L.A.'s subway at rush hour (Long Beach, Pomona: live, beach)

[JAC11105]

Can anyone give me the 101 on the LA subway system during rush hour? Is it overcrowded? I know it doesn't go everywhere and is slower compared to say NY (that is where I live now & relocating) but how long would you be waiting for a train in general?

thanks very much...

[bhcompy]

Very little of the LA metro system is actual subway. Most of it is above ground rail. As far as crowding, the Blue Line is very crowded, but not sure about others(I believe the Blue Line has the highest daily ridership). Check LA Metro Home for rail schedules

[JAC11105]

Oh, I thought the metrolink was the train that was above ground? I was already on their site and I was totally confused about the whole system... Ugh....

[MIKEETC]

Originally Posted by JAC11105

Oh, I thought the metrolink was the train that was above ground? I was already on their site and I was totally confused about the whole system... Ugh....

Metrolink is a heavy rail line while the Metro [insert color here] Lines are light rail. The majority of the Metro 'color' Lines are above or at-grade; I think only the Metro Red Line is entirely underground.

[Lifeshadower]

Well, I've actually ridden the Metro (Red, Orange, and Blue) lines during rush hour. It's usually very full, and if you aren't getting on at any of the end stops, good luck finding a seat.

However, the good thing is that trains/liners (for Orange Line) come every 5-10 minutes during rush hour. This means in case you miss one train/liner, another one will be coming shortly.

Here's a map of the current LA metro system

*Purple and Red lines are the only subway lines
*Gold, Green, and Blue lines are light rail
*Orange and Silver lines are BRT (Bus Rapid Transit), with the Orange line acting like a poor man's light rail

For commuter trains (Metrolink, comparable to the LIRR or Metro North), here's where it goes

I haven't ridden it before (haven't had the need to), but it isn't that bad from what I've heard.

[PHItoLAX]

I take the Red/Purple line to and from Union Station every day during rush hour (after taking the Gold Line from Pasadena) for a few stops to the Bunker Hill area. It's crowded, but I've never felt like it's shoulder to shoulder people like other large metros. They run into Union Station every 5 minutes for a few hours in the evening and out of Union Station every 6-7 minutes in the morning rush. Can't recall a time personally when that line was significantly late (more than 3-5 minutes) or just didn't run.

I also took Metrolink for quite a while along the SB line into LA and that was another story altogether. Guaranteed delays at least once a week it seemed. Overall they do pretty well though for connecting areas as far as 65-70 miles outside of downtown LA.

[King0fthehill]

Lifeshadower, the map actually looks like this, thanks to the November 2009 opening of the Eastside Gold Line extension. And it should change again next year, with the opening of the Expo light rail, of which will link Downtown and Culver City (in its first phase, that is).



Trains here are not especially crowded at any time of the day, at least not compared to the NYC's and Tokyo's of the world. Do expect crowds during rush hour, and weekend evenings, though. BTW, LA's Metro, while not nearly as expansive in coverage, is faster than NYC's Metro, due to less dense stop spacing, something of which makes the Red/Purple lines more comparable to NYC's express trains.

[the city]

The red line is the only underground subway. It goes from North Hollywood (Hollywood Area) to Downtown LA. There are planning to expand the Subway to Santa Monica and Beverly Hills. Basically, the high density urban areas use the subway and the suburban parts use Metro Link or above ground light Metro. The Blue Line into Long Beach and Gold Line into Pomona and Pasadena are above rail.

[2Easy]

Originally Posted by JAC11105

Can anyone give me the 101 on the LA subway system during rush hour? Is it overcrowded? I know it doesn't go everywhere and is slower compared to say NY (that is where I live now & relocating) but how long would you be waiting for a train in general?

thanks very much...

We don't really have a "subway system". We have the red line and a short purple line spur. The rest of the lines are light rail. But the green line is more subway as it is completely grade separated, but it does use light rail vehicles.

But as for the subway (red and purple) it's not as crowded as NYC, but it's more crowded than people think. All of the seats will be taken and there will be maybe 10-40 people standing per car on 4-6 car trains. Trains come every 10 minutes (effectively 5 minutes where red and purple lines are combined).

This is what the red line looks like at rush hour or during busy times on the weekend.






On the blue line all of the seats are taken with 10-50 standees per car on 3-car trains. Trains come every 5.5 minutes. The blue line is more crowded on Saturdays than during rush hour since trains only run every 12 minutes. This is what the first car can look like. The last car might even have empty seats as everyone crowds the first car due to poor station design.

[nickdahammer]

Well, it takes about 10 minutes to get from downtown to Hollywood. Is that slow?

7th/Metro is packed during rush hour, as is Union Station. MTA often runs multiple trains during rh, as does the Blue Line light rail. I've never waited longer than 10 minutes for a rh train, usually less than that.

Originally Posted by JAC11105

Can anyone give me the 101 on the LA subway system during rush hour? Is it overcrowded? I know it doesn't go everywhere and is slower compared to say NY (that is where I live now & relocating) but how long would you be waiting for a train in general?

thanks very much...