Another awesome video! I'm so happy I found your channel today! It's time to ride the 720 before it shuts down or runs less frequently after the D line extension opening.
Wow, that is comprehensive, thank you! I personally prefer the speech for these type of videos, the text is great for the individual station tours. Imo.
Glad you liked it! I thought most people would agree, luckily I have some more time to edit so i can work on videos like that without sacrificing the upload schedule!
I agree. The voice-over only is much better because with text only, it's difficult to read and watch what else is going on in the video at the same time. If viewers need text, they can simply turn on the Closed Caption feature. Thanks.
One thing that I noticed at 11:50 is that the box says “OTIS” that is like the best elevator company. Are they not contracting Mitsubishi anymore? Regional Connector & K-Line elevators are Mitsubishi. Very Intriguing. At this point you should get a job with Metro Community Relations cuz you update way better than they do 😂. Awesome vid.
Really good observation I didnt see that! Maybe they didnt like the previous company or it was cheaper to switch to OTIS, thank you so much too! Im glad this video helps!
@@nathanhuang3737LAX/Metro also has it’s layout there too, and they seemingly are preemptively showing K line through running already Edit: the A line to Pomona extension also has the platforms on maps
Yes this is really exciting! Theyre also displaying the K line running through the LAX metro center which I mention in a future video! Its a great sign
Thanks so much for showing us this update!! This is a highly anticipated extension and can serve as a good example of what public transportation can bring to an area. More foot traffic, more businesses will benefit from this, remove traffic from the streets. From union station to UCLA will be a huge break through for everyone. Everyone dread the drive to UCLA and this will significantly reduce that travel time!
It absolutely is a highly anticipated extension especially since the metro rapid line 720, is one of the busiest routes in america and there is truly so much density along Wilshire, perfect for a subway!
Thanks for the update! I feel like since the A Line extension (besides Claremont and Montclair) is nearly completed, as well as the LAX / Metro Transit Center station, more $$$ is being placed into D Line construction. Since the progress on any of the stations was _extremely_ minimal from the pandemic until last year. Also, I'm a big fan of the new aesthetics that Metro is using! It seems like they're sticking to it, judging by the K Line/Regional Connector. It secretly makes me hope that other stations, especially those that are starting to show their age, will be upgraded to appear more like this (and the A Line style). Especially since all their other projects are seemingly being set to the side for now, probably in order to complete the D Line in time for the Olympics. Because UCLA is planning on hosting some of the games! Westwood gaining a subway would be crucial.
The K Line extension to the D Line would have been ideal but it's still under planning! 😫 Same thing for the cancelled people mover to the Inglewood sports area. 😫😫😫
Construction on the D line focused mostly on finishing all of the tunneling first. Which was completed in April of 2024. I doubt they are using any of the funds that have already been allocated to their other projects like the SFV or Southeast Gateway LRT lines. The D actually received an additional amount of federal funding when they allocated money to the SFV LRT line. Out of almost $900 million, the D line received most of this funding that was awarded around April 2024. Here is part of the text published at the time. "Metro anticipates receiving $165 million for section two (between Wilshire/La Cienega and Century City) and $478 million for section three (between Century City and Westwood), with all sections expected to open prior to the 2028 Olympics."
UCLA is set to be the Olympic Village where all the athletes will stay at. Good repurposing of the existing dorms rather than build a whole new village.
I do enjoy the new modern look metro is taking aswell! The A line definitely has some great progress, especially since theyve been testing for quite some time! im glad youve enjoyed the video - Hopefully those other projects are still being worked on at full steam - especially since most metro projects have unfortunately opened late
It is extremely disappointing to me that there is not a Phase 4 of this project to bring the line to Downtown Santa Monica, which is something you mentioned in the text late in this video. The Third Street Promenade & Wilshire would be a perfect place to end this line. While the light rail E Line may already go between Downtown LA and Downtown Santa Monica, the D Line really needs to do the same in order to connect Santa Monica to Beverly Hills by rail, or Santa Monica to the Westwood/UCLA area, or Santa Monica to the Miracle Mile, or Santa Monica to Koreatown, which the E Line does not do, as the E Line instead connects Santa Monica to Culver City and to the USC area. It's not so much about the start and end points of the line as it is the points in between, which makes a Phase 4 to Santa Monica necessary. Some sort of petition should be started to convince LA Metro to extend the D Line to the Third Street Promenade, as well as a serious campaign to get funding for such an extension.
