USA: The opening of a 14·7 km extension from APU/Citrus College to Pomona has taken the Los Angeles Metro’s A Line to 93 km with 48 stops, which the operator said makes it the longest light rail line in the world; the tramway running the length of the Belgian coast covers 67 km.
The ‘Rock the Rails’ opening celebrations on September 19 featured DJs, food trucks and live bands, as well as free travel until September 22.
A Line extension
The extension of the A Line adds four stops at Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne/Fairplex and Pomona North, where passengers can transfer to Metrolink’s San Bernardino Line commuter train services.
A Line services run every 8 min in the peaks, every 10 min off peak and every 20 min at night. Metro said journeys are often faster than driving the I-10 or I-210 freeways during rush hour.
$1·5bn construction project
The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority was formed to manage development of the light rail line from Los Angeles Union station to Pomona in three stages, originally as the standalone Gold Line before the route was incorporated into the A Line (previously known as the Blue Line).
The latest stage has cost $1·5bn, funded by a sales tax and state greenhouse gas reduction funds, as well as a $300m grant through California’s Transit & Intercity Rail Capital Programme.
The design-build contract was awarded to a Kiewit-Parsons Joint Venture in October 2019, and following design work major construction began in July 2020.
Between Glendora and Pomona the extension parallels a BNSF freight corridor also used by Metrolink commuter rail services. The project required relocation of the freight tracks, installing a pair of electrified light rail tracks, rebuilding 21 level crossings and building or renovating 19 bridges.
The project was awarded a $650 000 grant from CalRecycle to use tyre-derived aggregate as part of the project, and 548 200 tyres were used for noise reduction measures.
Montclair extension unfunded
The design-build contract included an option for KPJV to complete a further 5 km from Pomona to Montclair.
However, on September 15 the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority said the governance structure behind this project would require it to contribute funding while not having a ‘meaningful voice’ in oversight or ongoing operating funding. As a result, it had ‘made the difficult decision’ to remove funding and would instead study opportunities to expand Metrolink services in the same corridor.
