After nearly 10 years of construction, for the first time empty trains are being sent down the new tracks and through the twin tunnels to test the nearly completed LA Metro Regional Connector rail line beneath downtown Los Angeles, signaling the long-awaited subway is nearing its debut.
Testing the empty trains is the last step in an arduous construction process that began in 2014. Opening the line to the public is next. Although a January progress report cited April 21 as the date Metro would allow paying riders, train watchers say that date will be missed and the underground subway that connects the L (Gold), A (Blue), E (Expo), B (Red) and D (Purple) lines will likely open this summer.
LA Metro will not give a time frame, but says this is a major step forward. Among other things, the line from Long Beach to Azusa will be the longest light-rail line in the world. “Metro expects to open the Regional Connector later this year. No new date has been announced,” wrote Patrick Chandler, spokesman, in an email on April 4.
The riderless trains are click-clacking on the new tracks late each night, as operators test the switches, signals, electric power, communications systems, as well as safety systems involving proper ventilation, smoke detectors and fire-alarm response times, Chandler said.
Testing on Regional Connector
Testing started in February, Chandler said, and has continued nearly every night since. Train watchers who have followed its progress since inception said testing a complex new line that involves melding with other lines will take several more months.
The testing has slowed the project and other delays were caused by tunneling issues and COVID disruptions, including supply-chain kinks that delayed delivery of materials, Metro reported.
The line’s construction began in late 2014 and is now three years beyond its opening date, and has grown in cost from $1.42 billion to $1.67 billion.
Gold Line from Atlantic Station enters the Regional…
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