LA Metro Records Surging Ridership on D Line Section 1 as Tunneling and Stations Advance Toward Century City

High Commuter Volumes Follow Successful Launch of D Line Section 1 to La Cienega

LOS ANGELES, California — Demonstrating an immediate transformation in east-west transit across the Miracle Mile and Beverly Grove corridors, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) announced in October 2026 that the recently opened D Line (Purple Line) Extension Section 1 is surpassing opening-year passenger benchmarks. Commuters traveling between Koreatown and the Wilshire/La Cienega terminus have cut peak-hour transit times by up to 50 percent compared to congested surface arterial travel.

Agency leaders noted that modern underground stations at Wilshire/La Brea, Wilshire/Fairfax, and Wilshire/La Cienega feature advanced platform-level air purification, touchless transit fare turnstiles, and permanent deployments from the agency’s Care-Based Services Division. Metro Ambassadors and supportive clinical caseworkers have maintained an inviting, highly secure transit environment that riders have consistently praised across customer satisfaction surveys.

Section 2 Trackwork and Century City Station Buildout Advance Toward 2027

With Section 1 in successful revenue service, heavy civil engineering teams have achieved more than 85 percent overall completion on Section 2, which extends the subway 2.6 miles beneath downtown Beverly Hills and into Century City. Subterranean structural crews completed trackway concrete pours and are currently outfitting the complex subterranean station box beneath Constellation Boulevard.

Metro engineers reaffirmed that Section 2 remains firmly on track for delivery in 2027, followed closely by Section 3 to Westwood/UCLA and the VA Hospital ahead of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The finished 9-mile subway corridor will transport riders from Downtown Los Angeles to Westwood in under 30 minutes, bypassing the perennially gridlocked Interstate 10 and Wilshire Boulevard corridors.

Port of Los Angeles Accelerates $400M Clean Cargo and Rail Electrification

At the Pacific coast logistics gateway, the Port of Los Angeles reported record cargo handling while actively deploying over $400 million in federal and state clean air grants. Terminal operators accelerated the delivery of zero-emission electric cargo-handling cranes and battery-electric heavy drayage trucks, drastically curbing maritime emissions. Civic and business leaders underscored that pairing clean port supply chains with transformational rail transit solidifies Southern California’s sustainable economic resurgence.