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The C Line (formerly the Green Line from 1995 to 2020) is a light rail line running between Redondo Beach and Norwalk within
Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...
. It is one of seven lines forming the
Los Angeles Metro Rail The Los Angeles Metro Rail is an urban rail transit system serving Los Angeles County, California, United States. It consists of seven lines, including five light rail lines (the A Line (Los Angeles Metro), A, C Line (Los Angeles Metro), C, E Li ...
system, and opened on August 12, 1995. Along the route, the line serves the cities of
Downey Downey may refer to: People *Downey (surname) *Robert Downey Jr. Places *Downey, California, US *Downey, Idaho, US *Downey, Iowa, US Businesses *W. & D. Downey, photographic studio *Downey Studios, created out of a former Boeing plant Schools * ...
, El Segundo,
Hawthorne Hawthorne often refers to the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne may also refer to: Places Australia *Hawthorne, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane Canada * Hawthorne Village, Ontario, a suburb of Milton, Ontario United States * Hawt ...
, Norwalk and Lynwood, the Los Angeles community of Westchester, and several unincorporated communities in the
South Los Angeles South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown. It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as ...
region including
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,
Del Aire Del Aire () (Spanish language, Spanish for "Of The Air") is a census-designated place (CDP) in the inland South Bay, Los Angeles County, California, United States, between El Segundo, California, El Segundo and Hawthorne, California, Hawthorne. Th ...
, and Willowbrook. A free shuttle bus to
Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...
(LAX) is available at the line's
Aviation/LAX station Aviation/LAX station is an elevated light rail station on the C Line of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system. It is located over Aviation Boulevard, after which the station is named, near its intersection with Imperial Highway and just south of ...
. The fully
grade-separated In civil engineering (more specifically highway engineering), grade separation is a method of aligning a junction of two or more surface transport axes at different heights (grades) so that they will not disrupt the traffic flow on other tran ...
route (essentially a
light metro A medium-capacity system (MCS), also known as light rapid transit or light metro, is a rail transport system with a capacity greater than light rail, but less than typical heavy-rail rapid transit. MCS’s trains are usually 1-4 cars, or 1 ligh ...
) runs mostly in the
median In statistics and probability theory, the median is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a data sample, a population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as "the middle" value. The basic fe ...
of the
Century Freeway A century is a period of 100 year A year or annus is the orbital period of a planetary body, for example, the Earth, moving in its orbit around the Sun. Due to the Earth's axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, ...
(Interstate 105) for its eastern portion, and on an
elevated An elevated railway or elevated train (also known as an el train for short) is a rapid transit railway with the Track (rail transport), tracks above street level on a viaduct or other elevated structure (usually constructed from steel, cast i ...
viaduct for its western portion. A connection between the
K Line is a Japanese transportation company. It owns a fleet that includes dry cargo ships (bulk carriers), container ships, liquefied natural gas carriers, Ro-Ro ships, tankers, and container terminals. It used to be the fourteenth largest contai ...
and the current C Line is currently under construction and is scheduled to enter service in 2023. The two lines will be integrated and services realigned at that time, although the service pattern has yet to be determined.


