Metro Blue Line will become the A Line when it reopens - Los Angeles Times
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Light rail to Long Beach will reopen soon — but it won’t be called the Blue Line

Metro Blue Line
The Metro Blue Line pulls into the Compton station last year. Metro is preparing to complete a $350-million overhaul of the line that will include a name change.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
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The oldest light-rail line in Los Angeles County will reopen next month with a new look and a new name.

Portions of the 22-mile Blue Line have been closed since the end of January, when the Metropolitan Transportation Authority began a $350-million renovation.

When the train between Long Beach and downtown L.A. reopens Nov. 2, it will be called the A Line — the first of Metro’s rail routes to be rechristened under a naming policy approved last year.

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With eight major bus and rail projects scheduled to open over the next decade, Metro officials said they were rapidly running out of colors that looked distinct. For example, on a sun-bleached transit map, lines that are pink and red, or lime and green, could be easily confused.

New signage will show the letter “A” within a royal blue circle, the line’s traditional color. The route will still be shown as blue on system maps.

Metro’s subway and three other light-rail lines will be renamed when the $2-billion Crenshaw Line opens, scheduled for next year. Under the new naming convention, each line will keep its current color and will receive an added letter name.

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During the overhaul, which took about a month longer than planned, Metro crews added four crossover tracks, which can help reduce delays along the 22-mile line by providing more places for trains to pass each other.

Crews also upgraded the signal system, portions of worn-out track and the overhead wires that powered the trains. Stations will get new lighting and paint.

The work included a complete renovation of the Willowbrook/Rosa Parks station, where the Blue and Green lines meet. The station, one of the busiest in the system, will have longer platforms, better lighting and a new security center, Metro said.

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Metro will offer three free days of rides on the line, Nov. 2, 3 and 4, to celebrate the reopening.

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