95-525: The K Line is a light rail line in Los Angeles County . It currently consists of two separate noncontiguous segments. The 5.9-mile (9.5 km) northern segment runs north–south between the Jefferson Park and Westchester neighborhoods of Los Angeles , California , passing through various South Los Angeles neighborhoods and the city of Inglewood . The southern segment runs north–south between
190-471: A wye west of Aviation/LAX station . The line then heads roughly south through El Segundo before ending at Redondo Beach station . Until LAX/Metro Transit Center station opens, Metro is operating a bus shuttle called the "C & K Line Link" from Westchester/Veterans station to Aviation/LAX station via Aviation/Century station. K Line service hours are approximately from 4:30 a.m. until 12:00 a.m. daily. Trains operate every 10 minutes throughout
285-724: A "light rail" vehicle (it is a heavy rail vehicle), and is only included for comparison purposes. Low-floor LRVs have the advantage of a low-floor design, allowing them to load passengers directly from low-rise platforms that can be little more than raised curbs. High-floor light rail systems also exist, featuring larger stations. Historically, the track gauge has had considerable variations, with narrow gauge common in many early systems. However, most light rail systems are now standard gauge . Older standard-gauge vehicles could not negotiate sharp turns as easily as narrow-gauge ones, but modern light rail systems achieve tighter turning radii by using articulated cars . An important advantage of
380-458: A bus, there will be even more capacity when there is a combination of cars and light rail. Table 3 shows an example of peak passenger capacity. The cost of light rail construction varies widely, largely depending on the amount of tunneling and elevated structures required. A survey of North American light rail projects shows that costs of most LRT systems range from $ 15 million to over $ 100 million per mile. Seattle's new light rail system
475-403: A chaotic breakdown inflow and a dramatic drop in speed (a traffic jam ) if they exceed about 2,000 vehicles per hour per lane (each car roughly two seconds behind another). Since most people who drive to work or on business trips do so alone, studies show that the average car occupancy on many roads carrying commuters is only about 1.5 people per car during the high-demand rush hour periods of
570-1102: A common right-of-way (however, Link converted to full separation in 2019). Some systems, such as the AirTrain JFK in New York City, the DLR in London, and Kelana Jaya Line in Kuala Lumpur , have dispensed with the need for an operator. The Vancouver SkyTrain was an early adopter of driverless vehicles, while the Toronto Scarborough rapid transit operated the same trains as Vancouver, but used drivers. In most discussions and comparisons, these specialized systems are generally not considered light rail but as light metro systems. Around Karlsruhe , Kassel , and Saarbrücken in Germany, dual-voltage light rail trains partly use mainline railroad tracks, sharing these tracks with heavy rail trains. In
665-502: A connection to the airport's terminals, will begin service at LAX/Metro Transit Center station in 2026. The northern terminus of the northern segment is at Expo/Crenshaw station , a transfer point to the E Line . The K Line station here is underground and does not provide a track connection to the at-grade E Line. Provisions are in place to allow the line to extend further north . The route follows Crenshaw Boulevard from Exposition Boulevard south to 67th Street. It travels underground in
760-416: A light rail train may have three to four cars of much larger capacity in one train under the control of one driver, or no driver at all in fully automated systems, increasing the labor costs of BRT systems compared to LRT systems. BRT systems are also usually less fuel-efficient as they use non-electrified vehicles. The peak passenger capacity per lane per hour depends on which types of vehicles are allowed on
855-435: A live rail. In outer areas, the trams switch to conventional overhead wires . The Bordeaux power system costs about three times as much as a conventional overhead wire system and took 24 months to achieve acceptable levels of reliability, requiring the replacement of all the main cables and power supplies. Operating and maintenance costs of the innovative power system still remain high. However, despite numerous service outages,
950-536: A longer distance. Light rail cars are often coupled into multiple units of two to four cars. Light rail systems may also exhibit attributes of heavy rail systems, including having downtown subways, as in San Francisco and Seattle . Light rail is designed to address a gap in interurban transportation between heavy rail and bus services, carrying high passenger numbers more quickly than local buses and more cheaply than heavy rail. It serves corridors in which heavy rail
1045-570: A lower capacity and speed than a long heavy rail passenger train or rapid transit system. Narrowly defined, light rail transit uses rolling stock that is similar to that of a traditional tram, while operating at a higher capacity and speed, often on an exclusive right-of-way. In broader use, it includes tram-like operations mostly on streets. A few light rail networks have characteristics closer to rapid transit or even commuter rail , yet only when these systems are fully grade-separated are they referred to as light metros . The term light rail
