I wanted to do something a little different with the transportation headlines today, concentrating on stories about this past weekend’s opening of the Eastside Gold Line Extension. I’m going to start with one link that wasn’t a headline, but rather a comment board post about the Gold Line’s speed — [continue reading]
Metro CEO Art Leahy just announced that Carolyn Flowers, the agency’s chief operating officer, has resigned to accept a job as the CEO of the Charlotte Area Transit System in North Carolina. Flowers, a longtime veteran of Metro, has held a variety of positions here over the years and climbed [continue reading]
After two days of pomp, the new Eastside Gold Line began regular weekday service earlier this morning. There was a sprinkling of riders on the train at 4:10 a.m. at Mariachi Plaza, with more passengers jumping on the train as the morning proceeded. Several riders said they had switched from [continue reading]
Metro Communications staff put together this nicely shot but strangely silent video compilation of festivities from todays Gold Line Eastside Extension opening. A throw back to the silent movie era or a chance to play your own music while you watch? I’ll let you decide.
As of 4:45 p.m. Metro officials estimate a total of 50,000 boardings on the Gold Line Eastside Extension today. With the lines I saw at Union Station, that seems about right.
Steve and I rode the line, battled the crowds, and joined in the festivities of the Eastside Extension’s opening day. When we started our day at about 9:00 a.m., crowds were relatively light and the lines were short, but around 11:00 a.m. there was a notable increase in the crowds. [continue reading]
At this point, it’s obvious that there will be substantial lines the rest of the afternoon on the Eastside Gold Line. We probably won’t get a true feel for commuters’ perspectives on how the train functions until revenue service begins Monday. My colleague Fred and I chatted with many passengers [continue reading]
Source reader Tim Adams of the local volunteer organization Transit People (they take kids on transit field trips… awesome!) sent us some gorgeous shots of the Gold Line riding through East L.A. on its inaugural day. All photos were taken in the wee hours of the morning well before we [continue reading]
As expected — and in a replay of 2003, when the L.A. to Pasadena Gold Line opened — the line to board trains to East L.A. is more than an hour’s wait at Union Station. The line, in fact, snakes all the way into the parking garage. If you don’t [continue reading]
Metro officials are estimating that there have been 30,000 boardings on the Eastside Gold Line so far today. The number will be updated this evening.
