Metro LA has been rapidly building and expanding the entire system throughout the LA basin, and the newest extension of the Metro A Line is no exception.
Starting Friday, September 19, the 9.1-mile extension will open to the general public, serving four new stations in Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne, and Pomona. It has been more than 70 years since local transit trains — then Pacific Electric streetcars — served these communities.
Riders will be able to transfer between Metro and Metrolink at Pomona Station, offering a new, quicker way to travel between the Inland Empire and the Foothill Cities corridor.
The extension will improve access to educational institutions (such as Cal Poly Pomona, University of La Verne, Mt. San Antonio College, and Pomona College among others), recreation centers like the Los Angeles County Fairplex (where cricket will make its official return to the Olympic Games in 2028!), as well as regional parks, museums, and historic downtowns.
WHAT GOT US TO THIS POINT
These communities were initially served by both the Pacific Electric and the Santa Fe Railway. The Pacific Electric between Monrovia and Glendora stopped operating in the region in 1951. The Santa Fe gradually reduced service, only stopping at Pasadena and Pomona. Amtrak took over passenger train operations in 1971 and continued stopping in both cities until 1994, when the route was officially discontinued. This was due to the Santa Fe Railway selling the right-of-way to the Metro’s predecessor, the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission (LACTC).
In 1998, the California State Legislature created a joint powers authority—the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority—to oversee the construction of the extension from Pasadena to Montclair. The first section between downtown L.A. and Pasadena opened in 2003, and the first extension to Azusa was introduced in 2016.
In 2020, construction began on the soon-to-open section that extends the A Line to Pomona. This past January, the Construction Authority turned the project over to Metro for training and pre-revenue service.
RIDING THE A LINE
Trains will operate every 8 minutes during peak hours from 4:00 a.m. to midnight along the entire route from Long Beach, through downtown Los Angeles, to Pomona North. Various transit connections will be available at the four new stations, and the A Line will serve 15 nearby college campuses as well as Glendora Village, Raging Waters, Fairplex, Fox Theater, and more.
For more information, visit metro.net/alinetopomona.
