LOS ANGELES, CA - The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (L.A. Metro) officially opened the K Line for light-rail service on Friday, October 7.
The transit agency's newest light-rail line, the K Line marks the return of rail service on Crenshaw Boulevard, which has not had rail access since 1955,when the trolley cars were replaced with buses.
The K Line is L.A. Metro's largest single investment in South Los Angeles since the construction of the A and C lines in the late 1990s. The K Line is expected to provide access to opportunities for South Los Angeles communities, including the Crenshaw Corridor, Hyde Park, Leimert Park, Fairview Heights, Inglewood and Westchester.
 Car 1207, one of over 200 cars contained from Kinki-Sharyo beginning in 2014, on the first day of service on the K-Line! |
The K Line has been an L.A. Metro ambition since its formation in 1993, said L.A. Metro Chair Ara Najarian.
"What was conceived decades ago as only lines on a map and a hopeful dream have ... been made a reality thanks to county taxpayers’ investment in [L.A. Metro]," Najarian said. "The K Line is the perfect example of how [L.A. Metro] is continuing to transform public transportation for the better in Los Angeles County."
The line cost $2.1 billion to construct and was funded in large part by the Measure R transportation sales tax, which has been in effect since 2008. Prior to the voters' passage of Measure R, plans for what would become the K Line remained on hold due to a lack of local funding, L.A. Metro officials said.
Federal grants and loans were also key to ensuring that the project stayed on schedule, officials added.
NEW YORK CITY, NY - Progressive Railroading reported on October 25th that on the previous day the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's New York City Transit (NYCT) Committee had approved an order for 640 more R211 subway cars.
 Car #4060, one of the 535 cars in the base order. |
Combined with the base order of 535 cars that was placed in 2018, the authority would receive a total of 1,175 R211s if the full MTA board approves the order at its next meeting, MTA officials said in a press release. Cars from the second order would be delivered starting in 2025.
The subway cars already delivered are slated to enter service in spring 2023 on the A and C lines, as well as on the Staten Island Railway. Critical to modernization efforts, the cars feature larger door openings, security cameras, digital displays and brighter lighting and signage, MTA officials said. The wider doorways will speed up boarding and reduce the time trains spend idle at stations.
The R211 consists of a five-car married set that is 302.05 ft long with open gangways between the five cars, similar to those on most three-truck Light Rail Vehicles, as shown below:
