Light-rail

There are five rail lines of Metropolitan Transportation Authority running throughout Los Angeles namely Red, green, blue, gold and purple when you travel in Los Angeles. Red and Purple lines are the subway lines running between Downtown and North Hollywood and between Downtown and Mid-Wilshire district respectively. Blue, green and gold lines are the light rail lines.

Los Angeles light rail opened up somewhere in 1990, approximately 27 years after the time service of streetcars ended. For the provision of power to these trains, overhead catenaries cables are put in use. These cables help in making light rail not compatible with the two red and purple subway lines.

At 7th metro center, the blue line terminates, and therefore a person who wishes to travel further to Union station needs to cross the Purple or red line subway which approximately an intermediate journey of about a mile and a half.

For brief information, Blue line runs between Downtown Los Beach (Transit Mall Station) and Downtown Los Angeles (7th Street/ Metro center Station). It started in 1961 after the closing of Red Car service system. Green Line runs between South Bay region of Los Angeles (Redondo/Marine station) and Norwalk.

If one wishes to reach the International Airport, green link is the most viable as it gives an indirect link the airport through a shuttle bus from another station called Aviation Station. In addition, it generally runs in the median of the Century Freeway. This is the only above ground light rail which is separated from the grade.

The gold Line is the one, which connects Downtown Los Angeles (Union Station) and Pasadena (Sierra Madre Villa Station) and goes further till the South Pasadena (Highland Park). This line runs in all ways, be it elevated, below ground, in city streets or median of a freeway.