A Line (Los Angeles Metro)

A Line
Overview
Other namesBlue Line (1990–2019)
Gold Line/L Line (north of Little Tokyo/Arts District)
OwnerLos Angeles Metro
Line number801
Termini
Stations48
Websitemetro.net/riding/guide/a-line
Service
TypeLight rail
SystemLos Angeles Metro Rail
Depot(s)Division 11 (Long Beach)
Division 24 (Monrovia)
Rolling stockSiemens P2000, AnsaldoBreda P2550, or Kinki Sharyo P3010 running in 2- or 3-car consists
Daily ridership69,216 (weekday, May 2024)
Ridership22,282,648 (2024) 40.9%
History
OpenedJuly 14, 1990 (1990-07-14)
Technical
Line length57.6 mi (92.7 km)
Number of tracks2 (except single track Long Beach loop)
CharacterMostly at-grade in private right of way, with some street-running, elevated and underground sections
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
ElectrificationOverhead line750 V DC
Operating speed55 mph (89 km/h) (max.)
26 mph (42 km/h) (avg.)
Route map
A Line highlighted in blue
Pomona North
La Verne/Fairplex
San Dimas
Glendora
APU/Citrus College
Azusa Downtown
Irwindale
Duarte/City of Hope
Monrovia
Arcadia
Sierra Madre Villa
Allen
Lake
Memorial Park
Del Mar
Fillmore
South Pasadena
Highland Park
Southwest Museum
Figueroa Street/Pasadena Avenue
Heritage Square
Lincoln/Cypress
Chinatown
Union Station
Little Tokyo/Arts District
Historic Broadway
Grand Avenue Arts/Bunker Hill
7th Street/Metro Center
Pico
Grand/LATTC
San Pedro Street
Washington
Vernon
Slauson
Florence
Firestone
103rd Street/Watts Towers
Willowbrook/​Rosa Parks I-105
Compton
Artesia
Del Amo
Wardlow
Willow Street
Pacific Coast Highway
Anaheim Street
Pacific Avenue5th Street
Downtown Long Beach1st Street

All stations are accessible

The A Line (formerly and colloquially the Blue Line) is a light rail line in Los Angeles County, California. Part of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system and operated by Los Angeles Metro, it is the world's longest modern light rail line at 57.6 miles (92.7 km). The A Line serves 48 stations, running east–west between Pomona and Pasadena, then north–south between Pasadena and Long Beach. In Downtown Los Angeles it interlines with the E Line, sharing five stations. Service operates about 19 hours daily with headways as short as 8 minutes during peak hours. It is the busiest light rail route in the system, carrying over 22 million riders in 2024 and averaging 69,216 weekday boardings in May 2024.

The A Line's first segment, between the southern edge of Downtown Los Angeles and Long Beach, opened in 1990 as the inaugural line of the Metro Rail system, using much of the Pacific Electric's former Long Beach Line. Plans to extend the line north through Downtown Los Angeles to Pasadena were proposed in the 1980s but delayed due to funding constraints. Instead, the standalone Gold Line (renamed the L Line in 2020) opened in 2003 from Union Station at the northern edge of Downtown Los Angeles to Pasadena, and was extended east to Azusa in 2016. The original plan was realized with the completion of the Regional Connector tunnel across Downtown Los Angeles in 2023, which linked the A Line to the former L Line. The line was extended further east to Pomona in 2025.