Metro Gold Line (LACMTA)

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Metro Gold Line
Two Gold Line trains at Memorial Park station in Pasadena, a below-grade station.
Info
Type	Light rail
System	Los Angeles County Metro Rail
Locale	Los Angeles, California
Terminals	Union Station Sierra Madre Villa
No. of stations	13
Service routes	C and 804
Daily ridership	19,985
Operation
Opened	July 26, 2003
Operator(s)	Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA)
Rolling stock	Siemens P2000
Technical
Line length	13.7 mi (22 km)
Gauge	Template:Standard gauge (standard gauge)
Electrification	Overhead lines
Line map

The Metro Gold Line of the Los Angeles County Metro Rail is a light rail line in Los Angeles County. It is the newest rail addition to the Metro system. It operates between Downtown Los Angeles and eastern Pasadena. The Southwest Museum, Chinatown, and the shops of Old Town Pasadena are some of the tourist attractions that can be accessed via the Gold Line. The Gold Line has two other official names: the C Line and Line 804. These are rarely used by residents, but occasionally appear on documents.

[edit] History

A line through Pasadena was proposed in the early 1980s as a part of a more extensive regional urban rail network, however it would not come to fruition until almost two decades later. Initial planning and construction was done by the LACMTA. After the project was halted due to a lack of funding the 'Los Angeles Pasadena Blue Line Construction Authority' was established by State legislation to reactivate and complete the then 11% completed project.

The Gold Line was originally planned as a part of the Blue Line. Making that connection as originally planned would require a new "Regional Connector" to connect Metro Center with Union Station. Because this light rail line did not connect to the Blue Line, to avoid confusion the line was given a different color. The Rose Line was a strong contender because of Pasadena's Rose Bowl and Rose Parade. However, because future planned extensions would go beyond Pasadena, the LACMTA board voted to name the line the "Gold Line."

[edit] Recent enhancements

In April 2007, to address noise complaints from South Pasadena residents, Metro began constructing a soundwall along the Metro Gold Line in South Pasadena between the Mission and Fillmore stations. Construction occurred weekdays during the non-peak hours during the day with one track out of service. Service was placed on a temporary schedule for 2-3 months, running every 20 minutes. Regular service resumed on July 3, 2007.

[edit] Accidents

According to Metro, Metro Gold Line accidents are rare since most intersections have four-quadrant gates to prevent car versus train accidents. Also, unlike the Metro Green Line, the section along the 210 freeway lacks fencing, which does not protect the tracks from cars landing on the Metro Gold Line tracks.

• On August 12, 2004, an SUV carrying seven passengers rolled over on the 210 freeway at Sierra Madre Blvd. and landed on the Metro Gold Line tracks, and a train hit the vehicle, killing three passengers. Four passengers were seriously injured.

• On September 11, 2007, a pickup truck ran a red light at Avenue 55 and Marmion Way (two blocks from the Highland Park Station) and a southbound Metro Gold Line train (248) struck the vehicle, causing a derailment and damaging a concrete pillar. The driver was critically injured and six people on the train, including an LA County Deputy Sheriff and the train operator, suffered minor injuries and were all taken to Huntington Hospital in Pasadena. This was the most serious accident since the opening of the Metro Gold Line in 2003.^[1][2]

• On September 21, 2007, an SUV broke off the crossing arms and was struck by a northbound Metro Gold Line train (243) at Avenue 50 and Marmion Way in Mt. Washington, resulting in the vehicle catching fire and a section of the train suffered significant burns. Authorities say that the driver, 56-year old Diane Cordero, tried to beat the train. Some nearby residents rushed to the scene to pull the victim out of her SUV and one resident put out the fire in the car with a garden hose before Los Angeles Firefighters arrived. There were six non-life threatening injuries, including two minor injuries, and three were transported to hospitals, including Huntington Hospital in Pasadena and Glendale Adventist Medical Center in Glendale. The train operator was left unharmed.^[3][4][5]

• On October 13, 2007 at 1:20am, a big rig hit the center divider of the Eastbound 210 freeway at Sierra Madre Blvd. and went on the Metro Gold Line tracks. There was no service at the time of the accident, but the tracks were out of service for 12 hours. During the course of the accident, buses were provided to go around the accident site.^[6][7]

[edit] Information

The Gold Line, which opened in July 2003, operates on the former right-of-way of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, where intercity trains like Amtrak's Southwest Chief and the Desert Wind once operated. Trains run at grade between the Lincoln Heights/Cypress Park and Del Mar stations. Trains start at Union Station's tracks 1 & 2 and proceeds on an elevated rail line running between Union Station (where it meets the Metro Red Line and Metro Purple Line) to Chinatown, and then cross the Los Angeles River and adjacent to the Golden State Freeway, Interstate 5 before serving the hillside communities just north of downtown.

