California’s Rail Future
From Discovering on Page 11
producing substantial environmental and mobility benefits by diverting an estimated 17,400 daily riders from the roadways by 2035, eliminating roughly 69,050 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually and reducing average travel time by approximately 13 minutes per daily trip. In 2019, Metro began the process of updating its color lines to letters (See Map, below.) Letters are assigned in the order of each line’s original opening date; e.g., the Blue Line was Metro’s first rail line to open in 1990 and, thus, became the A Line. Metro Regional Rail Line Map ● A Line. The A Line (Blue Dot) is a light-rail line linking Downtown Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Pomona. At 56 miles with 48 stations, it is the longest light-rail line in the world. The route runs mostly at street level, with some elevated and underground sections. Montclair is the designated eastern terminus of the A Line. metro.net pacificsurfliner.com metrolinktrains.com
to a local band. For something more substantial, head to Max’s Mexican Cuisine , located at 6 635 N. Azusa Ave., with locations also in Monrovia and San Dimas. You can also visit Durrell House Museum, located at 729 N. Dalton Ave., a craftsman home that now operates as a museum. APU/Citrus College Station. This is your stop for the Haugh Performing Arts Center (1000 W. Foothill Blvd.) at Citrus College. It is also your stop for Azusa Pacific University, the top Christian College in Southern California (901 E. Alosta Ave.).
Sierra Madre Villa Station. If you’re up for a walk, exit
the Sierra Madre Villa station and head toward the old, less chic end of Colorado Boulevard. It’s a mile trek, but along the way you will find Poo-Bah’s Records, a model train shop and other independently minded stores. MeowMeowz Retro 80s Thrift Shop (2423 E. Colorado Blvd.), an underground-centric rock store and secondhand clothing shop packed with everything you would need to dress up for a night at the spookiest parties in town. Arcadia Station.
Metro & Regional Rail
Readers of the Montclair City Manager’s Monthly are aware that City officials continue to work toward developing a transit-oriented district in North Montclair that retains a vision for arrival of the A Line light rail system (formerly the Gold Line) at the Montclair Transit Center. The A Line, operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), is one of the many recent and ongoing rail transit projects that are shaping the expanding and dynamic nature of California’s rail infrastructure, particularly for Southern California — the nation’s center COUNTY SAN LUIS OBISPO Palmdale Lancaster Grover Beach San Luis Obispo Antelope Valley Line Amtrak Pacific Surfliner
Thoroughbred horses race at Santa Anita Park
Glendora Station. Hungry for sweets, the station is served by Foothill Transit and Glendora Shuttle for a trip to Donut Man , best known for its iconic fresh fruit donuts, particularly the Fresh Strawberry Donut. The Donut Man is located at 915 E. Route 66. After a fresh donut, visit Rubel Castle , 844 N Live Oak Ave., a monument to folk architecture, built by hand by Michael Rubel over several decades. San Dimas Station. Start your day at Rail Side Cafe and if you have all day ahead of you to spend in San Dimas, there is always Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park and Raging Waters. La Verne and Pomona North Stations. Accessible from both stations, the Fairplex , 1101 W. McKinley Ave., Pomona, is a premier entertainment center hosting events like the L.A. County Fair, the NHRA In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip , Oktoberfest at Fairplex , LIGHTS OUT at Fairplex Halloween Horror Attraction and many other events and attractions . Fairplex will also serve as a venue for the 2028 Olympics, setting the stage for the return of cricket to the Olympic Games for the first time since 1900, when only two countries participated. Cricket is a hugely popular international sport, with an estimated 2.5 billion followers worldwide. Collectively Pasadena, Azusa, San Dimas, La Verne, Pomona and the future A Line Station city, Claremont, host a large number of universities and colleges. In the narrow band of A Line corridor cities between Union Station and Claremont, there are an estimated 19 institutions of higher education — more than perhaps in any other location in the world. Together, they attribute to the A Line’s unofficial moniker, the “Brain Train”. Keep in mind that the A Line just touches the rich heritage of the Los Angeles region. What it does do, however, is make it easy to reach a number of places of interest that offer the day adventure reward and opportunity. Bringing the A Line to the Montclair Transit Center in San Bernardino County is essential to allowing residents of both counties to learn from each other, and enjoy the experiences and adventures each county offers. See map of Metro’s current transit system, on the next page, showing the proposed A Line extension to Claremont and Montclair as a dashed line.