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#17328558276161140-516: A mile to the north, requiring the design of an additional station while the overall line was still under construction. In 2014, Metro approved the planning and scoping of this station, which was called Aviation/96th in planning documents but was ultimately designated LAX/Metro Transit Center station . This station is intended to serve as Metro Rail's main gateway to the airport itself, while the Aviation/Century station will serve destinations along
1235-631: A more diverse range of design characteristics than LRT, depending on the demand and constraints that exist, and BRT using dedicated lanes can have a theoretical capacity of over 30,000 passengers per hour per direction (for example, the Guangzhou Bus Rapid Transit system operates up to 350 buses per hour per direction). For the effective operation of a bus or BRT system, buses must have priority at traffic lights and have their dedicated lanes, especially as bus frequencies exceed 30 buses per hour per direction. The higher theoretical of BRT relates to
1330-403: A one-mile (1.6 km) deep-bore tunnel , which transitions into an at-grade segment in the median of Crenshaw Boulevard (between 48th and 59th Streets) where trains run synchronized to existing traffic signals. From 59th and 67th Streets, the line returns underground into a shallow cut-and-cover tunnel for a half-mile (0.8 km). South of there, the route emerges from the tunnel and enters
1425-426: A potential northward extension, which increased the cost of the original project by $ 236 million. With the passage of Measure M and the enthusiastic support of the city of West Hollywood , the K Line Northern Extension, which would travel north from the current Expo/Crenshaw terminus, connecting along the way to the B and D lines, is currently under development. Three options are being studied, all ending at
1520-407: A result, has many of the operating characteristics of a metro system rather than a light rail system. A capacity of 1,350 passengers per train is more similar to the heavy rail than light rail. Bus rapid transit (BRT) is an alternative to LRT and many planning studies undertake a comparison of each mode when considering appropriate investments in transit corridor development. BRT systems can exhibit
1615-461: A shuttle service providing passengers access to the LAX shuttle and the C Line at Aviation/LAX station. The northern portion of the line ultimately opened on October 7, 2022. Varying service patterns have been proposed for integrating the completed K Line into the rest of the system over the course of its planning and construction, all of which have involved sharing trackage and infrastructure facilities with
1710-517: A single line operating between Expo/Crenshaw and Norwalk station . Passengers from the Redondo Beach area would have been served by a shuttle to the LAX area, where they would need to transfer to another train to continue east or north. Instead, board members approved a one-year pilot of a configuration that would combine an Expo-to-Norwalk line with another line that would connect Redondo Beach with Willowbrook/Rosa Parks station , allowing transfers to
1805-530: A top speed of 55–71.5 miles per hour (88.51–115.1 km/h) depending on the system, while the trains on the all-underground Montreal Metro can only reach a top speed of 72 kilometres per hour (44.74 mph). LACMTA light rail vehicles have higher top and average speeds than Montreal Metro or New York City Subway trains. Many light rail systems—even fairly old ones—have a combination of both on- and off-road sections. In some countries (especially in Europe), only
1900-474: A tramway, a light metro, and, in a narrow sense, rapid transit. This is especially common in the United States, where there is not a popularly perceived distinction between these different types of urban rail systems. The development of technology for low-floor and catenary-free trams facilitates the construction of such mixed systems with only short and shallow underground sections below critical intersections as
1995-561: Is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology while also having some features from heavy rapid transit . The term was coined in 1972 in the United States as an English equivalent for the German word Stadtbahn , meaning "city railway". Different definitions exist in some countries, but in the United States, light rail operates primarily along exclusive rights-of-way and uses either individual tramcars or multiple units coupled together, with
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#17328558276162090-462: Is a generic international English phrase for types of rail systems using modern streetcars/trams, which means more or less the same thing throughout the English-speaking world . Light rail systems can range from trams runnig in streets along with other traffic, to semi-metro systems having portions of grade separated track. People movers are even "lighter", in terms of capacity. Monorail
2185-565: Is a separate technology that has been more successful in specialized services than in a commuter transit role. The use of the generic term light rail avoids some serious incompatibilities between British and American English . The word tram , for instance, is generally used in the UK and many former British colonies to refer to what is known in North America as a streetcar , but in North America tram can instead refer to an aerial tramway , or, in
2280-602: Is a significant amount of overlap between the technologies; similar rolling stock may be used for either, and it is common to classify streetcars or trams as a subcategory of light rail rather than as a distinct type of transportation. However, some distinctions can be made, though systems may combine elements of both. Low-floor light rail lines tend to follow a reserved right-of-way and with trains receiving priority at intersections, and tend not to operate in mixed traffic, enabling higher operating speeds. Light rail lines tend to have less frequent stops than tramways, and operate over