The line runs underground for a very short segment underneath Figueroa Street, and then runs in the median of streets in Highland Park. After crossing the Pasadena Freeway, the Gold Line serves the city of South Pasadena, and then downtown Pasadena. This portion of the line has a longer underground segment almost half a mile long where the line passes under Pasadena's main thoroughfare, Colorado Boulevard. The Memorial Park station, just north of Colorado Boulevard, is below grade. The last leg of the Gold Line runs in the median of the Foothill Freeway, Interstate 210 and terminates at Sierra Madre Villa station, just east of the Pasadena city limit.

At just over 18,000 average weekday boardings^[8], Gold Line ridership has been below projections, which has resulted in cuts in service midday and at night. This should change with the opening of the under-construction East Los Angeles extension around 2009, the planned Azusa extension in 2010, and the eventual extension from Azusa to Montclair (or possibly as far as Ontario Airport) in 2015. Service previously operated every 15 minutes during the day with limited stop service during rush hour, which was long by Los Angeles standards but is similar to other light rail lines in the United States such as the San Diego Trolley and UTA TRAX. This Express service was eliminated as of December 16, 2007 (see below).

The Gold line uses two-car trains, with the exception of one-car trains used during the evenings and weekend mornings. The cars are Siemens P2000 LRVs. Each train car is articulated.

In the evening hours of August 19, 2007, a power outage between the Highland Park and Mission Stations occurred, resulting in the Southbound tracks being out of service. This led to cancellation of Express service and trains running on three-car trains during peak hours. Regular service resumed August 24. [2]

Stations are not equipped with marquees, which displays a train arriving and other information, unlike the other Metro Rail lines. The station platforms appear to be capable of accommodating three car trains, although the aforementioned ridership issues would seem to make this possibility remote in the near future.

On October 3, 2007, Metro Gold Line trains began having advertisement banners on the sides of trains, like on the Metro Green Line.

On December 21, 2007, Metro introduced cars 233 and 235, which are the special commemorative trains for the 119th Tournament of Roses Parade and the 94th Rose Bowl Game. These are known as the 2008 "Tournament Train." [3]

On February 13, 2008, Metro removed the banner ads on all Metro Gold Line trains.

[edit] Rolling Stock

A new Breda P2550 train at Highland Park.

The Gold line uses two-car trains, with the exception of one-car trains used during the evenings and weekend mornings. The cars are Siemens P2000 LRVs. Each train car is articulated.

As of October 2007, the Metro Gold Line has 25 active cars (227-242, 244-250, 301, 302). Car 243 is unused due to burns sustained from an accident on September 21, 2007. Car 302 is the only Metro Gold Line car in the current livery, which is all white with black lettering, similar to Metro Blue Line Car 105.

The Metro Gold Line yard has seven Ansaldobreda P2550 cars (701-750) that are currently in limited use. It has been featured in many television ads by Metro.

[edit] Issues

The major complaint from riders is that the Gold Line is extremely slow through the Highland Park area, where trains reach speeds of only 15 mph (25 km/h), and through the curves, where trains travel at about 25 mph (40 km/h), while the vehicles can easily reach 60mph. South Pasadena residents (who were vocal against the Gold Line) complain about the bells and whistles at Gold Line crossings and on the trains. This can be seen when riding the train through banners hoisted by residents which say "NO BELLS, NO HORNS, SLOW TRAINS TO 20mph". The crossing bells have been retrofitted to direct sound toward the street and not adjoining homes. Transit advocates have proposed running the line below grade through South Pasadena, as is done further north on the line in Pasadena, in order to reduce noise and traffic problems. No funds are available at this time for this project. A soundwall was constructed beginning May 7, 2007 and finishing in mid-June 2007.

