Metro’s A Line Is About To Go Even Farther: 4 New Train Stops Coming Soon

LOS ANGELES, CA — Metro Thursday has officially announced a date for the grand opening of its 9.1-mile light rail project from Glendora to Pomona.

The A (Gold) Line Extension project is expected to open Friday, Sept. 19 after several years of construction. The connection will boost public transportation access for communities in the San Gabriel Valley, which have lacked rail service for decades.

In September, travelers will be able to access regional destinations by rails such as major colleges and universities, parks, historic downtown, museums, hospitals, medical centers, retail and entertainment venues.

Riders will also be able to connect to the Pomona Fairplex, where cricket sporting events will make their official return to the 2028 Olympic Games for the first time since 1900.

Additionally, the new Metro A Line Pomona North Station will connect with Metrolink's San Bernardino Line — a gateway to the Inland Empire.

"By way of coming attractions, we're excited to soon be opening the Foothill A Line Extension to Pomona," Metro Board Chair and Whittier Councilman Fernando Dutra said.

During Metro's Board of Directors meeting Thursday, Dutra noted that Metro Director and Pomona Mayor Tim Sandoval with his city and Metro crews are working diligently to ensure a safe environment on the extension.

According to Dutra, last week Metro's Emergency Management Department and Division 24 Rail Instruction held critical state training sessions on the northern A Line. This special purpose team is composed of a dozen personnel from police departments in the cities of La Verne, Glendora, Monrovia, Sierra Madre and Claremont.

"The training included tactical movements in and around our rail cars, entry and exist drills from various platforms and track-side locations, and an overview of how our rail system operations," Dutra said.

"This will help us better respond to emergencies, not just at Metro, but also in the region," he added.

The project is part of Metro's Twenty-Eight by '28 initiative to bolster public transportation in Los Angeles County ahead of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

In January, the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority, an independent agency created by the state in 1998, announced the light rail project reached "substantial completion" on time and on budget. The project was turned over to Metro for final testing and other approvals.

The $1.5 billion light rail project added four stations located in the cities of Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne and Pomona. Once Metro finalizes this extension, the agency's A Line will reach more cities and communities.

Currently, the A Line serves 44 rail stations from Azusa to Long Beach.

In 2020, the Construction Authority awarded a $906.5 million contraction for the design and construction of the new stations, parking, track, power, train control, and communications and safety equipment to a Kiewit-Parsons, a Joint Venture, also known KPJV.

In addition, KPJV relocated freight track, added 19 bridges that span major city streets and intersections in Glendora and San Dimas, 21 at-grade street crossings, 10 miles of decorative sound and retaining walls and fencing.

Metro officials have discussed plans to further extend the A Line, connecting Pomona to Montclair.

L.A. County's Measure M, a 2016 half-cent sales tax for traffic, infrastructure and transportation projects, provided a majority of funding for the light rail.

Metro officials used another $100 million generated from Measure R — a half-cent sales tax approved by county voters in 2008 for transportation projects and programs — to complete the now-operational Pasadena to Azusa segment.

In 2018, CalSTA's Transit and Intercity Rail Capital program provided a nearly $300 million grant for this extension as well.

City News Service