Hello, Expo Line: We Finally Make the Trip to Santa Monica

No, New York Times, it is NOT the "Subway to the Sea." It's not a subway, first off. (The Metro Purple Line, which could be the "Subway to the Sea" one day, is so far only scheduled to reach as far as Westwood. The NYT hasn't issued a correction yet.)



But the Metro Expo Line DOES reach the sea, and that's been one of the big game changers this year when it comes to public transportation in Los Angeles. We recently finally rode the length of the Expo line, from 7th Street downtown, all the way to the ocean.



A few snap observations: As the Metro itself has admitted, the Expo Line needs more train cars, at least on the weekend. Apparently the additional train cars have been ordered... but for now, the trains are crowded. And on the weekend, people are mostly heading to the very end -- meaning the train gets busier and busier up until the end of the line.

Thankfully, having started at the beginning of the line, we had seats.



Next: Keep your fingers crossed you get a newer train car. On the way down, we road in an older train, built in the late 1980s and probably been in use since the Blue Line first opened in 1990. The air conditioning was not existent, making the car hotter and hotter as more people climbed on board. (We had a newer train on the way back, and it was cool riding.)



The ride itself is very pleasant, and offers interesting views of the city -- including Exposition Park and its museums, and a great view of the Hollywood Hills (including the Hollywood sign) during the elevated sections.



Things get pretty crowded at the end of the line, as crowds disembark and wander every which way into Santa Monica. But to be so close to the ocean, it's a dream come true -- our TRAIN to the sea has arrived!



Most importantly, the Expo Line has now CHANGED THE GAME when it comes to the Great Los Angeles Walk! For the first time this year, there will be an easy rail option to get to and from the start and finish lines!

FREE L.A.: Ride The Expo Line This Weekend

Metro opens the Expo Line with free rides all weekend.

On Saturday, Metro will offer free live music, karaoke, local dance and food (for purchase) at several stations: 7th St/Metro Center Station, Expo Park/USC Station, Expo/Crenshaw Station and La Cienega/Jefferson Station.

Go here for more details.

Expo Line Opens Next Month; But Please, Metro, Change the Name

Big news: Phase one of Metro's Expo line from downtown to Santa Monica (ending, for now, at La Cienega) opens on Saturday, April 28. Reports Metro's The Source blog:

The line will initially open between 7th/Metro Center station in downtown Los Angeles and the La Cienega station. The final station on the first phase of the project, at Venice and Robertson in Culver City, will open this summer.

Meanwhile, construction has begun on the second phase of the Expo Line between Culver City and Santa Monica. That part of the project — funded by the Measure R sales tax increase approved by L.A. County voters in 2008 — is scheduled to open in 2015.

For now, it looks like Metro is committed to calling it the "Expo Line." I honestly thought the agency would have come to its senses by now and gone back to the original plan, calling it the "Aqua Line." Every other line on Metro's system is named after a color -- and this will stick out like a strange anomaly.

In case you forgot, "Expo Line" was the compromise after the 2006 battle over the name. Blame City Councilman Bernard Parks -- here's a snip of what I wrote at the time:

Back in 2000, the guerrilla pop art group Heavy Trash erected several gag signs around town promoting a fake "Metro Aqua Line" from downtown to the ocean.

When the MTA approved its Mid-City/Exposition Light Rail Transit Project, it actually took a cue from the Heavy Trash group and dubbed it the "Aqua line."

Here's where it gets unnecessarily complicated: City Councilman Bernard Parks has decided he doesn't like the "Aqua line" name, the L.A. Times reports today. He also doesn't like the MTA's other suggestion, the Purple Line.

Why? "Those are colors that don't resonate," Parks explained.

Huh?

Parks proposes that the new extension be called the "Expo Line" -- even though every other line on the MTA's rapid transit system are named after colors (Red, Green, Blue and Gold). His other option? The "Rose Line."

Metro eventually renamed the Wilshire spike of the Red Line (which was its own source of confusion) the "Purple Line." But as for the "Aqua Line," unfortunately, Metro caved, and it's been called the "Expo" line ever since. But the Expo Line is branded with a light blue, "aqua" color -- perhaps with the hope that sanity will prevail and the line will follow the cue of the Metro's color-coded system.