I agree, although this extension has cost Metro tens of billions over their budget, thanks to roadblocks by the pandemic, The City of Beverly Hills, and only being allowed to hire private contractors (which raises costs considerably). The end of the VA Hospital station is being purposefully constructed to aide a Phase 4 in the future, although Metro seemingly has other projects prioritized before that. Such as the E Line Whittier extension, the K Line Torrance extension, and the new Artesia/Sepulveda/Van Nuys lines. I think it will be well past 2050 before the D Line reaches Santa Monica, judging by current project progress. I don't think Trump will help that either, since he's the one responsible for privatizing transit construction federally in 2017, alongside oil companies. 🙄
Multiple train lines between similar endpoints and midpoints is what makes the New York City MTA subway so successful, both in ridership and spurring transit oriented development!
@@EdwardM-t8pYes, the MTA is very comprehensive, but much much older than LA Metro. And as such has had the time to become so comprehensive. However, the MTA has its own set of problems that come with a 100+ year old metro system. It has decades of deferred maintenance and modernization.
I hope they consider it in the future! Would be awesome to see that happen especially since it goes so close! I understand subway is really expensive to build though so i can see why they would cut it to that
Excellent progress on the LACMTA Metro D Line tunnel! Although I wonder why each line is still given a separate color since multiple lines operate on the same trunks (A & E / Regional Connector Subway, B & D Lines / Union Station Subway, C & K Lines / Crenshaw - Century Light Railway). Bundled lines could have the same color as well as the BRT feeder feeding into the B Line (Red Line B Train).
The official designations are actually the letters and not the colors. LA Metro made the change several years ago. However, the colors are still referenced for historical purposes. When they switched from colors to letters, they assigned the letters based on the order the lines opened. For example, the Blue LRT line was the first line in operation so it got the A line designation. The Red subway line was the second to open so it got the B line designation and so on. However, the letter signs still reference the old color names via the circle the letter in enclosed. That is why the A is within a blue circle on the A line signage.
I'm pretty sure you're looking at the wrong spot for where the Century City station entrance will be located. It's supposed to be at the northeast corner of Avenue of the Stars/Constellation next to that building that's being built at the same time, a much more useful location that's in the middle of everything: across the street from the CAA Building, diagonally from the Century Plaza Hotel, and a crosswalk + very brief walk away from Westfield Century City. With heavy construction also going on for the adjacent building, there likely wouldn't be any structures up quite yet. What's there at Constellation/Century Park East is one of those storage areas.
I am at work watching this video, playing in the background. Reading text is kind of hard to do when focusing on a project I am working on. I would say, do both if possible. I liked your video.
I don't think they will. At least not inside the stations. Maybe outside like some subway stations now have them. Decades ago, LA Metro decided not to have either bathrooms or vendors in the stations. Both for security reasons and increased maintenance costs.
I agree i could see them expanding the public restroom thing to the outsides of the station but i agree there likely wont be any pre-built restrooms inside the station.
Just checked on this it is fine for me, it could be ur settings in the video, i would see if its on 1080p or higher resolution! This tends to be the problem sometimes for people lmk if any other issue happens!
Only the first section with the three stations. I heard from an LA Metro rep that the first section could open in late August 2025. Very close to the opening timeframes for the A line extension to Pomona and the opening of the LAX/Metro Transit Center Station. It would be awesome if all 3 projects opened within a week from each other in late August/September 2025.
I would say that it would open before the APM, but not the LAX Metro center since i think that one is about to open! Would be really nice to see the D line accelerated though especially with the tunneling being complete
Another awesome video! I'm so happy I found your channel today! It's time to ride the 720 before it shuts down or runs less frequently after the D line extension opening.
I hope you enjoy all the upcoming updates! I'm looking forward to seeing the D line open as well!
@@TigerRailfan Thank you! I'll be covering it on my channel, too! ☀😎 👍
Wow, that is comprehensive, thank you! I personally prefer the speech for these type of videos, the text is great for the individual station tours. Imo.
Glad you liked it! I thought most people would agree, luckily I have some more time to edit so i can work on videos like that without sacrificing the upload schedule!
I agree. The voice-over only is much better because with text only, it's difficult to read and watch what else is going on in the video at the same time.
If viewers need text, they can simply turn on the Closed Caption feature. Thanks.