Service description


Route

The entire route of the C Line is grade-separated, with its tracks following the median of the
Century Freeway A century is a period of 100 year A year or annus is the orbital period of a planetary body, for example, the Earth, moving in its orbit around the Sun. Due to the Earth's axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, ...
(Interstate 105) or an
elevated An elevated railway or elevated train (also known as an el train for short) is a rapid transit railway with the Track (rail transport), tracks above street level on a viaduct or other elevated structure (usually constructed from steel, cast i ...
guideway. The line begins in the west at station, then heads roughly north through El Segundo. At , passengers can transfer to any one of several bus lines from different operators, including
LAX Shuttle Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...
route M which provides free service to
Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...
. From here, the C Line heads east in the median of the Century Freeway, with a connection to the Metro J Line bus rapid transit line at the
Harbor Freeway Station Harbor Freeway station (formerly Harbor Freeway/I-105 station) is a transport hub located on the Harbor Transitway, within the Judge Harry Pregerson Interchange of Interstate 105 and Interstate 110 near Figueroa Street in the neighborhood o ...
. It then continues to a major transfer connection at the
Willowbrook/Rosa Parks station Willowbrook/Rosa Parks station (formerly Imperial/Wilmington/Rosa Parks station) is a major transport hub and Los Angeles Metro Rail station that serves the A Line and C Line. The station, located at the intersection of Imperial Highway and ...
(transfer point to the A Line). Finally, the line terminates in the city of Norwalk, just east of the
605 Freeway Interstate 605 (abbreviated I-605, officially known as the San Gabriel River Freeway) is a major north–south List of auxiliary Interstate Highways, auxiliary Interstate Highway in the Greater Los Angeles urban area of Southern California ...
. A junction at Willowbrook/Rosa Parks allows trains to transfer to A Line tracks for maintenance and other non-revenue operations. When the C Line began service in 1995, it operated with only one-car trains. As ridership increased, two-car trains were then used. Ridership on the C Line has not been as high as the A Line, although it did have a higher ridership than the L Line (Gold) until 2013. Although all of the C Line stations in the median of the Century Freeway were built by Caltrans to accommodate three-car trains, the five Metro-built stations west of the freeway only have room for two-car trains. The line does not serve
Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is ...
but passengers can reach it by connecting with the J Line busway at
Harbor Freeway Station Harbor Freeway station (formerly Harbor Freeway/I-105 station) is a transport hub located on the Harbor Transitway, within the Judge Harry Pregerson Interchange of Interstate 105 and Interstate 110 near Figueroa Street in the neighborhood o ...
, the A Line light rail at
Willowbrook/Rosa Parks station Willowbrook/Rosa Parks station (formerly Imperial/Wilmington/Rosa Parks station) is a major transport hub and Los Angeles Metro Rail station that serves the A Line and C Line. The station, located at the intersection of Imperial Highway and ...
, or Metro Bus Express route at Norwalk station.


Hours of operation

Metro C Line trains run between approximately 3:30 am. and midnight daily, with a scheduled running time of 34 minutes from end to end. Service on Friday and Saturday nights continues until approximately 2:15 am. The C Line runs with one-car trains in the early mornings (3:35 am–5:30 am) and late evenings (9:00 pm–12:55 am).


Headways

Trains on the C Line operate every seven to eight minutes during peak hours Monday through Friday. They operate every 15 minutes during the midday and all day on the weekends, with night service running every 20 minutes.


Speed

The C Line is the fastest line in the Metro Rail network, because trains are able to operate at speeds up to for most of their route as trains run in the median of the I-105 freeway, not having at-grade street service like other lines such as the A Line. The line has complete grade separation, with relatively long station spacing, and a mostly straight alignment. The C Line takes 34 minutes to travel , at an average speed of . This is 31% faster than the Metro L Line, 38% faster than the
Metro A Line The Metro A Line is a bus rapid transit line in the Twin Cities, Minnesota operated by Metro Transit. The A Line operates primarily along the Snelling Avenue corridor and travels through the cities of Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Falcon Heights, a ...
, and 74% faster than the
Metro E Line The Metro E Line is a planned bus rapid transit route in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Edina. The route will operate from Southdale Center Transit Center in Edina, Minnesota to Westgate station in St. Paul. Running mostly on France Avenue, Hennepi ...
.


Station listing

The C Line consists of the following 14 stations (from west to east):


