LA Rail Expansion Moves Forward
LA County is pushing a large rail expansion — including an LAX people mover and new light‑rail lines to Pomona, Torrance and Southeast LA — projects that will reshape workforce access and site selection over coming years. Transit improvements could influence tenant location decisions and labor catchment for last‑mile operations. (latimes.com)
The Foothill/A Line extension into Pomona opened to the public on Sept. 19, 2025, adding roughly 9.1 miles and four new stations at a project cost of about $1.5 billion. ( ) On Jan. 22, 2026 the Metro Board certified the Final EIR and approved the Hawthorne alignment for the K Line Extension to Torrance, a ~4.5-mile southern continuation expected to generate roughly 4.9 million annual trips and attract about 1.7 million new riders. (metro.net) Metro’s Southeast Gateway Line (formerly West Santa Ana Branch) now has a board-approved first-leg plan and carries a roughly $7.1 billion price tag for the initial 14.5‑mile segment toward Artesia, with federal and state funding steps underway and environmental/permitting milestones targeted through 2030. ( ) The LAX Automated People Mover — a 2.25‑mile elevated, driverless guideway within the airport modernization program — entered visible testing in March 2026 after LAWA had targeted passenger service to begin in January 2026, while the new LAX/Metro Transit Center is scheduled to open June 6 linking Metro bus and rail services. ( ) The Southeast Gateway Line’s planned route will traverse or border Vernon, Huntington Park, South Gate and other industrial communities where Vernon alone lists roughly 1,800 businesses employing about 50,000 workers, creating a direct transit corridor through high‑density logistics and manufacturing job centers. ( ) Metro and project partners are actively seeking federal grants and state allocations for these corridors — the Southeast Gateway has already drawn a $231 million CalSTA grant and Metro is positioning projects for additional federal Capital Investment Program funding. ( )
