Purple Line (Los Angeles Metro)

Metro Purple Line

Metro Purple Line at Union Station.
Overview
Owner	Metro Rail
Transit type	Heavy rail
Line number	805
Number of stations	8(11) Future
Daily ridership	149,096 (July 2016; avg. weekday, combined with Metro Red Line)[1]
Website	Purple Line
Operation
Began operation	January 30, 1993 (January 30, 1993) (as a branch of the Red Line, renamed in 2006)
Operator(s)	Metro (LACMTA)
Character	Subway (fully underground)
Number of vehicles	Breda A650
Train length	4 cars (2 cars during off-peak hours)
Technical
System length	6.4 mi (10.3 km)[2][3]
No. of tracks	2
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge)
Electrification	750 V DC third rail
System map Amtrak & Metrolink Union Station     US 101 Civic Center/Grand Park    Pershing Square   7th Street/Metro Center       Blue Line to Long Beach   Expo Line to Santa Monica SR 110 Westlake/MacArthur Park   Wilshire/Vermont     Metro Red Line to North Hollywood Wilshire/Normandie Wilshire/Western Purple Line Extension (planned) Purple Line Extension (planned) Wilshire/La Brea (2023) Wilshire/Fairfax (2023) Wilshire/La Cienega (2023) Wilshire/Rodeo (2026) Century City (2026) Westwood/UCLA (2035) Westwood/VA Hospital (2035)

The Purple Line is a heavy rail subway line operating in Los Angeles, running between downtown and the Mid-Wilshire/Koreatown districts. It is one of six lines on the Metro Rail System, operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Inside train fleet number #530 on the Metro Purple Line.

The Metro Purple Line is one of the city's two subway lines (along with the Metro Red Line). Although they separate west of Downtown Los Angeles, the two subway lines (Purple and Red) were originally branded as two branches of the Red Line. The Purple Line was instituted as its own line, separate from the Red Line, in 2006. As of October 2013, the combined Red and Purple lines averaged 169,478 boardings per weekday.^[1] Out of the eight stations served, only two of them are exclusive to the Purple Line, with the other six shared with the Red Line.

Service description

Route

The Metro Purple Line is a 6.4-mile (10.3 km) line^[2] that begins at Union Station. At Union Station, passengers can connect to the Metro Silver Line bus rapid transit line, and the Metro Gold Line. The Purple Line travels southwest through Downtown Los Angeles, passing the Civic Center, Pershing Square (near the Historic Core) and the Financial District. Passengers can connect to the Metro Silver Line (both directions) at Civic Center Station. At Pershing Square Station, passengers can board the northbound Metro Silver Line bus at Olive Street/5th Street. At 7th St/Metro Center Station, travelers can connect to the Metro Blue Line, Metro Expo Line and the Metro Silver Line. From here, the train travels between 7th Street and Wilshire Boulevard (and briefly Ingraham Street) west through Pico-Union and Westlake, arriving at Wilshire/Vermont in the city's Mid-Wilshire/Koreatown district. Up to this point, track is shared with the Metro Red Line: at Wilshire/Vermont, the two lines diverge. The Purple Line continues west for one additional mile, and terminates at Wilshire/Western.

Duplicate service on Wilshire

The Purple Line runs underground, below Wilshire Boulevard which is served on the surface by Metro Local route 20 and Metro Rapid route 720. Despite the duplicate service, Metro considers the redundant bus service justified because both bus routes run frequently from Downtown Los Angeles. Unlike the Purple Line, they run along the entire Wilshire corridor, west to Beverly Hills, Westwood and Santa Monica.

Hours of operation

Trains run between approximately 4:45 a.m. and 11:30 p.m. daily, with late night weekend service running until approximately 2:00 a.m.^[4]

First and last train times are as follows:

To/From Wilshire/Western

Eastbound

• First Train to Union Station: 4:41 a.m.
• Last Train to Union Station: 11:42 p.m. (2:01 a.m. Friday and Saturday nights)

Westbound

• First Train to Wilshire/Western: 4:56 a.m.
• Last Train to Wilshire/Western: 11:27 p.m. (2:12 a.m. Friday and Saturday nights)

During the evenings Purple Line trains sometimes run as shuttles. Passengers must transfer to a Red Line train at Wilshire/Vermont. This will change once the Purple Line is extended to Westwood.

