LA Metro’s long-awaited Pomona extension welcomes first riders

Riders can now take the LA Metro to the edge of Los Angeles County, as the A Line extension to Pomona is officially open for service.

On Friday, LA Metro welcomed travelers on the new extension with entertainment, food and celebrations at the A Line’s four new stations between the former terminus in Azusa and the new end-of-the-line in Pomona.

It’s a project that extends the world’s longest light-rail line by about nine miles, bringing the A Line’s total length to over 57 miles between Long Beach and Pomona, with riders able to ride its entirety from end to end for only $1.75.

The Foothill Gold Line extension cost an estimated $1.5 billion to complete, with primary construction beginning back in July 2020. It included the construction of new stops located in Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne and Pomona, as well as 19 bridges, 21 street crossings, new parking facilities and more than 10 miles of sound-resistant walls constructed from recycled tires.

The line’s expansion was funded primarily by L.A. County’s Measure M half-cent sales tax, along with state grants and Measure R funds.

The northern extension of the LA Metro line has been in the works in various forms for more than 25 years, including arriving in Pasadena in 2003, and construction beginning in 2010 to extend the then-Gold Line from Pasadena to Azusa.

This latest completed segment is considered Phase 2B1, with a final extension to Montclair, dubbed Phase 2B2, currently in a state of uncertainty due to ongoing disputes between the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority, the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority and LA Metro. The extension could ultimately end up coming just short of San Bernardino County when it reaches Claremont at a future date.

This extension of the A Line is the latest major transit project completed in recent months. In June, the LAX Metro Transit Center station opened in Westchester, providing the first rail connection to Southern California’s busiest airport. The long-awaited automated people mover, delayed multiple times and pushed back several years for myriad reasons, is set to open early 2026.

Phase 1 of the Metro D Line subway extension to Miracle Mile and Beverly Hills is tentatively set to begin service this fall, although an exact date has not been released.

That underground line will continue to be extended into Century City by 2026, and then to the L.A. Veterans Administration complex in Westwood by 2027.