2375-560: Is by far the most expensive in the US, at $ 179 million per mile, since it includes extensive tunneling in poor soil conditions, elevated sections, and stations as deep as 180 feet (55 m) below ground level. This results in costs more typical of subways or rapid transit systems than light rail. At the other end of the scale, four systems (Baltimore, Maryland; Camden, New Jersey; Sacramento, California; and Salt Lake City, Utah) incurred construction costs of less than $ 20 million per mile. Over
2470-426: Is especially important for wheelchair access, as narrower gauges (e.g. metre gauge) can make it challenging or impossible to pass the tram's wheels. Furthermore, standard-gauge rolling stock can be switched between networks either temporarily or permanently, and both newly built and used standard-gauge rolling stock tends to be cheaper to buy, as more companies offer such vehicles. Overhead lines supply electricity to
2565-498: Is expensive. Similarly, the most expensive US highway expansion project was the " Big Dig " in Boston, Massachusetts, which cost $ 200 million per lane mile for a total cost of $ 14.6 billion. A light rail track can carry up to 20,000 people per hour as compared with 2,000–2,200 vehicles per hour for one freeway lane. For example, in Boston and San Francisco, light rail lines carry 9,600 and 13,100 passengers per hour, respectively, in
2660-575: Is hard to distinguish between what is called light rail, and other forms of urban and commuter rail. A system described as a light rail in one city may be considered to be a streetcar or tram system in another. Conversely, some lines that are called "light rail" are very similar to rapid transit ; in recent years, new terms such as light metro have been used to describe these medium-capacity systems. Some "light rail" systems, such as Sprinter , bear little similarity to urban rail, and could alternatively be classified as commuter rail or even inter-city rail. In
2755-549: Is impractical. Light metro systems are essentially hybrids of light rail and rapid transit. Metro trains are larger and faster than light rail trains, with stops being further apart. Many systems have mixed characteristics. Indeed, with proper engineering, a rail line could run along a street, then go underground, and then run along an elevated viaduct. For example, the Los Angeles Metro Rail 's A Line "light rail" has sections that could alternatively be described as
2850-480: Is one of the highest capacity ones, having been upgraded in a series of expansions to handle 40,000 passengers per hour per direction, and having carried as many as 582,989 passengers in a single day on its Line 1 . It achieves this volume by running four-car trains with a capacity of up to 1,350 passengers each at a frequency of up to 30 trains per hour. However, the Manila light rail system has full grade separation and as
2945-501: The A and J Lines. The approved plan would have incurred higher operating expenses but board members argued it would retain better transfer opportunities for South Bay residents. Ongoing construction delays led to a reassessment of that plan in 2022. Metro recommended public outreach aimed at reformulating the operating plan before the connection to the C Line opens in 2024; in March 2023, Metro indicated that it would recommend Option 2 in
K Line (Los Angeles Metro) - Misplaced Pages Continue
3040-535: The Cádiz TramBahia , where trams share track with commuter and long-distance trains from the main terminus in the city and curve off to serve cities without a railway connection. Some of the issues involved in such schemes are: There is a history of what would now be considered light rail vehicles operating on heavy rail rapid transit tracks in the US, especially in the case of interurban streetcars . Notable examples are Lehigh Valley Transit trains running on
3135-530: The Federal Aviation Administration that the overhead lines of the rail line would interfere with the landing paths of airplanes. Amid ambivalence at LAX and L.A. City Hall, the plans to extend the line to the airport were shelved. To serve the once bustling aerospace sector in El Segundo, the line went south to Redondo Beach station . Access to the airport requires connecting to a shuttle bus at
3230-684: The Harbor Subdivision right of way , which runs parallel to Florence Avenue and Aviation Boulevard . The line mostly operates at-grade in this exclusive right-of-way, briefly transitioning onto elevated viaducts to cross over major thoroughfares including La Brea Avenue and I-405 . The southern terminus of the northern segment is Westchester/Veterans station . The extension under construction continues along an exclusive right of way, crossing over Manchester Avenue , Century Boulevard , and Imperial Highway . North of Century Boulevard, LAX/Metro Transit Center station will be at-grade and serve as
3325-714: The Harbor Subdivision ROW into the South Bay, to the Torrance Regional Transit Center (RTC). Metro and the public are considering two alternatives in the DEIR: an elevated light-rail extension along Hawthorne Boulevard, and an at-grade extension along a BNSF line beside Condon Avenue. The study of the South Bay Extension will lead to the publication of a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR). The study
