E Line (Los Angeles Metro)

The E Line (formerly the Expo Line from 2012–2019) is a 22 mi light rail line in Los Angeles County, California. It is one of the six lines of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system, operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). The E Line runs east-west and serves 29 stations between East Los Angeles and Santa Monica. It interlines and shares five stations with the A Line in Downtown Los Angeles. Service operates for 21 hours per day with headways of up to 8 minutes during peak hours. The E Line, the second-busiest light rail line in the system, saw an average of 41,902 passengers on weekdays in October 2023.

The majority of the E Line’s western section from Downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica follows the original right-of-way of the Los Angeles and Independence Railroad steam railroad, built in 1875. Regular service on those railroad tracks ended in 1988 and was bought by Metro in the 1990s. Formal studies to convert the old line into light rail began in 2000, and construction on its first phase from Downtown Los Angeles to Culver City opened in 2012 as the Expo Line. The segment to Santa Monica opened later in 2016. The line was named the Expo Line since most of it follows or runs in the median of Exposition Boulevard. It was renamed the E Line in late 2019 while retaining the aqua-colored line and icons used to designate it on maps.

After the Regional Connector opened in June 2023, the E Line underwent significant expansion. The E Line was extended to East Los Angeles using a portion of the L Line light rail line. The project connected the existing E Line tracks in Downtown Los Angeles to the L Line tracks via a new tunnel underneath Downtown Los Angeles. With this change, the L Line service ended and was replaced with the E Line. The line's color designation changed to gold to reflect its expanded route and integration with the L Line tracks.

Speed
Short segments of the E Line are certified for speeds of up to 55 mph, but service speeds are much slower. All trips on the 22 mi mile line are scheduled at 69 minutes end-to-end, an average speed of 19 mph.

The E Line has drawn criticism for its slow speed, especially on its western segment. To improve reliability, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) continues to work with Metro to adjust traffic signals on Exposition Boulevard in favor of trains, and proposals have been made to reconstruct the junction of the A Line and E Line to speed up trains.

Station listing
The following is the complete list of stations, from west to east:

Ridership
The E Line had an annual ridership of 11,586,541 in 2023 and averaged 41,902 weekday riders that October. In 2012, the line averaged 19,092 weekday riders when the line opened from Downtown Los Angeles to Culver City. Its ridership increased gradually over the next four years, with an average of 33,264 weekday riders in 2015. When the E Line was extended to Santa Monica in May 2016, ridership dramatically rose, carrying an average of 54,073 weekday riders that December. Weekend ridership also increased from an average of 11,000 riders in 2012 to around 30,000 in 2016. The E Line's average weekday ridership peaked at 61,024 in 2018; it started to fall in 2019 due to service reductions and the COVID-19 pandemic, with a low of 24,930 average weekday riders in 2020.

Gold Line Eastside Extension
The oldest portion of today's E Line is the Gold Line Eastside Extension, the southern branch of the former Gold Line, and the first phase of the Eastside Transit Corridor. The Eastside Extension runs from Union Station east to Atlantic station in East Los Angeles, in a new right-of-way following 1st Street and 3rd Street.

Construction on the extension began in 2004 and service started on November 15, 2009, with Gold Line trains running through Union Station northeast to Pasadena. This service was in effect through 2020, extending to Azusa in 2016. The Gold Line was renamed the L Line in 2020 and split into two segments to prepare for construction of the Regional Connector. The Eastside Extension portion of the L Line (east of Pico/Aliso station) then operated as an independent line until 2023, when it was merged into the E Line.

Air Line becomes the Expo Line
The E Line's western section largely follows the right-of-way used by the Los Angeles and Independence Railroad steam railroad, built in 1875. The Pacific Electric company converted it to electric traction. It operated the line as the Santa Monica Air Line by 1920, with both freight and passenger services. Passenger service ended in 1953, and freight service stopped in 1988.

Local advocacy groups, including Friends 4 Expo Transit supported the successful passage of Proposition C in 1990, which allowed the purchase of the entire right-of-way from Southern Pacific by Metro. In 2000, an urban art group called Heavy Trash placed signs advertising a fictional "Aqua Line." The signs, with the text "Coming Soon," showed a subway route extending along Wilshire Boulevard to the Pacific Ocean, with ten stations. Although the campaign was a hoax, it demonstrated newfound support and revealed the frustrations surrounding the lack of rail service connecting Santa Monica and the Westside with Downtown Los Angeles. Metro released a Major Investment Study in 2000 which compared bus rapid transit and light rail transit options along what was later known as the "Mid-City/Exposition Corridor."

