Metro Rail System Grows 11.5 Miles Today

Metro's Gold Line Foothill extension opens today, and the new route is being celebrated with free rides on the Gold Line from noon to midnight.

According to Metro, the $1 billion extension adds 11.5 miles of rail to the San Gabriel Valley, connecting SGV folks to downtown and East L.A by rail for the first time in more than 50 years. The extension begins at East Pasadena, and snakes its way through the SGV before its final stop in Azusa. As CBS L.A. notes, the Foothill extension brings the entire Gold Line route up to 31 miles overall, the longest in Metro's system.

The six new stations serve five cities: Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Irwindale, and Azusa. Here's a handy map:

Per Facebook, Metro's holding launch "parties" at five of the new stations today, which will include live music and food trucks.

• Arcadia Station (11am-3pm): 201 N First Avenue, Arcadia
• Monrovia Station (11am-4pm): 1651 S Primrose Avenue, Monrovia
• Duarte/City of Hope Station (12pm-4pm): 1777 E Duarte Road, Duarte
• Irwindale Station (12pm-3pm): 16017 Avenida Padilla, Irwindale
• Azusa Downtown Station (11am-4pm): 780 N Alameda Avenue, Azusa

According to Metro's The Source blog, it's about a 49-minute ride from Union Station downtown to the final stop on the extension at APU/Citrus College Station in Azusa. Not too shabby. Plus, the views of the mountains look really nice, as seen in this #dubstep heavy hyperlapse video:

Here's a very pretty e-book called The Art of the Journey: The Foothill Gold Line with lovely photos of views from the new route and the neat-looking bridges and stations that were constructed. Here's more on the public art seen along the route and at the stations themselves that pays homage to the history and heritage of the region.