3420-735: The London Underground and the New York City Subway . Conventional rail technologies including high-speed , freight, commuter , and rapid transit urban transit systems are considered "heavy rail". The main difference between light rail and heavy rail rapid transit is the ability for a light rail vehicle to operate in mixed traffic if the routing requires it. The world's first electric tram operated in Sestroretsk near Saint Petersburg , Russia , invented and operated on an experimental basis by Fyodor Pirotsky in 1880. The first tramway
3515-624: The Netherlands , this concept was first applied on the RijnGouweLijn . This allows commuters to ride directly into the city center, rather than taking a mainline train only as far as a central station and then having to change to a tram. In France, similar tram-trains are planned for Paris, Mulhouse , and Strasbourg ; further projects exist. In some cases, tram trains use previously abandoned or lightly used heavy rail lines in addition to or instead of still in use mainline tracks. In 2022, Spain opened
3610-831: The O-Train Trillium Line in Ottawa, Ontario , Canada, the River Line in New Jersey , United States, and the Sprinter in California , United States, which use diesel multiple unit (DMU) cars. Light rail is different from the British English term light railway , long-used to distinguish railway operations carried out under a less rigorous set of regulations using lighter equipment at lower speeds from mainline railways. Light rail
3705-673: The Philadelphia and Western Railroad high-speed third rail line (now the Norristown High-Speed Line ). Such arrangements are almost impossible now, due to the Federal Railroad Administration refusing (for crash safety reasons) to allow non-FRA compliant railcars (i.e., subway and light rail vehicles) to run on the same tracks at the same times as compliant railcars, which includes locomotives and standard railroad passenger and freight equipment. Notable exceptions in
3800-691: The Torrance Transit Center , a 4.5-mile (7.2 km) extension study area. According to the LA County Expenditure Plan (Measure M), groundbreaking for the project is scheduled for 2026, with an expected opening in 2030–2033. The timeline is expected to be accelerated under the Twenty-eight by '28 initiative The project became an extension of the K Line upon the completion of Aviation/Century station , along with its associated service changes, on November 3, 2024. The original plans for
3895-530: The medians of roads . If run in streets , trains are usually limited by city block lengths to about four 180-passenger vehicles (720 passengers). Operating on two-minute headways using traffic signal progression, a well-designed two-track system can handle up to 30 trains per hour per track, achieving peak rates of over 20,000 passengers per hour in each direction. More advanced systems with separate rights-of-way using moving block signaling can exceed 25,000 passengers per hour per track. Most light rail systems in
K Line (Los Angeles Metro) - Misplaced Pages Continue
3990-619: The 1970s was proven to have been a technical failure by the following decade. After World War II, the Germans retained many of their streetcar networks and evolved them into model light rail systems ( Stadtbahnen ). With the exception of Hamburg , all large and most medium-sized German cities maintain light rail networks. The concept of a "limited tramway" was proposed by American transport planner H. Dean Quinby in 1962. Quinby distinguished this new concept in rail transportation from historic streetcar or tram systems as: The term light rail transit
4085-530: The Aviation/LAX station, running northeast to LAX and Westchester , similar to later plans for the second phase of the Sepulveda Transit Corridor . Although planners planned to add a spur towards LAX, they did not include it over fears that commuters would not use the line if they had to go through the airport on the way to work. The proposed extension to LAX was further complicated by concerns from
4180-461: The Aviation/LAX station. A north–south line along Crenshaw Boulevard was planned following the 1992 Los Angeles riots as a way to better serve transit-dependent residents in the corridor while at the same time providing stimulus for positive economic growth in the South Los Angeles region. The corridor was originally served by Los Angeles Railway Line 5 yellow streetcars until 1955 when
4275-616: The B Line's Hollywood/Highland station , with an optional station at the Hollywood Bowl also being considered. The San Vicente Alternative, also known as the hybrid alternative, follows Crenshaw Boulevard and San Vicente Boulevard , turning north on Fairfax Avenue to serve The Original Farmers Market and Television City before turning on Beverly Boulevard to connect back to San Vicente Boulevard near Cedars-Sinai Medical Center towards West Hollywood at Pacific Design Center . Finally, serving new stations on Santa Monica Boulevard ,
4370-543: The Crenshaw/LAX Line project connected Wilshire Boulevard to Los Angeles International Airport. However, once light rail was selected as the preferred mode, the cost for the entire route exceeded the project budget, so part of the corridor north of Exposition Boulevard was deferred until funds became available. The final design for the Crenshaw/LAX project included a tunneled station at Expo/Crenshaw to accommodate
4465-491: The French city of Bordeaux , the tramway network is powered by a third rail in the city center, where the tracks are not always segregated from pedestrians and cars. The third rail (actually two closely spaced rails) is placed in the middle of the track and divided into eight-metre sections, each of which is powered only while it is completely covered by a tram. This minimizes the risk of a person or animal coming into contact with