[edit] Limited Stop Service

On February 13, 2006, for the first time in the Metro Rail system, the Gold Line began implementing limited-stop service during rush hours in both directions. According to the press release this eliminates five minutes of travel time from end-to-end. The only stations served by limited trains are Union Station, Highland Park, Mission, Del Mar, and Sierra Madre Villa. Additionally, all morning express trains to Sierra Madre Villa and all afternoon express trains to Union Station stop at Memorial Park station. Also, all morning express trains to Union Station and all afternoon express trains to Sierra Madre Villa stop at Lake Station. Limited trains run every 30 minutes in each direction during weekday rush hours. Originally, there were six express trains in each direction during the morning rush hours, but as of April 10, 2006, a service change was implemented, reducing the number of express trains to four in favor of more local trains^[9].

Since October 29, 2006, Metro Rail Operation systems and rail signal modifications have decreased end to end travel time by five minutes. This reduced run time will result in 30% less waiting time at stations. Express trains now complete a one-way trip in 24 minutes, down from 29 minutes. Local trains now complete a one-way trip in 29 minutes, down from 34 minutes. According to Metro, the implementation of this limited stop service resulted in weekday ridership hitting an all time high for September 2006 at almost 21,000 boardings. ^[10]

Effective December 16, 2007, Express Service has been discontinued and there are more frequent trains. Weekday trains will run every 7-8 minutes, stopping at all stations, during rush hours and every 12 minutes during the midday hours. Weekend trains will run every 12 minutes from mid-morning until early evening. Trains will still make a complete trip in 29 minutes. ^[11]

[edit] Future Extensions

This article or section contains information about a proposed, planned, or expected public transportation infrastructure in the United States. It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the construction and/or completion of the infrastructure approaches, and more information becomes available.

The Gold Line, including future extensions.

[edit] Eastside Extension

By 2009 the Eastside extension to Little Tokyo, Boyle Heights, and East Los Angeles is scheduled to open.^[12] On December 19, 2005, tunnel boring machines were lowered into a pit at First Street and Boyle Avenue in Boyle Heights, which is to be the first of the two underground stations, and began the tunneling of twin 1.7 mile (2.8 km) long tunnels with a planned completion time of less than one year. There will be two underground stations located in these tunnels – Mariachi Plaza Station and Soto Station. The tunnel boring machine (TBM) nicknamed “Lola” reached the underground station box at First and Soto Streets Friday evening, July 21, 2006. Sister TBM "Vicki" was scheduled to arrive about four weeks later.^[13] On November 14, 2006, Lola reached the station box at First and Lorena Streets.^[14] On December 12, 2006, both TBMs finished boring the entire tunnel of the line, exactly as scheduled. Construction activities continue. ^[15]

[edit] Foothill Extension

An extension of the Gold Line eastward from its terminus on the east side of Pasadena (officially called the "Foothill Extension") to the city of Azusa is in the final design stage. On February 28, 2007, the Metro Gold Line Construction Authority voted to approve the Final Environmental Impact Report. Opening of this extension is scheduled in 2010 and a future extension to Montclair opening in 2014^[16]. This segment would be entirely above ground, with a small portion in the median of Interstate 210. As of April 2006 a draft environmental impact study and report was submitted, and final FTA project approval is pending^[17]; community meetings are being held to gather input on station design and artwork.

No construction funding has been assigned to this project, though funding has been appropriated to continue the design process. Additionally, the construction authority continues to receive operational funding from all of the cities along the proposed alignment. While the extension to Azusa is under the auspices of the construction authority that constructed the Gold Line from Union Station to Pasadena, construction of the other extension from Union Station to East Los Angeles is under the direct control of the LACMTA. The Foothill Extension has strong political support from the governments of multiple cities along its proposed route, while the original segment went through only three jurisdictions (the cities of Los Angeles, South Pasadena and Pasadena). Due to this strong support among the participating cities as well as the area's congressional delegation, eventual construction of the line seems likely, although the project may be pushed back as local Republican congressman David Dreier was the chief supporter of the route for Federal funding. The city of Ontario has joined the group of cities supporting the Gold Line extension citing that the Gold line should make LA/Ontario International Airport its Eastern Terminus, instead of the Montclair Transit station. ^[18] The LACMTA has already purchased the entire right of way needed for this project. If all of the proposed extensions were constructed, this would be the longest light rail line in the USA at 51 miles.

[edit] List of stations, from West to East

Gold Line train platform at Union Station. When extension is complete in 2009, the train will proceed from here towards the camera, eventually reaching East Los Angeles.

Memorial Park Station in Pasadena. This station is in an open cut. Memorial Park is to the left and the Holly Street Apartments are directly above the tracks.

Fillmore station in Pasadena, a typical island station at grade level.

Note: The opening dates are unknown at this time.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Gold Line website
• Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority