Eight years after formally breaking ground, the nine-mile extension of the A Line to Pomona is set to open for passengers on September 19, Metro announced yesterday.

The $1.5-billion project will push the world's longest light rail line eastward from its current terminus in Azusa toward Pomona with stops in Glendora, San Dimas, and La Verne, and Pomona. In addition to new track, the project involved the construction of new bridges, sound walls, fencing, park-and-ride facilities, and other infrastructure improvements.

The extension will provide access to entertainment venues such as the Pomona Fairplex, which will host cricket in the 2028 Olympics, and also offer transfers onto Metrolink's San Bernardino Line, which provides passenger rail service into the Inland Empire.

Completion of the extension will mean that the A Line runs 58 miles between Pomona and Downtown Long Beach, with 44 stations in between - including stops in Pasadena and Downtown Los Angeles. Despite the long distance, the A Line is not quite yet done growing. In 2023, state transportation officials announced the release of $500 million in previously frozen funds for the next phase of the project which calls for the construction of an additional 3.2 miles of track with a stop in Claremont and a final terminus in Montclair. Those elements were cut from the current extension due to swelling construction costs.

A terminus in Montclair will also make the A Line the first Metro rail line to extend outside of Los Angeles County into San Bernardino County. The Daily News reports that San Bernardino County is prepared to spend $80 million to pay for the one mile of new rail which would be located within its borders.

On the opposite side of Los Angeles County, work is also proceeding on the D Line's extension to the Westside. The first phase, terminating at Wilshire/La Cienega Station in Beverly Hills, is also on track to open in Fall 2025.

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