By most accounts, the Expo Line’s rookie debut went smoothly on Saturday. Trains have been running on average every six minutes and lines were minimal at most stations — La Cienega/Jefferson appears to have been the most crowded.
I was on and off trains for most of the day and most people seemed excited to see the trains running with real passengers. Many of the riders I chatted were either giving the ride a test to see how it would fit into their commutes or were simply curious, given that it’s been nearly six decades since a passenger train rolled down Exposition Boulevard.
A reminder: Expo Line rides are again free on Sunday from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. with regular fare service beginning early Monday morning.
If you rode this weekend, let us know what you think of the line. We’ll do a roundup of reviews early this coming week. In the meantime, have a good night and enjoy the opening weekend!
WE took the Expo line downtown and had a blast. It was thrilling! I remembered the old Red Cars and the excitement I felt as a child riding the trains to the beach. Everyone was helpful and we allowed ourselves to get a little bit lost downtown, just wandering around. I hate driving downtown and paying parking, so this will allow for more fun excursions. I look forward to many more trips to downtown LA and other places in the area as I learn to use the subway system. Congratulations to all the people who have made this possible!
Why does this rail line not have SIGNAL PRIORITY??? There’s no reason why Expo should have to wait at stop lights, if everything is timed correctly for cross traffic and parallel streets. It’s ridiculous having the train stop at several streets throughout the route. Imagine how much faster the line could be if there was priority for trains? It could definitely go down to 20 minutes from Downtown to Culver City.
Metro needs to work out explaining to riders or have better signages at the Pico Station that the Blue and Expo Lines share the same track there.
I noticed some people who got onboard the Expo Line were confused asking people why the train was going somewhere different when they thought they were heading down to Long Beach.
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That is where the announcements at the stops would come in handy, but there are never announcements that I hear, and most definitely, the train should say what train it is at least. As for the comment about the 2000 lrp, is that a type of car or something that is not familiar to me? Most of the stations are unmaned, but I hear announcements all the time on them about packages being lost, safety tips, and so forth, so if Metro can do that, then they can have it announce which train it is, at least. Now is the time to figure out how to do this. None of the underground systems do this either, and there are probably confusions there too, especially with the red and purple lines at some of the stations down town. I’m sure this will all be worked out over time.
The new Expo line is a great additon to L.A.’s mass transit system. Only one thing would make this line better as well as the Gold line for that matter. Signal prioritization. There must be a way that signals can be timed so that when the train approaches, the train would have priority over the cars. This would also encourage more people to ride the train and not drive. Trains should only have to stop at their respective stations. I’m not a traffic expert but I think this would make the system better. That’s why subways are so much better but we’ll take light rail too.
@ Snack Time “The mesh awnings over the stations are poor, providing neither protection from the sun nor protection from rain (although the latter wasn’t made obvious quite yet). ” Form over Function…
I took the Expo train this morning and it was Greaaaat! It took me 38 minutes to go from Highland Park Station to Jefferson/23rd by USC. The signal priority is not a big deal. I will never drive to USC again. Expo! Expo!Expo!
I took the Expo line from USC/Vermont Av and Esposition Blvd over to LaCienega/Jefferson Blvd Saturday. It was absolutely great to go from south-central to the westside in a very short time. The stops chosen along the way were well thought out for travelers, especially students of Dorsey High and Crenshaw Blvd. Just wonderful!
Congratulations to Metro on the opening of Expo. Although my expectations were a little too optimistic. I rode from Exposition Park/USC to 7th street Sunday afternoon and have to say Expo has some kinks to work out. Firstly, the driver didn’t seem to have good control over the train, with constant hard braking jostling around riders. Secondly, the four stops took 30 minutes, which is supposedly the target time from culver city. The signal priority didn’t seem to be working at all. Not only did the train stop at practically all intersections, it stopped multiple times in the tunnels. Luckily, the return trip was smooth and rapid, with only three or four stops at intersections. It reminded me of the first days of the gold line, which has greatly improved since then.