Expo Line Opens Saturday, April 28, 2012!

Expo Line trains pass near the USC trench.

Discover LA by Metro:

FREE Expo Line Rides Opening Weekend — April 28-29

The map color code for the Expo Line is aqua.

The wait is almost over – Expo Line Phase I is opening!

For this Metro Duo, the Expo Line opening is personal. As long as we’ve known each other, we’ve been waiting for this Metro line to bring us together – she lives near a Metro Gold Line station in Pasadena and he near the Expo Line station in Culver City. Unfortunately, the station near his house won’t open until summer – but the Expo Line station at La Cienega/Jefferson is only a mile further east and has a 476-car parking lot.

Expo Line train approaches 7th Street/Metro Center station.

Heading south and west, the Expo Line tracks separate from the Blue Line after the Pico station.

The Expo Line means more to us than just new neighborhoods to explore. It means dinner together on a Tuesday night without fighting hours of traffic. This year, on Valentine’s Day Tuesday, it took him two hours (including the drive to the Metro Red Line North Hollywood station) to get downtown, while she easily took the Gold Line to the Red Line, then waited and waited – you get the drift.

For those who will be among the estimated 27,000 passenger boardings per day on the Expo Line, we will bring reports of what you will find in the neighborhoods along the line. We’re sure you’ll find your own personal meaning for the new Expo Line once you ride!

We were lucky to get a preview tour so we can share with you what to expect when these much anticipated 7.6 miles of track from Downtown Los Angeles at 7th Street/Metro Center station to the new Expo Line station at La Cienega/Jefferson start operation.

If you’re not sure how to get to the Expo Line or how to ride Metro, check our pages giving basic information.

The La Brea station art, “Lotería” by Jose Lozano, is seen as the Expo Line train passes through.

Opening weekend (Saturday, April 28 and Sunday, April 29), the Expo Line will be FREE. (All other lines will operate at regular fares.) It will run from 5 a.m. until around 7 p.m. Regular fares and hours, seven days a week from 5 a.m. to 12:30 a.m., start on Monday, April 30, 2012. The ride between 7th Street/Metro Center and La Cienega/Jefferson should be under 30 minutes – much faster than the freeway or surface streets during peak hours, and less stressful.

Expo Line train at La Cienega/Jefferson station heads back to Downtown LA. The station art, “Engraved in Memory” by Daniel Gonzalez, illustrates the history of the area.

Metro officials expect large crowds on opening weekend and warn that passengers may be asked to de-train at each station to let other eager riders board. So the opening days are not representative of using the line for a regular commute or time-sensitive trip.

On Saturday, Metro has organized free entertainment, including live music, on-stage karaoke, performances by local dance groups, and tasty treats will be available for purchase from food trucks local eateries. These activities will be at the stations at 7th Street/Metro Center, ExpoPark/USC, Expo/Crenshaw, and La Cienega/Jefferson.

Check out our friend, jazz singer Devon Deming, who will be belting out the tunes from 2 -2:45 p.m. at the La Cienega/Jefferson station.  She will be accompanied by jazz pianist D. (Dave) Burnett Graham, a Culver City local and regular entertainer at Mastro’s in Beverly Hills. Her dad, Steve Deming, will be accompanying them on harmonica for a few train songs.  His band, The California Cowboy Band, will be performing just before her set at 1 p.m.

A good view is had coming back into Downtown as the Expo Line train joins the Blue Line route at the Pico station.

The Expo Line shares two stations with the Blue Line – 7th Street/Metro Center and Pico. When the line opens on Saturday, it will have ten stations between Downtown LA at 7th Street/Metro Center and the Culver City-adjacent La Cienega/Jefferson. Two additional stations will open this summer: the Culver City station at Venice and Robertson Blvds., which will extend the line a mile further, and the Farmdale station, which will serve Dorsey High School – for a total of 12 Expo Line stations in Phase I. Phase II, which will not open for several years, will extend the Expo Line to Santa Monica.

In-train maps show both the Expo Line and Blue line.

The Expo Line trains at the 7th Street/Metro Center station are just above the Red/Purple line platform.

At 7th Street/Metro Center, the Expo Line will board on Platform 1 and the Blue Line will board on Platform 2.

The Expo Line trains are ready to roll from 7th Street/Metro Center.

Although its map color code is aqua, this line will always be called by name, not color. So hop on the Expo Line and explore LA by Metro!

Expo Line Stations:

7th St/Metro Center
660 S Figueroa St., Los Angeles 90017

Pico
1236 S Flower St., Los Angeles 90015

23rd St
2460 S Flower St., Los Angeles 90007
Bike Racks Available

Jefferson/USC
3214 S Flower St., Los Angeles 90007
10 Bike Rack Spaces

Expo Park/USC
661 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles 90089
10 Bike Rack Spaces

Expo/Vermont
1043 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles 90007
10 Bike Rack Spaces

Expo/Western
1573 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles 90018
Bike Racks Available

Expo/Crenshaw
3428 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles 90018
Nearby Free Parking (Independent)
5 Bike Rack Spaces

Farmdale
4420 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles 90016
Bike Racks Available

Expo/La Brea
5060 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles 90016
20 Bike Rack Spaces

La Cienega/Jefferson
5664 W. Jefferson Blvd., Los Angeles 90016
Free On-site Parking – 476 Spaces
12 Bike Rack Spaces
8 Bike Lockers

Culver City
8804 Washington Blvd., Culver City 90232
Free On-site Parking – 586 Spaces
Bike Racks Available
8 Bike Lockers

Free fares on Metro Expo Line only, April 28 and 29, 2012 only, from start of service to close of service. Regular fares apply on all other Metro Rail, Metro Rapid, and Metro Local lines.

Bikes on Expo:

Enjoy 5.9 miles of new bikeway, including bike lanes on Exposition Blvd. and Jefferson Blvd. between Vermont Ave. and La Cienega Blvd., and a bike/pedestrian path between the La Cienega/Jefferson Station and the Culver City Station. All stations have bike racks for convenient bike parking.

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Please contact us to license usage of images or text.

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