Skip to Content
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Log In
K Line - Crenshaw/LAX Line

Metro Announces Crenshaw/LAX Line Will Open October 7

Metro K Line test train in 2020 – photo via Metro

This morning, Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins announced that Metro will open its new K Line light rail - known as the Crenshaw/LAX Line - on Friday October 7. The grand opening festivities will take place at Leimert Park, with a noon ribbon-cutting. Rides will be free, system-wide, that weekend from Friday through Sunday.

Much of the $2 billion 8.5-mile K Line travels on and under Crenshaw Boulevard, the past, present, and future heart of L.A.'s Black community. The northern terminus of the line will be at the Metro E (Expo) Line. The southern terminus of the line will be at the Metro C (Green) Line near the Aviation Station. The LAX station, called the Airport Connector, is a separate project expected to open in 2024.

Metro map of the K (Crenshaw/LAX) Line, opening next month
Metro map of the K (Crenshaw/LAX) Line, opening next month
Metro map of the K (Crenshaw/LAX) Line, opening next month

Construction on many mega-projects often hits delays, but the Crenshaw Line has seen more than its share. The line broke ground in 2014, with an originally anticipated pre-pandemic opening date of 2019. Construction delays caused Metro to anticipate opening to 2020, then to 2021. Even as construction drew to a conclusion, system testing revealed unanticipated problems.

Metro already approved some funding for a different contractor to do the final construction work needed to close out the project. The prior CEO Phil Washington alluded to a potential liquidated damages lawsuit against the current Crenshaw contractor, Walsh Shea, for failing to deliver the new line as contracted.

See also Metro K Line announcement and video at The Source.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog Los Angeles

Metro Names Bill Scott as Chief of Police

Chief Scott and Metro leadership emphasized that keeping Metro transit safe would require a multi-faceted approach that included the deployment of officers as well as collaboration with the community, ambassadors, and service providers. "Sometimes enforcement is the answer," Scott said. "Sometimes it's not."

May 7, 2025

Lyft’s Anti-Worker Anti-Transit Record Raises Red Flags For Metro Bike Share

Edwin Aviles and Kalayaan Mendoza urge Metro not to reward bad actors working to undermine workers’ rights and mass transit

See all posts