Purple Line (Los Angeles Metro)

Metro Purple Line

Metro Purple Line at Union Station. Metro Purple Line at Union Station.
Overview
Owner	Metro Rail
Transit type	Heavy rail
Line number	805
Number of stations	8
Daily ridership	150,774 (April 2014; avg. weekday, combined with Metro Red Line)
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	6.5 mi (10.5 km)
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 Legend Union Station        Metrolink, Amtrak, & FlyAway Civic Center/Grand Park      Pershing Square    (northbound only) 7th Street/Metro Center         Westlake/MacArthur Park    Wilshire/Vermont    Metro Red Line Wilshire/Normandie Wilshire/Western Wilshire/La Brea Wilshire/Fairfax Wilshire/La Cienega Wilshire/Rodeo Century City Westwood/UCLA Westwood/VA Hospital

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

File:Interior of Metro Purple Line Train.JPG

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.

Service description

Route

The Metro Purple Line 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.

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. 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.

History

Main article: Red Line (Los Angeles Metro) § Construction 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.

Future extension

Main article: Purple Line 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.

Station listing

File:LA Metro Purple Line Union Station.JPG

Metro Purple Line train at Union Station.Both the Metro Red & Purples' end at Union Station which is the eastern terminus of both lines.

File:Pershing Square Metro Red & Purple Lines Station 2.JPG

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

File:7th Street Metro Station.JPG

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.

File:Westlake & Alvarado Metro Red & Purple Lines Station.JPG

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

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

Station	Connections	Date Opened	Station Parking	City/ Neighborhood
Union Station	Metro Red Line   Metro Gold Line   Metro Silver Line Metro Local: 40, 68, 70, 71, 78 79, 378 Metro Express: 485, 487, 489 Metro Rapid: 704, 728, 733, 745, 770 Amtrak FlyAway Foothill Transit: Silver Streak Metrolink	January 30, 1993	Nearby Paid Parking (Independent)	Downtown Los Angeles
Civic Center/Grand Park	Metro Red Line   Metro Silver Line Metro Local: 2, 4, 10, 14, 30, 37, 40, 45, 48, 68, 70, 71, 76, 78, 79, 81, 83, 84, 90, 91, 92, 94, 96, 330, 378 Metro Express: 442, 487, 489 Metro Rapid: 728, 733, 745, 770, 794 Foothill Transit: Silver Streak	January 30, 1993	Nearby Paid Parking (Independent)
Pershing Square	Metro Red Line   Metro Silver Line (Northbound Only) Metro Local: 2, 4, 10, 14, 16, 18, 28, 30, 33, 37, 38, 40, 45, 48, 53, 55, 62, 68, 70, 71, 76, 78, 79, 81, 83, 84, 90, 91, 92, 94, 96, 316, 330, 378 Metro Express: 460, 487, 489 Metro Rapid: 720, 728, 745, 770, 794 Foothill Transit: Silver Streak Angels Flight	January 30, 1993	Nearby Paid Parking (Independent)
7th Street/Metro Center	Metro Red Line   Metro Blue Line   Metro Expo Line   Metro Silver Line Metro Local: 14, 16, 18, 20, 37, 51, 52, 60, 62, 66, 76, 78, 79, 81, 316, 352, 378 Metro Express: 450X, 460, 487, 489 Metro Rapid: 720, 760 Foothill Transit: Silver Streak Big Blue Bus: Rapid 10	January 30, 1993	None
Westlake/MacArthur Park	Metro Red Line Metro Local: 18, 20, 51, 52, 200, 352, 603 Metro Express: 487, 489 Metro Rapid: 720	January 30, 1993	None	Westlake
Wilshire/Vermont	Metro Red Line Metro Local: 18, 20, 51, 52, 201, 204, 352 Metro Rapid: 720, 754	July 13, 1996	Nearby Paid Parking (Independent)	Mid-Wilshire /Koreatown
Wilshire/Normandie	Metro Local: 18, 20, 206 Metro Rapid: 720	July 13, 1996	None
Wilshire/Western	Metro Local: 18, 20, 66, 207, 209 Metro Rapid: 710, 720, 757 Big Blue Bus: Rapid 7	July 13, 1996	None

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. The cars are maintained in a Metro yard on Santa Fe Drive near 4th Street alongside the Los Angeles River in Downtown Los Angeles.

See also

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

External links

• Purple Line homepage
• Purple Line schedule