The world's longest modern light rail line spans nearly 58 miles across Los Angeles

Cultures · Published 10 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Spanning 57.7 miles from Pomona to Long Beach, the Los Angeles Metro A Line is a feat of modern transit engineering. Once a fragmented collection of rail projects, it now serves 48 stations, carrying over 22 million riders annually while navigating complex historical, geographical, and safety challenges in Southern California.

The A Line, formerly known as the Blue Line, holds the title of the world's longest modern light rail route. Its current configuration is the result of decades of planning and construction, beginning with the original 1990 segment between Downtown Los Angeles and Long Beach. The line's northern expansion was long delayed by funding constraints, particularly following the 1998 Proposition A, which restricted subway funding and stalled various rail projects. It was not until the completion of the Regional Connector tunnel in 2023 that the northern and southern segments were finally linked, allowing for a continuous journey from Pomona to Long Beach.

Operating this massive line requires a complex logistics network. Because of its length, operators do not run trains from end to end; instead, they swap crews at Union Station. Maintenance and storage are split between two divisions: Division 11 in North Long Beach and Division 24 in Monrovia. The route itself is a patchwork of infrastructure, incorporating segments of the historic Pacific Electric Long Beach Line and the former Pasadena Subdivision, which dates back to the 1880s. Today, it serves as the busiest light rail route in the Metro system, with weekday boardings averaging 69,216 as of May 2024.

Despite its success, the A Line faces significant operational and safety hurdles. It is statistically the deadliest rail line in the United States, with over 800 collisions and 120 fatalities recorded since 1990. Factors contributing to this include high population density, driver frustration, and the pressure to maintain strict headways. Furthermore, the line is frequently at capacity, with bottlenecks at at-grade sections like Flower Street in Downtown Los Angeles limiting potential growth. While Metro has implemented safety measures like four-quadrant gates, the system continues to grapple with the tension between high ridership demands and the physical constraints of its urban environment.

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