A joint powers authority, the Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority, was formed by the California State Legislature in 2003 to plan, design, and construct the line. The authority was governed by appointees from Metro, Los Angeles County, and the cities of Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and Culver City. After construction of the second phase was completed, the line was handed over on January 15, 2016, to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The line was built in two phases; the first phase comprised the 8.6 mi section between 7th Street/Metro Center station in Downtown Los Angeles and Culver City. Construction began in early 2006, and most stations opened to the public on April 28, 2012. Culver City station opened on June 20, 2012, in conjunction with the infill Farmdale station between Expo/La Brea station and Expo/Crenshaw station.

Construction on the 6.6 mi portion between Culver City and Santa Monica started in September 2011. Testing along the Phase 2 segment began on April 6, 2015, and the segment opened on May 20, 2016.

In 2019, Metro began a process where all Metro Rail and Busway lines would be identified by a letter name rather than the previous system of colors. As a result, the Expo Line became the E Line in 2019, and retained the aqua color until the opening of the Regional Connector Transit Project.

Regional Connector
The Regional Connector Transit Project constructed a 1.9 mile light rail tunnel through Downtown Los Angeles that connected the preexisting A and E Lines to the former L Line to allow for a seamless one-seat ride between the A and E lines' previous terminus at 7th Street/Metro Center station to Union Station and the Eastside. Two new stations were also constructed in the tunnel, providing more service to destinations and communities in Downtown Los Angeles.

Formal studies and planning for the Regional Connector began in 2004 and was approved in 2012. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on September 30, 2014, marking the start of major construction. To accommodate the new tunnel, the existing at-grade L Line Little Tokyo/Arts District station was demolished in 2020 and rebuilt as a subway station approximately 500 ft south and on the opposite side of Alameda Street from its former location. Starting on April 9, 2023, the A, E, and L Line trains ran through the Regional Connector tunnel for final testing. The project officially opened for revenue service on June 16, 2023.

Once the Regional Connector was completed, the alignment of the L Line was split into two parts at Little Tokyo/Arts District station, with the portion north of the station joined to the A Line, extending it to connect Long Beach with Azusa. The alignment east of Little Tokyo/Arts District station was assigned to the E Line, extending it to connect Santa Monica and East Los Angeles directly. The new east-west line kept the E Line name but uses the L Line's gold color. At this time, the L Line ceased to exist as a separate line.

Eastside Transit Corridor
The Eastside Transit Corridor is a project to extend the line in two phases from its eastern terminus at Atlantic station to Lambert station in Whittier. Partially funded by Measure M, construction is programmed to start in 2029 with service beginning in 2035, though the project may be accelerated as part Metro's plans to prepare for the 2028 Summer Olympics.

Operations
On Metro Rail's internal timetables, the E Line is called line 804. Before the opening of the Regional Connector, it was line 806.

Maintenance facilities
The E Line is operated out of two divisions, Metro’s term for train maintenance and storage facilities.

Division 14 is located east of Stewart Street and north of Exposition Boulevard in Santa Monica between and  stations. The facility opened in 2016 with the completion of Phase 2.

Division 21 is located at 1800 Baker Street between Elysian Park and the Los Angeles River in Chinatown between and  stations on the A Line. The facility opened in 2003 for the first phase of the Gold Line.

Rolling stock
The E Line operates trains with three cars on weekdays and two on weekends, except for weekend days with major events in Expo Park. The line currently uses one type of light rail vehicle; the Kinki Sharyo P3010.

Metro says that it takes 47 light rail vehicles to provide the maximum service on the E Line with 3-car trains running at 6-minute headways.

Bike pathways


The Expo Bike Path parallels the route of the light rail line between and  stations. The bikeway includes a mixture of bike lanes on Exposition Boulevard and off-street paths alongside the rail tracks.

Incidents

 * November 29, 2018 – a pedestrian was struck and killed. The man had been attempting to cross the tracks.
 * January 15, 2019 – a passenger fell from the platform between the cars and was dragged to death. They "have not yet been able to identify the individual as pieces of the victim's body are spread out."
 * May 2, 2019 – a man climbed a nearby construction crane and jumped to his death at Expo/Sepulveda station, landing on the tracks and temporarily halting transportation. Graphic footage of the incident was spread on social media websites, most notably Reddit.