K Line (Los Angeles Metro)

The Metro K Line's northern terminus is at Expo/Crenshaw station, a transfer point to the E Line. The K Line station here is underground and does not provide a track connection to the at-grade E Line. Provisions are in place to allow the line to extend further north. The route follows Crenshaw Boulevard from Exposition Boulevard south to 67th Street. It travels underground in a one-mile (1.6 km) deep bore tunnel, which transitions into an at-grade segment in the median of Crenshaw Blvd (between 48th and 59th Streets) where trains run synchronized to existing traffic signals. From 59th and 67th Streets, the line returns underground into a shallow cut and cover tunnel for a half-mile (0.8 km).

South of there, the route emerges from the tunnel and enters the Harbor Subdivision right-of-way, which runs parallel to Florence Avenue and Aviation Boulevard. The line mostly operates at-grade in this exclusive right-of-way, briefly transitioning onto elevated viaducts to cross over major thoroughfares including La Brea Avenue and I-405. Traveling the complete length of the line takes approximately 18 minutes.[5]

The current southern terminus of the line is Westchester/Veterans station. The extension under construction continues along an exclusive right-of-way, crossing over Manchester Avenue, Century Boulevard, and Imperial Highway. North of Century Boulevard, LAX/Metro Transit Center station will be at-grade and serve as the new western terminus of the C Line and function as a transfer point to the currently under construction LAX Automated People Mover. At Century Boulevard, Aviation/Century station will sit on a viaduct and also be shared with the C Line. The line will then briefly enter an open trench as it passes close to the LAX runways[6] before connecting at a wye to the existing C Line just to the west of Aviation/LAX station, which will be renamed to Aviation/Imperial station. The K Line will then subsume the westernmost segment of the C Line west of the wye, running south before ending at Redondo Beach station.[3] Until this extension opens, Metro is operating a bus shuttle called the "C & K Line Link" from Westchester/Veterans to Aviation/LAX.

K Line service hours are approximately from 4:30 a.m. until 12:00 a.m. daily. Trains operate every ten minutes during peak hours Monday through Friday, and every 12 minutes during the daytime on weekdays and all day on the weekends. Night service is every 20 minutes.[7]

The project includes eight new stations:[8]

Station	Opened/opening[9]	City (Neighborhood)	Major connections and notes
Expo/Crenshaw	October 7, 2022[1]	Los Angeles (Jefferson Park)	Park and ride: 450 spaces (closed Sunday)
Martin Luther King Jr.		Los Angeles (Baldwin Hills/Leimert Park)
Leimert Park		Los Angeles (Leimert Park)
Hyde Park		Los Angeles (Hyde Park)
Fairview Heights		Inglewood	Park and ride: 200 spaces
Downtown Inglewood			SoFi Stadium via shuttle bus Planned connection to Inglewood Transit Connector (2027)
Westchester/Veterans			via C & K Line Link
LAX/Metro Transit Center	Late 2024[4]	Los Angeles (Westchester)	LAX Automated People Mover (2024)
Aviation/Century
Mariposa[lower-alpha 1]		El Segundo
El Segundo[lower-alpha 1]			Park and ride: 93 spaces
Douglas[lower-alpha 1]			Park and ride: 30 spaces
Redondo Beach[lower-alpha 1]		Hawthorne and Redondo Beach[lower-alpha 2]	Park and ride: 450 spaces

Rendering of the LAX/Metro Transit Center station platform

The line was from its inception intended to offer a connection to LAX via an Automated People Mover (APM). However, at the time the line was designed, it was unclear where exactly that connection would take place. While initial expections were that the connection would be at Aviation/Century station, ultimately the route chosen for the LAX Automated People Mover intersected with the new line at 96th Street, about half a mile to the north, requiring the design of an additional station while the overall line was still under construction.

In 2014, Metro approved the planning and scoping of this station, which was called Aviation/96th in planning documents but was ultimately designated LAX/Metro Transit Center station.[21][22] This station is intended to serve as Metro Rail's main gateway to the airport itself, while the Aviation/Century station will serve destinations along the busy Century Boulevard corridor.