What else, head to thoroughbred horse racing at Santa Anita Park (285 W. Huntington Dr.). On race days, there is a free shuttle that will cart you to the track. In addition, there’s also the Arcadia Transit Shuttle, offering daily lifts from the A Line to the park as well as the L. A. County Arboretum (301 N. Baldwin Ave.) and Santa Anita Mall. After a day at the races, visit Din Tai Fung – a Taiwanese steamed dumpling and noodle restaurant which has food critics and customers raving about the dumplings. The restaurant is located at the Shops at Santa Anita, 400 S. Baldwin Ave., #M5. Monrovia Station. Head to Old Town - a small-town stretch of Myrtle Avenue, home to Resistor Records (511 S. Myrtle Ave.), a vibrant record store specializing in new and used vinyl across various genres. Old Town is a one mile walk from the train station, and there you will find numerous restaurants and shops for the browsing. On Friday and Saturday evenings, shuttles run from the Monrovia station to Old Town from 5 to 10 p.m. Duarte Station. This is your stop for City of Hope (1500 East Duarte Rd.). City of Hope is world renowned for its commitment to cancer treatment and medical research. City of Hope hosts Saturday Science Days with activities designed for both elementary and middle school children, as well as a Community Science Festival. The Eugene and Ruth Roberts Summer Student Academy is a research program for college and high school students. Irwindale Station. Catch a bus for the Santa Fe Dam Recreational Area (15501 E. Arrow Hwy., Baldwin Park), home of The Original Renaissance Pleasure Faire . You may also want to visit Huy Fong Foods, Inc . (4800 Azusa Canyon Rd.), maker of Sriracha. The company hosts tours of the factory and a Sriracha Chile Grinding event for the public. Book here , but tours do fill up quickly. Azusa Station. Head over to Congregation Ale House (619 N. Azusa Ave.), a church- themed bar where the jukebox plays “hymns” and the tip jars look like col- lection boxes. Sip on a brew called Hell or High Watermelon while listening
Continue Future on Page 14
Vista Canyon Vincent Grade/Acton
Guadalupe - Santa Maria
for rail transit development. This growth is spurred by a surge in train travel over the past decade; e.g., Eurail sold 1.2 million passes in 2023 — the most since its start in 1959, and Amtrak had its biggest year on record in 2024 with 32.8 million riders, a 15% increase from 2023. Southern California’s growing list of regional rail projects includes the following: ■ The Regional Connector Transit System in Downtown Los Angeles opened in July 2023, and is a 1.9 mile underground light rail connection between the Little Tokyo/Arts District Station to the 7th Street/ Metro Center Station in downtown Los Angeles. The Regional connector improves connectivity by allowing light rail system passengers to SANTA BARBARA COUNTY VENTURA COUNTY Ventura - East Lompoc - Surf Ventura County Line Sherman Way Roscoe Nordhoff Chatsworth
Via Princessa
LOS ANGELES COUNTY
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
Newhall Santa Clarita
Sylmar/San Fernando Sun Valley
Burbank Airport North (AV Line)
BUR
Burbank Airport South (VC Line)
Burbank - Downtown
SAN FERNANDO VALLEY
METRO A LINE EXTENSION PROJECT
Fillmore Del Mar Memorial Park South Pasadena