4560-631: The K Line since a restructuring in November 2024. The station is currently the southern terminus of the K Line. An extension beyond Redondo Beach into Torrance is in the planning stages. The station was initially named Marine Ave/Redondo Beach Ave but was later simplified to Redondo Beach in 2003. The train platform, currently suitable for two-car trains, is planned to be lengthened by 2028 to accommodate longer three-car trains. C Line service hours are approximately from 4:00 a.m. until 12:30 a.m. daily. Trains operate every 10 minutes throughout
4655-642: The US are the NJ Transit River Line from Camden to Trenton and Austin's Capital MetroRail , which have received exemptions to the provision that light rail operations occur only during daytime hours and Conrail freight service only at night, with several hours separating one operation from the other. The O-Train Trillium Line in Ottawa also has freight service at certain hours. With its mix of right-of-way types and train control technologies, LRT offers
4750-455: The US as a whole, excluding Seattle, new light rail construction costs average about $ 35 million per mile. By comparison, a freeway lane expansion typically costs $ 1.0 million to $ 8.5 million per lane mile for two directions, with an average of $ 2.3 million. However, freeways are frequently built in suburbs or rural areas, whereas light rail tends to be concentrated in urban areas, where right of way and property acquisition
4845-634: The United States and in North America . In Britain, modern light rail systems began to appear in the 1980s, starting with the Tyne and Wear Metro from 1980 and followed by the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) in London in 1987, continuing into the 1990s including the establishment of the Manchester Metrolink in 1992 and the Sheffield Supertram from 1994. Due to varying definitions, it
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#17328558276164940-583: The United States are limited by demand rather than capacity (by and large, most American LRT systems carry fewer than 4,000 persons per hour per direction), but Boston's and San Francisco's light rail lines carry 9,600 and 13,100 passengers per hour per track during rush hour. Elsewhere in North America, the Calgary C-Train and Monterrey Metro have higher light rail ridership than Boston or San Francisco. Systems outside North America often have much higher passenger volumes. The Manila Light Rail Transit System
5035-472: The United States, "light rail" has become a catch-all term to describe a wide variety of passenger rail systems. Light rail corridors may constitute a fully segregated corridor, a dedicated right-of-way on a street, an on-street corridor shared with other traffic, a corridor shared with other public transport, or a corridor shared with pedestrians. The most difficult distinction to draw is that between low-floor light rail and streetcar or tram systems. There
5130-598: The Westchester neighborhood of Los Angeles and the city of Redondo Beach . It is one of six lines in the Los Angeles Metro Rail system operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). The northern segment, the oldest segment of the line, opened on October 7, 2022, making it the system's newest line. On November 3, 2024, the C and K lines underwent service changes to accommodate pre-revenue testing at
5225-415: The ability of buses to travel closer to each other than rail vehicles and their ability to overtake each other at designated locations allowing express services to bypass those that have stopped at stations. However, to achieve capacities this high, BRT station footprints need to be significantly larger than a typical LRT station. In terms of cost of operation, each bus vehicle requires a single driver, whereas
5320-660: The busy Century Boulevard corridor. While initial plans called for the full length of the project to be opened for service while the LAX/Metro Transit Center was under development, delays in the opening of the main line meant that major construction on the station was already underway by the time the line was ready. As a result, the line opened on October 7, 2022 only from Expo/Crenshaw station to Westchester/Veterans station . The C Line and K lines will began operating along their final service patterns on November 3, 2024, with Aviation/Century station opening. However,
5415-862: The case of the Disney amusement parks , even a land train . (The usual British term for an aerial tramway is cable car , which in the US usually refers to a ground-level car pulled along by subterranean cables .) The word trolley is often used as a synonym for streetcar in the United States but is usually taken to mean a cart, particularly a shopping cart, in the UK and elsewhere. Many North American transportation planners reserve streetcar for traditional vehicles that operate exclusively in mixed traffic on city streets, while they use light rail to refer to more modern vehicles operating mostly in exclusive rights of way, since they may operate both side-by-side targeted at different passenger groups. The difference between British English and American English terminology arose in
5510-421: The closure of Glasgow Corporation Tramways (one of the largest in Europe) in 1962. Although some traditional trolley or tram systems continued to exist in San Francisco and elsewhere, the term "light rail" has come to mean a different type of rail system as modern light rail technology has primarily post-WWII West German origins. An attempt by Boeing Vertol to introduce a new American light rail vehicle in
