10 Things to Know About The
Santa Monica Train

The first Santa Monica train to pull into the city since 1953 rolled into service on Friday, May 20, 2016, connecting Santa Monica to downtown Los Angeles.

The Expo Line light rail service that previously ran between downtown Los Angeles and Culver City now treks an additional 6.6. miles west to downtown Santa Monica.

The new westernmost station is at 4th Street and Colorado Avenue - depositing passengers within walking distance of Santa Monica's best attractions: the Santa Monica Pier, the Third Street Promenade, and Santa Monica Place.

Best of all - the train can make the 15-mile trek from downtown in just 46 minutes - even during rush hour. It's a testament to Los Angeles' notorious traffic that this is a feat completed at a maximum route speed of 55 mph, although it generally runs much slower.

10 Facts About the Santa Monica Train Expo Line

  1.  This is the first rail transit to the far Westside since streetcars halted service in 1953.

  2.  The Expo Line train will be a good alternative to the congested 10/Santa Monica freeway. The trip between 7th/Metro Center in downtown Los Angeles and the Downtown Santa Monica Stations is expected to take 46 minutes.

  3.  The current Expo Line runs for 8.5 miles between 7th/Metro Center in downtown Los Angeles and Culver City. The 6.6-mile extension adds seven stations:    

•   Palms, an aerial station at the intersection of Palms Boulevard and National Avenue;

• Westwood/Rancho Park, a street-level station on Westwood Boulevard, .3 miles south of Pico Boulevard and the Westside Pavilion. This is the best transfer point for buses headed up Westwood Blvd. to Westwood Village and UCLA.

• Expo/Sepulveda, an aerial station on Sepulveda Boulevard, just south of Pico Boulevard. Offices, retailers, and neighborhoods are nearby, including Sawtelle Japantown.
  

•  Expo/Bundy, an aerial station on Bundy, just south of Olympic Boulevard. A variety of offices and retailers are nearby. The station is also about 1.5 miles from the Santa Monica Airport and neighboring business parks along Ocean Park Boulevard.

• 26th/Bergamot, a street-level station adjacent to the Bergamot Station arts complex in Santa Monica and across Olympic Boulevard from the Water Garden office complex.

• 17th Street/Santa Monica College, a street-level station at Colorado and 17th Street. It is .6-mile walk or bike ride (get info on Santa Monica's Breeze Bike Share program here) to Santa Monica College.

• Downtown Santa Monica, a street-level station at Colorado and 4th that is steps away from the Santa Monica Pier, the beach, Santa Monica Place, the Third Street Promenade, Palisades Park, Tongva Park, and the Santa Monica Civic Center. 
  

  4.  Trains will run every 12 minutes at most times of the day with service beginning around 4 a.m. weekdays and ending around midnight. Friday and Saturday nights, the Expo Line will run until 2 a.m.

  5.  Parking is available at three stations: Expo/Sepulveda (260 spaces), Expo/Bundy (250 spaces), and 17th Street/Santa Monica College (70 spaces). The fee is expected to be $2 a day for drivers using the Metro Rail.

  6.  A regular adult fare on the Santa Monica train is $1.75 and includes two hours of free transfers. There will be discounts for seniors, students, the disabled, and Medicare recipients.

  7.  There is a paved bike path along much of the train line between Culver City and Palms, and between Overland Avenue and Colorado/17th Street station in Santa Monica. 

  8.  The Metro Rail will grow to 105 miles of routes with the addition of the Expo 2 line to Santa Monica and the Gold Line to Azusa. 

  9.  Santa Monica will becomes the 17th city in Los Angeles to have a Metro Rail station. 

  10.  The Expo Line largely follows the old Exposition railroad right-of-way that was used by Pacific Electric streetcars and freight trains. 

Santa Monica Train Details

The downtown to Santa Monica train runs from approximately 5 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. weekdays, and until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. For more information and rail schedules, visit BuildExpo.org. You'll find more info on Visiting Santa Monica here.