Ridership


History

In 1972,
Caltrans The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an Executive (government), executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the Government of California#State agencies, cabinet-level California State Tran ...
signed a consent decree to allow construction of the fiercely opposed
Century Freeway A century is a period of 100 year A year or annus is the orbital period of a planetary body, for example, the Earth, moving in its orbit around the Sun. Due to the Earth's axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, ...
(Interstate 105), which included provisions for a transit corridor in the freeway's median as a way to help communities impacted by the new freeway. Construction began in 1987 on the corridor as a light rail line, envisioned as connection with the bedroom communities in the
Gateway Cities The Gateway Cities Region, or Southeast Los Angeles County (also shortened to Southeast Los Angeles and Southeast LA) is an urbanized region located in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, between the City of Los Angeles proper, Orange C ...
along the Century Freeway with the then-burgeoning aerospace center in El Segundo. The section in El Segundo would be fully elevated and follow the route of the
Harbor Subdivision The Harbor Subdivision is a historic single-track main line of the BNSF Railway which stretches between rail yards near downtown Los Angeles and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach across southwestern Los Angeles County. It was the primar ...
. From the beginning of the project, several compromises were made. Because Caltrans dropped a plan for the freeway to cross through Norwalk to Interstate 5, the line was denied a connection to the then-new Metrolink station. Additionally, although planners planned to add a spur to LAX, they did not include it in the initial project over fears that commuters would not use the line if they had to go through the airport on the way to work. The proposed extension to LAX was further complicated by concerns from the
Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
that the
overhead lines An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as: * Overhead catenary * Overhead contact system (OCS) * Overhead equipmen ...
of the rail line would interfere with the landing paths of airplanes. Amid ambivalence at LAX and L.A. City Hall, the plans to extend the line to the airport were shelved. The line opened on August 12, 1995, more than a year late, and $950 million over budget. By that time, the Cold War was over, and the aerospace sector in El Segundo was hemorrhaging jobs. The collapse of jobs in the area and the compromises made during construction limited the line's utility, earning it the nickname "the train to nowhere." One of the lessons learned from the line, and the
Harbor Transitway The Harbor Transitway (also known as the I-110 Express Lanes) is a shared-use express bus corridor (known as a busway or transitway) and high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes running in the median of Interstate 110 (Harbor Freeway) between Downtown ...
built at the same time, was that freeway median stations offer a poor rider experience, requiring customers to descend from bridges or climb stairs from dimly lit underpasses to isolated stations in the middle of a noisy and exhaust-ridden freeway. While stations generally have elevators as a necessary ADA accommodation, these sometimes fail, and have been known for having sanitation issues; escalators are also often out for maintenance or, with the C Line in particular, only available downward. Over time, the line did find riders and ridership grew steadily, peaking at nearly 13 million riders in 2014, driven by the 5,100 park-and-ride spaces and slowing traffic on the 105 freeway.


Future


Integration with the K Line

Varying service patterns have been proposed for integrating the completed K Line into the rest of the system over the course of its planning and construction, all of which have involved sharing trackage and infrastructure facilities with the existing C Line. Although some early proposals would've sent trains through all three directions of the wye that will connect the existing C Line with the new segment, this was rejected by Metro because it would cause too much wear and tear on the track switch mechanisms. The debate over service patterns proved somewhat contentious, as the final pattern must balance the needs of riders, operational needs, and the political constituencies of Metro's board members. In 2018, with the line then scheduled to open within the year, the Metro Board of Directors overrode a recommendation by operations staff that would've had a single line operating between Expo/Crenshaw and Norwalk station. Passengers from the Redondo Beach area would have been served by a shuttle to the LAX area, where they would need to transfer to another train to continue east or north. Instead, board members approved a one-year pilot of a configuration that would combine an Expo-to-Norwalk line with another line that would connect Redondo Beach with
Willowbrook/Rosa Parks station Willowbrook/Rosa Parks station (formerly Imperial/Wilmington/Rosa Parks station) is a major transport hub and Los Angeles Metro Rail station that serves the A Line and C Line. The station, located at the intersection of Imperial Highway and ...
, allowing transfers to the A and J Lines. The approved plan would incur higher operating expenses but board members argued it would retain better transfer opportunities for South Bay residents. Ongoing construction delays led to a reassessment of that plan in 2022. Metro recommended public outreach aimed at reformulating the operating plan before the connection to the C Line opens in 2023.


