Expo Light Rail slated to open April 28

The light rail line that runs from downtown Los Angeles to Culver City alongExposition and Jefferson boulevards will opento the public on April 28, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced Friday, March23.
The 7.6-mile section of the Expo Line Phase I will travelfrom downtown south to USC, and then west to a stop at the intersection of LaCienega and Jefferson boulevards. A station in Culver City,which will serve as the western end of the line until a second phase opens to Santa Monica in 2015,will not be part of the initial opening. Officials hope to open the additionalmile to the Culver Citystop over the summer.
Villaraigosa called the planned opening “a criticalstep towards creating the multi-faceted transit network that Angelenosdeserve.”
The mayor, who also chairs the Los Angeles CountyMetropolitan
Transportation Authority Board of Directors, also took mediaon a ride-along.
“When Angelenos rallied together to pass Measure R,voters sent the
message loud and clear that we want transit options beyondthe single-passenger automobile,” Villaraigosa said. “Los Angeles has beenleading the way to improve and expand our infrastructure and supportjobs.”
The Expo Line will operate seven days a week from about 5a.m. to 12:30 a.m. Officials expect about 27,000 daily boardings.
Metro CEO Art Leahy said the opening will mark the firsttime the traffic-choked Westside will see rail transit in 50 years. “Andwe’re also
gearing up to soon open the Metro Orange Line buswayextension to Chatsworth in the San Fernando Valley,”he said.
“These and other transit projects in the pipeline willgive commuters and others real options for parking their cars, hopping on thebus or train and beating high gas prices,” Leahy said.