Yes, I agree. You took that out of my mouth :)
One thing that I noticed at 11:50 is that the box says “OTIS” that is like the best elevator company. Are they not contracting Mitsubishi anymore? Regional Connector & K-Line elevators are Mitsubishi. Very Intriguing. At this point you should get a job with Metro Community Relations cuz you update way better than they do 😂. Awesome vid.
Really good observation I didnt see that! Maybe they didnt like the previous company or it was cheaper to switch to OTIS, thank you so much too! Im glad this video helps!
According to a reddit user. Apple maps is already displaying the Wilshire/Fairfax station.
They're displaying the layout of the Phase 1 stations too, not just Wilshire/Fairfax. It's pretty nice that they're ready for whenever it opens.
@@nathanhuang3737LAX/Metro also has it’s layout there too, and they seemingly are preemptively showing K line through running already
Edit: the A line to Pomona extension also has the platforms on maps
Yes this is really exciting! Theyre also displaying the K line running through the LAX metro center which I mention in a future video! Its a great sign
Thanks so much for showing us this update!! This is a highly anticipated extension and can serve as a good example of what public transportation can bring to an area. More foot traffic, more businesses will benefit from this, remove traffic from the streets. From union station to UCLA will be a huge break through for everyone. Everyone dread the drive to UCLA and this will significantly reduce that travel time!
It absolutely is a highly anticipated extension especially since the metro rapid line 720, is one of the busiest routes in america and there is truly so much density along Wilshire, perfect for a subway!
The new HR4000 CRRC trains are now in service on the B and D line.
Thanks for the update! I feel like since the A Line extension (besides Claremont and Montclair) is nearly completed, as well as the LAX / Metro Transit Center station, more $$$ is being placed into D Line construction. Since the progress on any of the stations was _extremely_ minimal from the pandemic until last year.
Also, I'm a big fan of the new aesthetics that Metro is using! It seems like they're sticking to it, judging by the K Line/Regional Connector. It secretly makes me hope that other stations, especially those that are starting to show their age, will be upgraded to appear more like this (and the A Line style). Especially since all their other projects are seemingly being set to the side for now, probably in order to complete the D Line in time for the Olympics. Because UCLA is planning on hosting some of the games! Westwood gaining a subway would be crucial.
The K Line extension to the D Line would have been ideal but it's still under planning! 😫
Same thing for the cancelled people mover to the Inglewood sports area. 😫😫😫
Construction on the D line focused mostly on finishing all of the tunneling first. Which was completed in April of 2024.
I doubt they are using any of the funds that have already been allocated to their other projects like the SFV or Southeast Gateway LRT lines. The D actually received an additional amount of federal funding when they allocated money to the SFV LRT line. Out of almost $900 million, the D line received most of this funding that was awarded around April 2024. Here is part of the text published at the time.
"Metro anticipates receiving $165 million for section two (between Wilshire/La Cienega and Century City) and $478 million for section three (between Century City and Westwood), with all sections expected to open prior to the 2028 Olympics."
UCLA is set to be the Olympic Village where all the athletes will stay at. Good repurposing of the existing dorms rather than build a whole new village.
I do enjoy the new modern look metro is taking aswell! The A line definitely has some great progress, especially since theyve been testing for quite some time! im glad youve enjoyed the video - Hopefully those other projects are still being worked on at full steam - especially since most metro projects have unfortunately opened late
Yes this would make the entire line significantly more useful! One seat travel from Hollywood to LAX would be super valuable!
Thanks for this great update on this project.
Of course! I hope your as excited for the opening of the station as I am!
Thanks for the update!
No problem, I hope the construction moves along smoothly!
It is extremely disappointing to me that there is not a Phase 4 of this project to bring the line to Downtown Santa Monica, which is something you mentioned in the text late in this video. The Third Street Promenade & Wilshire would be a perfect place to end this line. While the light rail E Line may already go between Downtown LA and Downtown Santa Monica, the D Line really needs to do the same in order to connect Santa Monica to Beverly Hills by rail, or Santa Monica to the Westwood/UCLA area, or Santa Monica to the Miracle Mile, or Santa Monica to Koreatown, which the E Line does not do, as the E Line instead connects Santa Monica to Culver City and to the USC area. It's not so much about the start and end points of the line as it is the points in between, which makes a Phase 4 to Santa Monica necessary. Some sort of petition should be started to convince LA Metro to extend the D Line to the Third Street Promenade, as well as a serious campaign to get funding for such an extension.
