Metro Gold Line Foothill train set to roll on March 5. The 11.5 mile extension from East Pasadena's Sierra Madre Villa Station to Azusa/Glendora border is expected to have 13,600 riders per day and trains to arrive every 12 minutes. The new stations are Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte/City of Hope, Irwindale, Azusa Downtown, and Azusa Pacific University.
Gold Line Foothill extension opens today. Timeline of history is shown. Parties begin at 10:00 AM for opening ceremony, free rides today. The $1 billion, 11.5-mile extension opens for passenger service. New stations in Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Irwindale, and two in Azusa.
All aboard: Arcadia gets into training. The Metro Gold Line Station in Arcadia will have a grand opening on Saturday, March 5. The light rail Foothill Extension from Pasadena to Azusa will be offering free rides on March 5.
Lack of train cars may delay the openings of the Expo Line Phase 2 from Culver City to Santa Monica and the Gold Line Foothill Extension from Pasadena to Azusa. Metro reports delivery of rail cars won't be complete until January 2017, while construction of the extensions should be done July/August (Expo) and late September (Gold Line), of 2015. The builder of the train cars is Kinkisharyo International, a Japanese company that is assembling the light rail trains in Palmdale, California. The Expo Line needs 42 cars and the Gold Line needs 15.
Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension officially starts March 5. The extension runs from its current terminus at Sierra Madre Villa Station in Pasadena to Azusa Pacific University/Citrus College Station.
Foothill Gold Line construction update. The Gold Line light rail from Pasadena to Azusa has now surpassed 85% complete. Overview of bridge construction, track completion, grade crossings, and train testing. Substantial completion of entire project remains on schedule for late September 2015, when the project as a whole will be turned over to Metro for pre-revenue service. Metro will decide when the line will open for passenger service.
Metro Foothill Gold Line crossing gates snarl traffic. Faulty part that was recalled worldwide blamed for malfunctions. There are 14 at-grade crossings throughout the 5 cities along the new extension: Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Irwindale and Azusa (has two stations). Arcadia has only one at-grade crossing, but some cars were stuck at the crossing for 5 minutes or more. Each of the cities is working closely with Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority to synchronize traffic signals with train crossings to improve traffic flow.
Mass transit riders take preview run on 11.5 mile Gold Line Foothill extension from is current terminus at Sierra Madre Villa Station (in Pasadena) to the six new stations to the east, including Arcadia Station, Monrovia Station, Duarte Station, Irwindale Station, Downtown Azusa Station, and Azusa Pacific University/Citrus College Station. The new rail cars are stainless steel, made by Kinkisharyo, Model P3010.
Gold Line bridge across the 210 Freeway just west of Santa Anita Avenue is underway. There is a temporary support structure across the lanes which allows trucks under 15 feet tall to pass freely. When the structure is complete, the Gold Line Construction Authority says the height allowance will be 19 feet. The $18.6 million, 584-foot Gold Line Bridge, the first component of the 11.5 mile Pasadena to Azusa Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension, started last summer and expected to be completed later this year.
Trainspotting in Arcadia. First tests of Gold Line light rail between Pasadena and Azusa start. Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension conducted the first of many clearance tests involving actual Metro Gold Line train from Sierra Madre Villa Station (in Pasadena) to Azusa. The train was a $4 million Ansaldo Breda P2250 with specialized gear to test clearances, wheel/rail interface, rail switches, and Overhead Catenary System.
Arcadia city officials adopt a 5-year redevelopment plan. The major goals are the expansion of the Rusnak Mercedes Benz auto dealership, development around the future Gold Line station and several affordable housing programs. The city demolished the Church of Arcadia's old building at 21 Morlan Place in September to make room for a parking lot that could be used by Rusnak.
Train testing underway throughout summer along the Foothill Gold Line light rail project from Pasadena to Azusa. Testing is currently taking place in Duarte and portions of Irwindale, and will expand to the cities of Pasadena, Arcadia, Monrovia and Azusa over the next several months.
The county Metropolitan Transportation Authority will sell naming rights to all rail lines, bus lines, and transit stations, such as the Gold Line Monrovia Station (in photo) and Foothill Gold Line Arcadia Station (in photo). The Corporate Sponsorship/Naming Rights Program was approved by the Metro board. CEO Phil Washington wants to stretch revenue; board member objects to commercialization.
Construction of 210 Freeway Gold Line bridge near Santa Anita Avenue in Arcadia, is nearing completion. Work should be complete in 3 months. Nighttime closures of the freeway will cause delays. The bridge will allow connection between Pasadena's Sierra Madre Villa Station and the future Arcadia Station. It is the first piece of the $735 million, 11.5 mile Pasadena-to-Azusa Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension.
All aboard: Gold Line extension opened yesterday with free rides, and nearly 30,000 people jammed into the 6 new stations from Arcadia to Azusa. Photos of the grand opening.
Riders head to Pasadena, not Los Angeles. Ridership on the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension is surpassing expectations. The east Pasadena to Azusa/Glendora extension, which opened March 5 is carrying 4000-5000 riders on weekdays and 3800 to 4000 on Saturday and Sunday. 18 percent of the riders from Arcadia Station went to Pasadena. Other rider statistics are given.
Completion of the Gold Line Bridge over the 210 Foothill Freeway in Arcadia is celebrated. The $18.6 million bridge, completed on time and on budget, is only one element of the $1.2 billion eastward extension of the Gold Line through Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Irwindale, and Azusa. Andrew Leicester is the artist and designer of the bridge baskets.
A Metro Gold Line deal to purchase land in Monrovia for a maintenance yard for $56 million, from George Brokate, a Marine veteran from Newport Beach, has been reached. This cleared the last major obstacle to the $735 million Pasadena to Azusa Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension. Photo shows the Gold Line bridge over the 210 Freeway in Arcadia under construction.
Gold Line bridge work to cause more closures. The construction remains on schedule and will require as many as 20 late-night full eastbound lane closures in the next two months. The final abutment, or end of the bridge, will be poured next week. The full lane closures generally occur from midnight to 5:00 AM, during which traffic will be detoured off the 210 Freeway at Baldwin Avenue and routed along Foothill Boulevard to Santa Anita Avenue.
The Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority has predicted that people will get on the Pasadena-to-Azusa Gold Line extension 9,500 times a day in the year 2030.