LOS Angeles transport authority Metro opened a 14.6km extension to light rail Line A on September 19. Line A now extends for a total of 92.7km, serving 48 stops and retaining its title, according to Metro, as the longest light rail line in the world.

Running from Azusa to Pomona, the extension has four stops at Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne/Fairplex and Pomona North.

LRVs are operating at 8 minute intervals on the line between 04.00 and 00.00 during weekday peak hours. The journey time for the whole route between central Los Angeles and Pomona is scheduled to take 1h 4min. The extension includes an interchange with Metrolink’s San Bernadino commuter line at Pomona North.

The project cost $US 1.5bn and was managed by independent agency Foothill Construction Authority (FCA), which handed over the line to Metro earlier this year. A design and build contract was awarded to a joint venture of Kiewit and Parsons in 2019 and construction started the following year. It included an option to extend the line by a further 5km from Pomona to Montclair, with two new stops at Claremont and Montclair.

However, on September 15 the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA) said in a statement that the governance structure behind this project would require it to contribute funding while “denying the board a meaningful voice in project oversight or in the perpetual commitment of operating funds.” As a result, it had “made the difficult but necessary decision” to remove funding believed to be worth $US 37m and would instead study opportunities to expand Metrolink services in the same corridor.

Montclair city officials are pushing SBCTA to reconsider its decision.

According to Metro, sufficient funding is expected to enable FCA to extend the line 4.1km from Pomona to Claremont within Los Angeles county.  FCA has states that it will reassess the remaining 1km extension to Montclair as a possible separate future project, but no timeline has been specified for this.

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