While initial plans called for the full length of the project to be opened for service while the LAX/Metro Transit Center was under development, delays in the opening of the main line meant that major construction on the station was already underway by the time the line was ready. As a result, the line opened on October 7, 2022 only from Expo/Crenshaw to Westechester/Veterans.[1] The full length of the line, including the LAX/Metro Transit Center and Aviation/Century stations, along with the connection to the C Line, will open in late 2024.[9][4]

Graphics depicting the three options for future C and K Line service patterns

Varying service patterns have been proposed for integrating the completed Crenshaw/LAX Line into the rest of the system over the course of its planning and construction, all of which have involved sharing trackage and infrastructure facilities with the existing C Line. Although some early proposals would've sent trains through all three directions of the wye that will connect the existing C Line with the new segment, this was rejected by Metro because it would cause too much wear and tear on the track switch mechanisms.[23][24]

The debate over service patterns proved somewhat contentious.[25] In 2018, with the line then scheduled to open within the year, the Metro Board of Directors overrode a recommendation by operations staff that would have had a single line operating between Expo/Crenshaw and Norwalk station. Passengers from the Redondo Beach area would have been served by a shuttle to the LAX area, where they would need to transfer to another train to continue east or north. Instead, board members approved a one-year pilot of a configuration that would combine an Expo-to-Norwalk line with another line that would connect Redondo Beach with Willowbrook/Rosa Parks station, allowing transfers to the A and J Lines.[26][27] The approved plan would have incurred higher operating expenses but board members argued it would retain better transfer opportunities for South Bay residents.[28]

Ongoing construction delays led to a reassessment of that plan in 2022. Metro recommended public outreach aimed at reformulating the operating plan before the connection to the C Line opens in 2024;[9] in March 2023, Metro indicated that it would recommend Option 2 in the figure above, in which the K Line would run north-south between Expo/Crenshaw and Redondo Beach, while the C Line would run west-east between LAX and Norwalk.[29] On June 22, 2023, Metro's board of directors officially approved the implementation of Option 2 based on staff recommendation and public opinion.[3]

While most stations on the K Line were built to accommodate three-car trains, the current C Line stations built south of the Interstate 105 were only built to accommodate two-car trains. To enable increased capacity of the line, Metro plans to lengthen the platforms at Aviation/LAX, Mariposa, El Segundo, Douglas, and Redondo Beach. The project would also add traction power substations and replace catenary wire and track ties.[30] In April 2023, the state awarded Metro $95 million for the project, which is expected to cost $141 million. The project is expected to be complete in time for the 2028 Summer Olympics.[31]

Metro has plans to convert the current at-grade crossing at Centinela Avenue to an above-grade crossing, which the agency estimates could be finished by 2026 or 2027.[32]

Map of the study area of the K Line Northern Extension Project

The original plans for the Crenshaw/LAX Corridor project connected Wilshire Boulevard to Los Angeles International Airport. However, once light rail was selected as the preferred mode, the cost for the entire route exceeded the project budget, so part of the corridor north of Exposition Boulevard was deferred until funds became available.

The final design for the Crenshaw/LAX project included a tunneled station at Expo/Crenshaw to accommodate a potential northward extension, which increased the cost of the original project by $236 million.[33]

With the passage of Measure M and the enthusiastic support of the city of West Hollywood, the K Line Northern Extension, which would travel north from the current Expo/Crenshaw terminus, connecting along the way to the B and D lines, is currently under development. Three options are being studied, all ending at the B Line's Hollywood/Highland station, with an optional station at the Hollywood Bowl also being considered. The San Vicente Alternative, also known as the hybrid alternative, follows Crenshaw Boulevard and San Vicente Boulevard, turning north on Fairfax Avenue to serve The Original Farmers Market and Television City before turning on Beverly Boulevard to connect back to San Vicente Boulevard near Cedars-Sinai Medical Center towards West Hollywood at Pacific Design Center. Finally, serving new stations on Santa Monica Boulevard, the route curves north again towards Hollywood. The other two options follow a traditional north/south routing on either Fairfax Avenue or La Brea Avenue.

The K Line is operated by Division 16 (Southwestern Yard) in Westchester directly east of the northern runways of the Los Angeles International Airport, and adjacent to the future LAX/Metro Transit Center station. Trains access the yard via crossovers from the north and south sides of the yard.

As of 2022, the Kinki Sharyo P3010 is the only rolling stock to serve the K Line. Trains run in one- or two-car consists but has the option to run at a maximum of three cars at anytime. However once service is extended to Redondo Beach, two-car consists will be maximum as the C Line stations south of Aviation/Century were built for up to two cars only. However, Metro is planning to extend the platforms at these stations to also be able to eventually accommodate up to three-car trains.