L.A. Metro’s new downtown regional connector is a piddly 1.9 miles of new underground track, but the pomp and circumstance surrounding its opening Friday was befitting the launch of the transcontinental railroad. There was a speech by a U.S. senator, an opera singer performing Puccini, and the master of ceremonies was none other than George Takei, who played the helm officer of the U.S.S. Enterprise in the original Star Trek series.
One reason: The track packs a powerful punch. Metro promises “seamless, one-seat” journeys – no downtown transfer of trains required – from Azusa to Long Beach and from East L.A. to Santa Monica. The $1.8 billion project, which finished $335 over budget and two years behind schedule, also includes three new stations and is expected to cut the time for some trips by up to 20 minutes.
The three new stations are in the Little Tokyo/Arts District, at 2nd St. and Broadway, and at 2nd Pl. and Hope next to The Broad museum. That station is dubbed the Grand Av Arts/Bunker Hill Station.
To mark the milestone, Metro is providing free rides on its entire transit system, including bus and rail lines as well as bike share services, through the weekend.
Transit rider Kwan Luu lives about a block from the new station in Little Tokyo. “I’m really excited,” he said. “My sister lives in Long Beach and with this new station opening up and this new regional connector finally in operation, I’ll just have to take one line to go see her.”
Joe Linton of Streetsblog L.A. called the connector “hugely transformative. I think this really ties the Metro system together.”
“Transfers are really where time stacks up,” he added.
“We can finally celebrate,” said Glendale City Councilmember and Metro Board Chair Ara Najarian.
Pearl C. Hsiung is the artist behind a towering 61-foot tall, 17-foot wide glass mosaic mural, High Prismatic, in the concourse elevator of the Grand Ave. Arts station. She is a transit rider and said the new connector opens up the possibilities for easier public transit through downtown.
“It's like the drawbridge is down,” she said. “You can maybe be more spontaneous about where you ride because you don’t have to do all these inconvenient transfers.”
The ceremony was held outside the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo. Dozens of dignitaries, Metro staff, and public transit lovers showed up.
“Many more people will now have the ability to travel across L.A. County to get to work and explore the city using public transportation,” said Jimmy Gomez, who represents downtown in Congress. The line was built using nearly $1 billion in federal money.
The construction took 7.7 million hours without any time lost due to injury or incident, according to Metro.
L.A. is still overwhelmingly a car-centered region, said Linton. For commuting trips, 70% of people drive and about 30% use public transit, rideshare or bicycle, he said.
“The regional connector brings Los Angeles closer to having the world-class transportation system that Angelenos deserve,” said L.A. Mayor Karen Bass.
Regional connector lines will be open at approximately 4:30 a.m. and will close between 11:30 p.m. and midnight, according to Metro.