I agree, although this extension has cost Metro tens of billions over their budget, thanks to roadblocks by the pandemic, The City of Beverly Hills, and only being allowed to hire private contractors (which raises costs considerably). The end of the VA Hospital station is being purposefully constructed to aide a Phase 4 in the future, although Metro seemingly has other projects prioritized before that. Such as the E Line Whittier extension, the K Line Torrance extension, and the new Artesia/Sepulveda/Van Nuys lines. I think it will be well past 2050 before the D Line reaches Santa Monica, judging by current project progress. I don't think Trump will help that either, since he's the one responsible for privatizing transit construction federally in 2017, alongside oil companies. 🙄
Multiple train lines between similar endpoints and midpoints is what makes the New York City MTA subway so successful, both in ridership and spurring transit oriented development!
@@EdwardM-t8pYes, the MTA is very comprehensive, but much much older than LA Metro. And as such has had the time to become so comprehensive. However, the MTA has its own set of problems that come with a 100+ year old metro system. It has decades of deferred maintenance and modernization.
I hope they consider it in the future! Would be awesome to see that happen especially since it goes so close! I understand subway is really expensive to build though so i can see why they would cut it to that
@@TigerRailfan Wilshire and Fairfax is the place where the Notorious B.I.G was murdered on March 9, 1997😢
Excellent progress on the LACMTA Metro D Line tunnel! Although I wonder why each line is still given a separate color since multiple lines operate on the same trunks (A & E / Regional Connector Subway, B & D Lines / Union Station Subway, C & K Lines / Crenshaw - Century Light Railway). Bundled lines could have the same color as well as the BRT feeder feeding into the B Line (Red Line B Train).
The official designations are actually the letters and not the colors. LA Metro made the change several years ago. However, the colors are still referenced for historical purposes.
When they switched from colors to letters, they assigned the letters based on the order the lines opened. For example, the Blue LRT line was the first line in operation so it got the A line designation. The Red subway line was the second to open so it got the B line designation and so on. However, the letter signs still reference the old color names via the circle the letter in enclosed. That is why the A is within a blue circle on the A line signage.
It's probably a branding thing, so people don't mistake the A line for the E line for example, I'm glad you liked the video and thanks for watching!
I'm pretty sure you're looking at the wrong spot for where the Century City station entrance will be located. It's supposed to be at the northeast corner of Avenue of the Stars/Constellation next to that building that's being built at the same time, a much more useful location that's in the middle of everything: across the street from the CAA Building, diagonally from the Century Plaza Hotel, and a crosswalk + very brief walk away from Westfield Century City. With heavy construction also going on for the adjacent building, there likely wouldn't be any structures up quite yet. What's there at Constellation/Century Park East is one of those storage areas.
I REALLY don’t want to wait for Fall for this to open. I want more of a Summer opening, which is definitely possible
I heard from a Metro rep that it could be late August 2025.
I really hope for this too! Although knowing metro, itll likely be a fall or winter opening, especially with more work to be done on the stations.
I am at work watching this video, playing in the background. Reading text is kind of hard to do when focusing on a project I am working on. I would say, do both if possible. I liked your video.
Imagine heading to one of new D line stations while on the HR4000!
A rapper named Biggie Smalls was shot and killed at the Peterson Automotive Museum on March 9, 1997 at Wilshire and Fairfax 😢
I hope the new stations have bathroom
I don't think they will. At least not inside the stations. Maybe outside like some subway stations now have them.
Decades ago, LA Metro decided not to have either bathrooms or vendors in the stations. Both for security reasons and increased maintenance costs.
I agree i could see them expanding the public restroom thing to the outsides of the station but i agree there likely wont be any pre-built restrooms inside the station.
Is it me or is this video 144p?
Just checked on this it is fine for me, it could be ur settings in the video, i would see if its on 1080p or higher resolution! This tends to be the problem sometimes for people lmk if any other issue happens!
@ You’re right, it was an issue on my end. Thanks!
If they work double time, I bet some of these stations could open up before LAX metro, or the APM
Only the first section with the three stations. I heard from an LA Metro rep that the first section could open in late August 2025. Very close to the opening timeframes for the A line extension to Pomona and the opening of the LAX/Metro Transit Center Station. It would be awesome if all 3 projects opened within a week from each other in late August/September 2025.
I would say that it would open before the APM, but not the LAX Metro center since i think that one is about to open! Would be really nice to see the D line accelerated though especially with the tunneling being complete
Beverly still slow walking this
I hope they enjoy the new subway! Especially with these modern fixtures