July 15, 2024). Retrieved September 11, 2025.
  20. ↑ Morrison, Patt. Who killed L.A.’s streetcars? We all did (in en-US) (November 2, 2021)Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  21. ↑ Berkowitz, Eric (August 18, 2005). The Subway Mayor. http://www.laweekly.com/2005-08-18/news/the-subway-mayor/full/. Retrieved October 12, 2013. 
  22. ↑ MTA Starts 3-Car Train Service on Busy Metro Blue Line (in en-US). metro.net. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
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