Metro Temporarily Suspends C Line for Maintenance

On Aug. 10, officials for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) announced it will be temporarily suspending service for the Metro C Line (Green), along with selected C Line stations, for required maintenance.

The C Line will be undergoing a long-term replacement of its light rail power lines from Aug. 12, to the early hours of Monday, Sept. 25. Metro states that the replacement of overhead power lines is necessary, as the C Line steadily approaches 30 years of service.

“Maintenance for rail lines are common at about a 30-year mark,” said Metro’s Senior Executive Officer of Rail Operations Hector Guerrero, “The C Line was built 30 years ago, and went into operation in 1995 – but the overhead wire has been up there for 30 years. We do regular maintenance, but like anything else – your car or your home, for example – you eventually have to start replacing pieces of it to keep it running.”

Guerrero couldn’t give an exact estimate, but he was able to tell Beachcomber that maintenance projects such as the one for the C Line can generally be in the millions.

The power line upgrade project is also part of Metro’s State of Good Repair Program, which seeks to keep all existing and future transit assets in good working order, while also upgrading the overall transit system.

According to Metro’s Communication Manager of Media Relations Jose Ubaldo, “[Metro’s State of Good Repair Program] is a program that we implement to maintain the facilities in a good, standing service, for the benefit of Metro’s riders. It covers everything and anything where we can provide a better service to the public.”

Station closures on the Metro C Line will take place in separate phases. The first of which included stations between Hawthorne/Lennox and Redondo Beach, which were closed from Aug. 12 - 19.

Stations between Aviation/LAX and Redondo Beach recently closed this past Sunday, Aug. 20, and are scheduled to reopen at the beginning of service on Monday, Sept. 25.

To help accommodate riders until maintenance on the C Line is completed, Metro is providing a free shuttle bus service to each of the closed stations, including Aviation/LAX, Mariposa, El Segundo, Douglas and Redondo Beach.

According to Jose Ubaldo, “When the trains arrive from Norwalk to Hawthorne, riders will transfer from the train to the bus, and continue their way to Redondo Beach or wherever their destination may be.”

Ubaldo also stated that it is highly recommended for transit riders who use the shuttle buses to allow for extra time, in case of delays.

“It will take from 10-30 minutes from delay, so we are asking the public to plan in advance and make time for those transfers,” Ubaldo said.

Metro also stated that with the absence of train traffic during the C Line’s closure, they will perform more intensive cleaning on the stations, including painting, weed removal and several other tasks to ensure these transit facilities remain in good condition for riders.

“Metro is not just about being a service provider for the public,” Hector Guerrero said. “We are a reliable and safe service – but we’re also here to ensure that we continue to be that reliable and safe service. That we do our maintenance activities – that we do our refurbishment activities – our infrastructure activities – that we do these projects so we can reliably provide that service to the public.”

For more information on Metro services, residents can visit their official website at metro.net. For all information on impacted metro services, residents can call (323) GO-METRO.

[Author’s Note: on Saturday, Aug. 19, in response to the recent events of Hurricane Hilary, Jose Ubaldo informed the Beachcomber that the overall timeline of C Line’s maintenance is not expected to change or delay, although the exact work may shift based on the weather. Ubaldo also stated that Metro will continue monitoring the weather and may make adjustments as necessary based on conditions.]