C Line (Los Angeles Metro)
Along the route, the line also serves the cities of Downey, Hawthorne, and Lynwood, as well as several unincorporated communities in the South Los Angeles region including Athens, Del Aire, and Willowbrook.The fully grade-separated route (essentially a light metro) runs mainly in the median strip of Interstate 105 (the Century Freeway) for its latitude portion and in a mixture of viaducts, embankments, and an open trench for its western leg.On November 3, 2024, the C and K lines underwent service changes to accommodate pre-revenue testing at the upcoming LAX/Metro Transit Center station, scheduled to open in 2025.The LAX Automated People Mover, which will offer a connection to the airport's terminals, will begin service at LAX/Metro Transit Center station in 2026.At Aviation/LAX station, passengers can transfer to any one of several bus lines from different operators, including LAX Shuttle Route M, which provides free service to Los Angeles International Airport.Construction began in 1987 on the corridor as a light rail line, envisioned as a connection with the bedroom communities in the Gateway Cities along the Century Freeway with the then-burgeoning aerospace center in El Segundo.Because Caltrans dropped a plan for the freeway to cross through Norwalk to Interstate 5, the line was denied a connection to the then-new Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs Metrolink station.[14] Additionally, although planners planned to add a spur to LAX, they did not include it in the initial project over fears that commuters would not use the line if they had to go through the airport on the way to work.However, since its opening, ridership continued growing steadily, peaking at nearly 13 million riders in 2014, prompting Metro to operate two-car trains.Although some early proposals would've sent trains through all three directions of the wye that will connect the existing C Line with the new segment, this was rejected by Metro because it would cause too much wear and tear on the track switch mechanisms.[25][26] The approved plan would incur higher operating expenses, but board members argued it would retain better transfer opportunities for South Bay residents.[29] On June 22, 2023, Metro's board of directors officially approved the implementation of Option 2 based on staff recommendation and public opinion.
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation AuthorityAviation/CenturyNorwalkLight railLos Angeles Metro RailKinki Sharyo P3010Track gaugestandard gaugeElectrificationOverhead lineExpo/CrenshawLAX/Metro Transit CenterRedondo BeachAviation/LAXHawthorne/LennoxCrenshawVermont/AthensHarbor FreewayAvalonWillowbrook/Rosa ParksLynwoodLakewood BoulevardLos AngelesWestchesterLos Angeles County, CaliforniaDowneyHawthorneSouth Los AngelesAthensDel AireWillowbrookgrade-separatedlight metromedian stripInterstate 105Los Angeles International AirportLAX/Metro Transit Center stationAviation/Century stationRedondo Beach stationLAX Automated People MoverelevatedCentury BoulevardK LineAviation/LAX stationJ Linebus rapid transitHarbor Freeway stationWillowbrook/Rosa Parks stationA LineNorwalk stationSan Gabriel River FreewayDowntown Los AngelesMetro BusMetrolinkUnion StationOrange CountyRiverside CountyNorwalk TransitNorwalk/Santa Fe Springs stationLAX ShuttleSoFi StadiumHistory of Los Angeles Metro Rail and BuswayCaltransconsent decreeGateway CitiesEl SegundoHarbor SubdivisionNorwalk/Santa Fe SpringsFederal Aviation Administrationoverhead linesL LineHarbor Transitwaytemporary bus shuttlestrack switch mechanismsSouth BayC Line's eastern terminusCalifornia High-Speed RailI-105/C Line stationinfill stationSoutheast Gateway LineDouglasBlue Line (now known as A Line)Siemens P2000InstagramFitch RatingsLos Angeles TimesLos Angeles Daily NewsDaily BreezeSouthern California Association of GovernmentsKABC-TVWayback MachineBuswayPomona NorthLa Verne/FairplexSan DimasGlendoraAPU/Citrus CollegeAzusa DowntownIrwindaleDuarte/City of HopeMonroviaArcadiaSierra Madre VillaMemorial ParkDel MarFillmoreSouth PasadenaHighland ParkSouthwest MuseumHeritage SquareLincoln/CypressChinatownLittle Tokyo/Arts DistrictHistoric BroadwayGrand Avenue Arts/Bunker Hill7th Street/Metro CenterGrand/LATTCSan Pedro StreetWashingtonVernonSlausonFlorenceFirestone103rd Street/Watts TowersComptonArtesia