All aboard!
The long-awaited June 20 Expo line to downtown Culver City is finally here, along with the opening of the Farmdale station.
The trains will officially start running out of Culver City at noon and passengers who board either at Culver City or Farmdale will receive free passes to use the Expo Line for the day.
"The opening of the Culver City and Farmdale stations completes the first phase of the Expo line, connecting Angelenos from the Westside to Downtown and beyond," Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who is also the chairman of the Metro Board of Directors, said in a recent statement. "We are answering the call from voters to provide more transit options and creating career opportunities for Angelenos in the process."
Culver City Mayor Andy Weissman said the train is an "exciting" and "eagerly awaited project" that will bring much needed traffic relief to the city and region.
"The opening of the Culver City station is a tremendous milestone in the construction of the Expo Line from downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica," he said.
On April 28, Metro opened a truncated 7.9-mile route from downtown to La Cienega Boulevard. The train will now travel an additional .7 miles to the Culver City station at Washington and National Boulevards.
The public opening of the Culver City Station coincides with Downtown Culver City’s Third Wednesday "Summer Solstice" Happy Hour from 5-9 p.m., which features special offers from over 25 participating businesses throughout the downtown area, as well as outdoor entertainment and activities.
"We welcome the opportunity to bring more visitors to shop and to dine and to create a dynamic transit oriented hub at Washington/National as this exciting, eagerly awaited project comes on line to Culver City," Weissman said.
Metro is encouraging the public to take advantage of the opening of the Culver City Station and take the Metro Expo Line—a short walking distance to the downtown event —to sample artisanal cuisine and cocktails, shop at unique boutiques, view art and enjoy a variety of live music and entertainment.
For a complete list of freebies, offers, discounts and entertainment, visit downtownculvercity.com.
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— City News Service contributed to this report.