Southern Extension to South Bay

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...
is currently working on the initial environmental study of a corridor extension of the C Line from its Redondo terminus toward the southeast. The
Green Line Extension to Torrance The C Line Extension is a project by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority to extend the C Line (Los Angeles Metro), C Line (formerly known as the Green Line) from its terminus in Redondo Beach, California, Redondo Beach to ...
would roughly follow the
Harbor Subdivision The Harbor Subdivision is a historic single-track main line of the BNSF Railway which stretches between rail yards near downtown Los Angeles and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach across southwestern Los Angeles County. It was the primar ...
ROW into the South Bay, to the Torrance Regional Transit Center (RTC). Metro and the public are considering two alternatives in the DEIR: an elevated light-rail extension, and an at-grade extension over existing tracks, with vehicle type still to be determined. Study of the South Bay Extension will lead to publication of a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR). The study was expected to be completed in 2011. Project was placed on hold in Spring 2012 due to uncertain funding. With the passage of Measure M in 2016, $619 million was cited for the Green Line Extension south and the study resumed, which is currently scheduled for release in mid 2020 release. The study area includes the former
Harbor Subdivision The Harbor Subdivision is a historic single-track main line of the BNSF Railway which stretches between rail yards near downtown Los Angeles and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach across southwestern Los Angeles County. It was the primar ...
s right of way. The extension study includes the
Redondo Beach station Redondo Beach station is an elevated light rail station on the C Line of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system. It is located over Marine Avenue in the city of Redondo Beach, California, after which the station is named. It is currently the weste ...
to the Torrance Transit Center, a extension study area. According to the LA County Expenditure Plan (Measure M), groundbreaking for the project is scheduled for 2026, with expected opening in 2030–2033. The timeline is expected to be accelerated under the
Twenty-eight by '28 The Twenty-eight by '28 initiative is an effort set forth by former Mayor Eric Garcetti that the City of Los Angeles complete 28 transportation infrastructure projects before the start of the 2028 Summer Olympics on and the 2028 Summer Paralympics ...
initiative.


Eastern Extension to Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs station

The C Line's eastern terminus suffers from the fact that it stops two miles (3 km) just short of the heavily used Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs Metrolink station, where several Metrolink lines operate. Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs is also a proposed station on the
California High-Speed Rail California High-Speed Rail (also known as CAHSR or CHSR) is a publicly funded high-speed rail system currently under construction in California in the United States. Planning for the project began in 1996, when the California Legislature and Gover ...
project. Bus service, primarily via Norwalk Transit line 4, is provided between the Metrolink station and the C Line terminus, but schedules are not coordinated with the C Line's arrivals. While plans exist to close the gap, available Measure M funding allows for operation to start in roughly 2052.


Operations


Maintenance facilities

The C Line is operated out of the Division 22 (Hawthorne Yard & Shop) and Division 16 (Southwestern Yard). These yards stores the fleet used on the C line. Light maintenance is done on the fleet in Division 22 and heavier maintenance is done in Division 16. Division 22 is located between Redondo Beach and
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stations. Trains enter the yard via a junction halfway between the two stations. Norwalk-bound trains (Northbound) may enter but there is no exit track to continue North. Redondo Beach-bound trains (Southbound) may enter and exit the Yard to continue south. Division 16 is located on the completed section of the
K Line is a Japanese transportation company. It owns a fleet that includes dry cargo ships (bulk carriers), container ships, liquefied natural gas carriers, Ro-Ro ships, tankers, and container terminals. It used to be the fourteenth largest contai ...
near the future site of in Westchester.


Rolling stock

At the time the Green Line opened, the line used a fleet of Nippon Sharyo P2020 light rail vehicles, which were very similar to the older Nippon Sharyo P865 vehicles used on the Blue Line. In late 2001, the P2020 fleet was transferred to the Blue Line, and the Green Line received new Siemens P2000 railcars that have been operating on the line ever since. Kinki Sharyo P3010 trains are also used. Trains are limited to two-car sets due to platform length limitations at some stations along the line.


Incidents

* On February 22, 2015, a train near the Hawthorne/Lennox station struck and killed a man who was trespassing onto the tracks. * On August 24, 2018, a collision involving a tanker truck on the westbound lanes of the I-105 between Vermont Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard exploded with flames that crawled onto the tracks and damaged the catenary system. The rail line and the freeway were both closed for clean up and repairs.


References


External links


MTA Home Page



Green Line connections overview

Green Line schedule
{{authority control
Los Angeles County Metro Rail The Los Angeles Metro Rail is an urban rail transit system serving Los Angeles County, California, United States. It consists of seven lines, including five light rail lines (the A, C, E, K, L lines) and two rapid transit (known locally a ...
Light rail in California Public transportation in Los Angeles Public transportation in Los Angeles County, California Railway lines opened in 1995 Railway lines in highway medians 1995 establishments in California