5605-502: The corridor. A Major Investment Study was initiated in 1993, and after more than a decade of study, a Final Environmental Impact Report was completed in May 2011. The FTA gave its approval to build the line in 2012, and heavy construction began in June 2014, funded by Measure R . Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas was a key advocate for tunneling and other grade separation along
5700-415: The day. This combination of factors limits roads carrying only automobile commuters to a maximum observed capacity of about 3,000 passengers per hour per lane. The problem can be mitigated by introducing high-occupancy vehicle ( HOV ) lanes and ride-sharing programs, but in most cases, policymakers have chosen to add more lanes to the roads, despite a small risk that in unfavorable situations an extension of
5795-587: The day. Night and early morning weekend service is every 20 minutes. As of November 3, 2024 , the following connections are available: The station is within walking distance of the following notable places: The station appeared as the light rail station in the opening montage to the 1995 film Heat . The station also appeared in the closing moments of another film directed by Michael Mann , Collateral . [REDACTED] Media related to Redondo Beach (Los Angeles Metro station) at Wikimedia Commons This California train station-related article
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#17328558276165890-750: The direct translation, which is city rail (the Norwegian term, by bane , means the same). However, UMTA finally adopted the term light rail instead. Light in this context is used in the sense of "intended for light loads and fast movement", rather than referring to physical weight. The infrastructure investment is also usually lighter than would be found for a heavy rail system. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA), in its Glossary of Transit Terminology, defines light rail as: ...a mode of transit service (also called streetcar, tramway, or trolley) operating passenger rail cars singly (or in short, usually two-car or three-car, trains) on fixed rails in
5985-491: The existing C Line. Although some early proposals would have sent trains through all three directions of the wye, this was rejected by Metro because it would cause too much wear and tear on the track switch mechanisms . The debate over service patterns proved somewhat contentious. In 2018, with the line then scheduled to open within the year, the Metro board of directors overrode a recommendation by operations staff that would have had
6080-527: The figure above, in which the K Line would run north–south between Expo/Crenshaw and Redondo Beach, while the C Line would run west-east between LAX and Norwalk. On June 22, 2023, Metro's board of directors officially approved the implementation of Option 2 based on staff recommendation and public opinion. While the stations on the K Line were built to accommodate three-car trains, the former C Line stations built south of Interstate 105 were only built to accommodate two-car trains. To enable increased capacity of
6175-538: The future LAX/Metro Transit Center station . Trains access the yard via crossovers from the north and south sides of the yard. As of 2024, the Kinki Sharyo P3010 is the only rolling stock to serve the K Line. Trains run in one- or two-car consists. Metro is planning to extend the platforms south of Aviation/Century station to be able to eventually accommodate up to three-car trains. Light rail Light rail (or light rail transit , abbreviated to LRT )
6270-453: The late 19th century when Americans adopted the term "street railway", rather than "tramway", with the vehicles being called "streetcars" rather than "trams". Some have suggested that the Americans' preference for the term "street railway" at that time was influenced by German emigrants to the United States (who were more numerous than British immigrants in the industrialized Northeast), as it is
6365-524: The latter is described as light rail. In those places, trams running on mixed rights-of-way are not regarded as a light rail but considered distinctly as streetcars or trams. However, the requirement for saying that a rail line is "separated" can be quite low—sometimes just with concrete "buttons" to discourage automobile drivers from getting onto the tracks. Some systems such as Seattle's Link had on-road mixed sections but were closed to regular road traffic, with light rail vehicles and buses both operating along
6460-455: The light rail concept was the "Shaker Heights Rapid Transit" which started in the 1920s, was renovated in 1980-81 and is now part of RTA Rapid Transit . Many original tram and streetcar systems in the United Kingdom , United States , and elsewhere were decommissioned starting in the 1950s as subsidies for the car increased. Britain abandoned its tram systems, except for Blackpool , with
6555-434: The line, Metro plans to lengthen the platforms at Aviation/LAX station , Mariposa station , Douglas station , and Redondo Beach station . The project would also add traction power substations and replace catenary wire and track ties. In April 2023, the state awarded Metro $ 95 million for the project, which is expected to cost $ 141 million. The project is expected to be complete in time for the 2028 Summer Olympics. The line
6650-583: The line. He also convinced Metro in 2013 to add an extra underground station at Leimert Park (Crenshaw/Vernon). The route was designated as the K Line in November 2019. Originally scheduled to open in 2019, the project saw repeated delays. In April 2020, Metro announced that the completion date for the project would be pushed to no earlier than May 2021 due to construction issues. The support structures for bridges and tunnels had concrete plinths that were incorrectly installed, requiring extensive repairs to sections where tracks had already been installed. The K Line
