LOS ANGELES — Starting Friday afternoon, Angelenos will be able to travel from East Los Angeles to Santa Monica and from Azusa to Long Beach without transferring trains.
They will also be able to visit various points in downtown LA by rail for the first time when the LA Country Metropolitan Transportation Authority opens its highly anticipated Regional Connector Transit Project.
Even better, they can ride the entire Metro system for free all weekend.
The Regional Connector bridges the gap between the A (Blue) and E (Gold) lines with three new stops through downtown — at Grand Avenue in Bunker Hill, on 2nd Street at Broadway and between 1st and 2nd streets in Little Tokyo and the Arts District. It also brings together five existing Metro train lines — the Blue, Gold, Expo, Purple and Red lines — at the 7th Street Metro Center station.
Riders who travel to and through downtown on the new Regional Connector could save up to 20 minutes from no longer needing to transfer trains, Metro said. Still, travelers intent on riding the rails from Azusa all the way to Long Beach will spend more than two hours to make the trip.
The L line, and its shuttle, will be no more. The current L line between the Little Tokyo/Arts District Station and the Azusa Pacific University/Citrus College Station will become part of the A line, while the part of the L line between Little Tokyo and Atlantic Station will become part of the E line.