San Bernardino Line Inland Empire - Orange County Line
Arrow Service
STATIONS OPEN SEPT. 19, 2025
North Hollywood
SAN GABRIEL VALLEY
Universal City/Studio City
Glendale
Hollywood/Highland
Covina
Hollywood/Vine
Lincoln/Cypress Heritage Sq Southwest Museum Highland Park
CENTRAL LA
Hollywood/Western
Vermont/Beverly Vermont/Santa Monica Vermont/Sunset
Baldwin Park
Rail Station Transfer Station
METRO D LINE SUBWAY EXTENSION PROJECT
Chinatown
Wilshire/Vermont
Union Station
DOWNTOWN LA
Westlake/MacArthur Park
WESTSIDE
Busway On-Street Service
7th St/Metro Ctr
Regional Rail Station
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
LATTC/Ortho Institute Jefferson/ USC
Pico
Grand/LATTC
G Line Chatsworth to North Hollywood *Van Nuys Station closed until winter 2028, buses will stop at Van Nuys Bl and Oxnard St. J Line El Monte to San Pedro Metro Busway Street service in Downtown LA and San Pedro. A Line Pomona to Long Beach B Line North Hollywood to Union Station C Line LAX to Norwalk D Line Wilshire/Western to Union Station E Line Santa Monica to East LA K Line Expo/Crenshaw to Redondo Beach Metro Rail
EASTSIDE
San Pedro St
Washington
37th St/USC
Riverside - Downtown
Riverside Line
Martin Luther King Jr Leimert Park Hyde Park Fairview Heights Downtown Inglewood Westchester/Veterans Downtown Inglewood Westchester/Veterans LAX/Metro Transit Center Martin Luther King Jr Leimert Park Hyde Park Fairview Heights
Vernon
Riverside - Hunter Park/UCR
Slauson
Slauson
Moreno Valley/March Field
SOUTH LA
Florence
Riverside - La Sierra
Perris - Downtown
Commerce
Firestone
Manchester
Perris - South
103rd St/ Watts Towers Willowbrook/ Rosa Parks
91/Perris Valley Line
Corona - North Main
travel between destination points by bringing the A (formerly the Gold Line) and E (formerly the Expo and Blue Lines) Lines together at the 7th Street/Metro Center Station, along with the D Line and B Line (See LA Metro Rail Map 1, right), increasing access to jobs, education and essential services with only one, or even no transfers. The A Line goes directly between Long Beach and Pomona and the E Line goes directly between Santa Monica and East Los Angeles.
LAX
Aviation/ Century
Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs
Mariposa
Compton
Rosecrans
Corona - West
Buena Park
RIVERSIDE COUNTY
Artesia
Harbor Gateway Transit Ctr
El Segundo
Fullerton
GATEWAY CITIES
PACIFIC OCEAN
Del Amo
Douglas
Carson
Wardlow
Redondo Beach
Anaheim
Anaheim Canyon
Willow St
SOUTH BAY
Pacific Coast Hwy
Pacific Coast Hwy
Regional Rail
ORANGE COUNTY
Orange
Anaheim St
amtrak.com Amtrak
Santa Ana
5th St
Pacific Av
Amtrak Pacific Surfliner
Tustin
Downtown Long Beach
1st St
San Pedro
metrolinktrains.com Metrolink
Irvine
Arrow Service
Antelope Valley Line Inland Empire - Orange County Line Orange County Line San Bernardino Line Riverside Line 91/Perris Valley Line Ventura County Line
SAN DIEGO COUNTY
Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo
San Juan Capistrano
San Clemente
San Clemente Pier Oceanside
LA Metro Rail Map
LAX FlyAway flylax.com/flyaway Airport Shuttle
The Regional Connector, alone, is
Solana Beach
San Diego
Amtrak Pacific Surfliner
SEP 2025
Subject to Change
12 | CITY OF MONTCLAIR | TRANSIT UPDATE
CITY OF MONTCLAIR | TRANSIT UPDATE | 13
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