With great fanfare, Metro has commenced passenger service for the initial phase of the D Line's extension to the Westside.

Section 1 of the project, which spans 3.9 from the D Line's longtime terminus at Wilshire/Western Station in Koreatown, adds three new stops at Wilshire/La Brea and Wilshire/Fairfax along the Miracle Mile and Museum Row in Los Angeles and at Wilshire/La Cienega in Beverly Hills. Each stop comes with a standard street-level plaza, a center island platform, escalators, and elevators.

A who's who of Metro and current/former elected officials mark the debut of the the D Line extension's first phaseGary Leonard

As has been noted in a slew of coverage in recent days, plans for a Wilshire subway have long been seen as a lynchpin for transit in the Los Angeles region, even as the project has run into political hurdle after political hurdle over the decades. The utility of a fully grade-separated heavy rail line through the heart of the region's core immediately became apparent as transit trip times on the D Line as the fastest option on Google Maps between Downtown Los Angeles and Beverly Hills.

More is set to come starting next year, as Metro continues with work on the second and third segments of the project, which will add stops near Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, in Century City, at Wilshire/Westwood, and at the West Los Angeles VA Campus. Those stops are set to come online in 2027.

The D Line arrivesGary Leonard

The full $9.5-billion project spans nine miles and offers an end-to-end trip between the Westside and Downtown in approximately 30 minutes. Metro projects the D Line will attract 53,000 new daily riders when completed.

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