Headways

Trains on the Purple Line operate every ten minutes during peak hours Monday through Friday.^[5] They operate every twelve minutes during the daytime weekdays and all day on the weekends after approximately 10 a.m. (with a 15-minute headway early Saturday and Sunday mornings). Night service can range between 10–20 minutes. Due to being paired with the Red Line, the headways between Union Station and Wilshire/Vermont are cut in half, so the Red/Purple Line trunk has trains running five to ten minutes throughout service times.

Ridership

The Purple Line is utilized mostly as a downtown shuttle on its shared segment with the Red Line. The stub between Vermont and Western has a very low ridership. According to Metro Service Coordinator Conan Cheung, the stub is operating 11% full during peak hours, and even lower at other times.^[6]

History

The "Purple Line" was originally one of two main branches of the Red Line, which was completed in 1996 and opened as the second segment of the Red Line. It was part of a much longer Red Line plan to the Westside, until that plan was scrapped due to political opposition and geotechnical difficulties. Therefore, only one mile of this branch was ever built: a short stub connecting Wilshire/Vermont and Wilshire/Western. In 2006, the route operating between LA Union Station and Wilshire/Western Station was renamed the "Purple Line" to help distinguish it from the North Hollywood branch, which retained the name Red Line.

Current and proposed extension

Metro is now aiming to complete the subway to the Westside. The new project is called the Purple Line Extension (the project was previously called the Westside Subway Extension) and the first phase broke ground on November 7, 2014. Metro released the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) on March 19, 2012, and the first phase of the project (to Wilshire / La Cienega) was approved by Metro's Board of Directors on April 26, 2012.^[7] Notice to proceed was issued to Tutor Perini on April 26, 2017 for phase two from Wilshire/La Cienega Station to Century City/Constellation Station. Pre construction has commenced. ^[8] Metro still attempting to obtain Funding for phase three.

Station listing

Metro Purple Line train at Union Station. The Metro Red and Purple lines both end at Union Station,
the eastern terminus of both lines.

Pershing Square Station is served both by the Metro Red & Purple Lines.

Metro Red & Purple Lines platform at 7th Street/Metro Center Station. At this transfer station passengers can connect to the Metro Silver Line at the street level, or the Metro Blue & Expo Lines above this platform.

Westlake/Mac Arthur Park Metro Red & Purple Lines station platform.

The following table lists the stations of the Purple Line, from east to west:

Operations

Maintenance

The Purple Line is operated out of the Division 20 Yard (Santa Fe Yard) located at 320 South Santa Fe Avenue Los Angeles. This yard stores the fleet used on the Red and Purple Line. It is also where heavy maintenance is done on the fleet. Subways get to this yard by continuing on after Union Station. Trains make a right turn before coming to surface level at Ducommun Street, and then travel south to 1st Street where they enter the yard.

Rolling stock

The Purple Line uses Breda A650 75-foot (23 m) electric multiple unit cars built by Breda in Italy. Trains usually run in four-car consists during peak hours and two-car consists outside of peak hours. The acceleration for cars #530 and up is similar to that of cars used by the Washington Metro because they both use General Electric traction motors.^[9][10] The cars are maintained in a Metro yard on Santa Fe Drive near 4th Street alongside the Los Angeles River in Downtown Los Angeles.

In March 2017, Metro ordered new CRRC HR4000 railcars, some of which will operate on the Purple Line once the extension is completed.^[11]

See also

• Purple Line Extension
• Red Line (Los Angeles Metro)
• Los Angeles County Metro Rail
• Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority

References

External links

Route map: Google

Wikimedia Commons has media related to LACMTA Purple Line.

• Purple Line homepage
• Purple Line schedule