6745-519: The most of the day. Trains run every 20 minutes after 8:00 p.m. every day and before 8:00 a.m. on weekends. The K Line currently serves 12 stations, with one final station expected to open in 2025. The following is the complete list of stations, from north to south: Extending the C Line (formerly the Green Line) to Los Angeles International Airport was an early goal of Los Angeles transit planners. Studies in 1984 and 1988 outlined routes from
6840-420: The new western terminus of the C Line and function as a transfer point to the currently under construction LAX Automated People Mover . The northern terminus of the southern segment begins at Century Boulevard, at Aviation/Century station , which sit on a viaduct and is shared with the C Line. The line then briefly enters an open trench as it passes close to the LAX runways before splitting from each other at
6935-465: The old and new systems. Since the 1980s, Portland, Oregon , has built all three types of system: a high-capacity light rail system in dedicated lanes and rights-of-way, a low-capacity streetcar system integrated with street traffic, and an aerial tram system . The opposite phrase heavy rail , used for higher-capacity, higher-speed systems, also avoids some incompatibilities in terminology between British and American English, for instance in comparing
7030-407: The peak direction during rush hour. Redondo Beach station Redondo Beach station is an elevated light rail station on the K Line of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system. It is located over Marine Avenue in the city of Redondo Beach, California , after which the station is named. It opened with the commencement of Green Line service on August 12, 1995. The station has been served by
7125-540: The required clearance height can be reduced significantly compared to conventional light rail vehicles. Reference speed from major light rail systems, including station stop time, is shown below. However, low top speed is not always a differentiating characteristic between light rail and other systems. For example, the Siemens S70 LRVs used in the Houston METRORail and other North American LRT systems have
7220-432: The right-of-way that is often separated from other traffic for part or much of the way. Light rail vehicles are typically driven electrically with power being drawn from an overhead electric line via a trolley [pole] or a pantograph ; driven by an operator onboard the vehicle; and may have either high platform loading or low-level boarding using steps." However, some diesel-powered transit is designated light rail, such as
7315-415: The road network might lead to increased travel times ( Downs–Thomson paradox , Braess's paradox ). By contrast, light rail vehicles can travel in multi-car trains carrying a theoretical ridership up to 20,000 passengers per hour in much narrower rights-of-way , not much more than two car lanes wide for a double track system. They can often be run through existing city streets and parks , or placed in
7410-401: The roads. Typically roadways have 1,900 passenger cars per lane per hour (pcplph). If only cars are allowed, the capacity will be less and will not increase when the traffic volume increases. When there is a bus driving on this route, the capacity of the lane will be higher and will increase when the traffic level increases. And because the capacity of a light rail system is higher than that of
7505-533: The route curves north again towards Hollywood . The other two options follow a traditional north–south routing on either Fairfax Avenue or La Brea Avenue . On Metro Rail's internal timetables, the K Line is called line 807 . The K Line is operated by Division 16 (Southwestern Yard) in Westchester directly east of the northern runways of the Los Angeles International Airport , and adjacent to
7600-613: The same as the German term for the mode, Straßenbahn (meaning "street railway"). A further difference arose because, while Britain abandoned all of its trams after World War II except in Blackpool , eight major North American cities ( Toronto , Boston , Philadelphia , San Francisco , Pittsburgh , Newark , Cleveland , and New Orleans ) continued to operate large streetcar systems. When these cities upgraded to new technology, they called it light rail to differentiate it from their existing streetcars since some continued to operate both
7695-443: The segment of both lines between Westchester/Veterans station and Aviation/Century station, including LAX/Metro Transit Center station, will not provide passenger service for a period of pre-revenue testing before they open at a later date. Metro is currently working on the initial environmental study of a corridor extension of the K Line from its Redondo Beach terminus toward the southeast. The C Line Extension would roughly follow
7790-564: The service was replaced with buses. The proposed line would link the E and C lines via Crenshaw and Florence, and a wye would be constructed to connect the K Line tracks to the C Line tracks near the Aviation/LAX station. There would also be a station serving the LAX Airport (Aviation/Century station), completing the LAX connection envisioned by planners in the 1980s. The new line was championed by State Senator Diane Watson and County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke , both representing portions of
7885-408: The standard gauge is that standard railway maintenance equipment can be used on it, rather than custom-built machinery. Using standard gauges also allows light rail vehicles to be conveniently moved around using the same tracks as freight railways. Additionally, wider gauges (e.g. standard gauge) provide more floor clearance on low-floor trams that have constricted pedestrian areas at the wheels, which
7980-551: The system was a success with the public, gaining up to 190,000 passengers per day. Automatic train operation is employed on light rail networks, tracking the position and speed of a train and hence adjusting its movement for safety and efficiency. One line of light rail (requires 7.6 m, 25' right of way) has a theoretical capacity of up to 8 times more than one 3.7 m (12 foot) lane on a freeway, excluding busses, during peak times. Roads have ultimate capacity limits that can be determined by traffic engineering , and usually experience
8075-499: The trams, making it safe on city streets. Several systems in Europe and a few recently opened systems in North America use diesel -powered trains. When electric streetcars were introduced in the late 19th century, conduit current collection was one of the first ways of supplying power, but it proved to be much more expensive, complicated, and trouble-prone than overhead wires . When electric street railways became ubiquitous, conduit power
8170-474: The upcoming LAX/Metro Transit Center station , scheduled to open in 2025. The C Line's western terminus was redirected to Aviation/Century station and the southern segment of the K Line was created between Aviation/Century station and Redondo Beach station . Once LAX/Metro Transit Center station opens, the C Line will terminate at this station, and the K Line will operate as a single, continuous service through it. The LAX Automated People Mover , which will offer
8265-455: The vast majority of light rail systems. This avoids the danger potentially presented by an electrified third rail . The Docklands Light Railway uses an inverted third rail for its electrical power, which allows the electrified rail to be covered and the power drawn from the underside. Trams in Bordeaux , France, use a special third-rail configuration where the power is only switched on beneath
8360-434: The widest range of latitude of any rail system in the design, engineering, and operating practices. The challenge in designing light rail systems is to realize the potential of LRT to provide fast, comfortable service while avoiding the tendency to overdesign that results in excessive capital costs beyond what is necessary to meet the public's needs. The BART railcar in the following chart is not generally considered to be
8455-527: Was coined in 1972 by the U.S. Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA; the precursor to the Federal Transit Administration ) to describe new streetcar transformations that were taking place in Europe and the United States. In Germany, the term Stadtbahn (to be distinguished from S-Bahn , which stands for Stadtschnellbahn ) was used to describe the concept, and many in UMTA wanted to adopt
8550-580: Was expected to be completed in 2011. The project was placed on hold in the spring of 2012 due to uncertain funding. With the passage of Measure M in 2016, $ 619 million was cited for the Green Line Extension south, and the study resumed. The DEIR was released in January 2023. The study area includes the former Harbor Subdivisions right of way. The extension study includes the Redondo Beach station to
8645-473: Was from its inception intended to offer a connection to LAX via an Automated People Mover (APM). However, at the time the line was designed, it was unclear where exactly that connection would take place. While Metro expected that the connection would be at Aviation/Century station, ultimately the route chosen for the LAX Automated People Mover intersected with the new line at 96th Street, about half
8740-662: Was introduced in North America in 1972 to describe this new concept of rail transportation. Prior to that time the abbreviation "LRT" was used for " Light Rapid Transit " and " Light Rail Rapid Transit ". The first of the new light rail systems in North America began operation in 1978 when the Canadian city of Edmonton, Alberta , adopted the German Siemens-Duewag U2 system, followed three years later by Calgary, Alberta , and San Diego, California . The concept proved popular, with there now being numerous light rail systems in
8835-511: Was substantially complete on June 17, 2022. Even with the line's completion, it won't connect to the C Line or LAX until late 2024. Metro is currently constructing a new station at LAX/Metro Transit Center, providing Metro riders a seamless transfer to the airport terminals via the LAX Automated People Mover system. During construction, Metro is only operating the K Line from Expo/Crenshaw station to Westchester/Veterans station with
8930-610: Was the Gross-Lichterfelde tramway in Lichterfelde near Berlin in Germany, which opened in 1881. It was built by Werner von Siemens who contacted Pirotsky. It initially drew current from the rails, with overhead wire being installed in 1883. The first interurban to emerge in the United States was the Newark and Granville Street Railway in Ohio, which opened in 1889. An early example of
9025-517: Was used in those cities that did not permit overhead wires. In Europe, it was used in London, Paris, Berlin, Marseille, Budapest, and Prague. In the United States, it was used in parts of New York City and Washington, D.C. Third rail technology was investigated for use on the Gold Coast of Australia for the G:link light rail, though power from overhead lines was ultimately utilized for that system. In
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