Good morning, everyone! It’s hard to underplay the significance of today: after 63 years, rail service will be restored between Santa Monica and downtown Los Angeles. And a very crowded and congested corridor for residents and workers will now

have the kind of transit enjoyed in many other corners of Planet Earth.

We’ll be posting updates and photos here throughout today. Please check back often. We’ve also posted plenty of articles about the Expo Line Extension on the blog. A good place to start is here: Everything you needed to know about Expo and probably weren’t afraid to ask.

9:55 p.m. — Whoops. Almost forgot! Stating the obvious…

And, of course, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to the residents, taxpayers and voters of L.A. County for making this day possible. ? — Metro (@metrolosangeles) May 21, 2016

9:30 p.m. — And that’s a wrap for Expo Day One. Free rides continue tomorrow from beginning of service for you early birds to close of service early Sunday morning. Station parties will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the following stations: Downtown Santa Monica, 17th St/SMC, 26th/Bergamot, Expo/Bundy, Palms and Culver City. More here. Anna and I will be out there all day — please say hello if you bump into us!

And from earlier this evening:

9:20 p.m. — This is a fun listen. An old acquaintance of Steve’s from City Hall — Mayor V — declines to say “I told you so” to KPCC’s John Rabe. Someone’s getting mellow 🙂

9:15 p.m. — These two SaMo residents — Ava and Beatty — took the train to a meet-up with their aunt. Here, they are emailing us the nice video they made, seen below this pic.

9:10 p.m. — It was a pleasure to run into this crew of loyal transit riders (Alex, Brian, George, Moises and Jonathan) and Source readers at Palms Station.

Javon Stoneham (middle) said that he expects Expo to shorten his commute from Grammercy Park in South L.A. to Santa Monica College from about 90 minutes to an hour each way. He and his friends have been waiting for the line to open since it broke ground back in 2011.

Bonus pic for Javon:

8:40 p.m. — Free rides for this one for a few more years. Tip: two children under age four and under may travel free with each fare-paying adult on bus or rail.

8:40 p.m. — Nice endorsement….

My grandfather took Pacific Electric Red Cars to Santa Monica. My father had to drive. Me, I take #ExpoLine! pic.twitter.com/tqVMLAKC3n — Scarlette Rose (@Scarrrrrlette) May 21, 2016

8:35 p.m. — Trains are single-tracking at Expo/Sepulveda Station while a repair is being made to the overhead wires.

5:03 p.m. — Still faster than the rush hour traffic.

Our inaugural ride on the #ExpoLine! Passing traffic on the 10 ? #GoMetro pic.twitter.com/luBaxjKcFL — Victoria Namkung (@VictoriaNamkung) May 21, 2016

4:39 p.m. — The wait is over. Welcome aboard.

My parents riding the new LA – Santa Monica train #ExpoLine 81 years young 🙂 they have been waiting for this day! pic.twitter.com/opg5Ylqa5G — Tanya Acevedo (@tjbace9) May 20, 2016

4:27 p.m. — Where will Expo take you? How about Fritto Misto at 6th and Colorado, a block from the DTSM station.

3:51 p.m. — Say goodbye to the 10.

WE DID IT, LA! #ExpoLine now goes to the ocean. Funeral for I-10 is this evening at rush hour, for old time's sake — Zach Callison (@ZachCallison) May 20, 2016

3:05 p.m. — Some more photos of our riders.

2:58 p.m. — Life changer.

2:06 p.m. — Game changer.

1:42 p.m. — David Courtland carrying his folding bike on Expo:

“I’ve been living 22 years in Santa Monica and traffic has been getting worse and worse… I’m afraid if I drive I’ll lose my parking space. I used to love to drive.”

1:12 p.m. — We did it LA and bring your kids!

First train heads to Santa Monica Station #Expoline pic.twitter.com/qm4SRTOgUd — Mel Melcon (@MelMelconPhoto) May 20, 2016

12:59 p.m. — Surf’s up!

These guys just took their stand-up paddleboards on the @metrolosangeles Expo Line! ?? pic.twitter.com/XOx2xhSk8Y — Laura J. Nelson (@laura_nelson) May 20, 2016

12:48 p.m. — #moreexpo is all about new connections!

East/Westside love in LA: will you expand your @Tinder radius with new #ExpoLine extension? https://t.co/7n5RO51nHJ — Maya Sugarman (@mayasugarman) May 20, 2016

12:42 p.m. —

12:26 p.m. — Bud Kling of Pacific Palisades says he plans to use Expo to go to Kings games.

“I drive to (the Expo station at) Robertson from the Palisades and that’s an hour. Sitting in traffic going 10 or 15 mph is numbing. This will cut half an hour or 45 minutes from my trip by taking the train from Santa Monica instead.”

12:05 p.m. — Beach City to Lob City

Hey Westside, no more waiting in traffic to get to Clippers games at @STAPLESCenter! #MoreExpo

?❤??❤??❤? pic.twitter.com/Pxgr7U2o8f — LA Clippers (@LAClippers) May 20, 2016

12:00 p.m. — Its happening!

Check out the view from inside the train as it breaks the banner at the #ExpoLine opening! @metrolosangeles pic.twitter.com/8n56kKz51Z — Mayor of Los Angeles (@MayorOfLA) May 20, 2016

11:50 a.m. — Love is in the air for #MoreExpo.

#ExpoLine This is epic! I never dreamed of being able to take a train from Monrovia to the Santa Monica pier! Thank you @metrolosangeles — Stew The Deluxe (@stewalaniz) May 20, 2016

11:37 a.m. — Crowds are forming at Culver City station.

Large crowd at Culver City Expo Line station waiting to take the very first train to Santa Monica.@metrolosangeles pic.twitter.com/bnIqihi8hW — USC Psycho (@uscpsycho) May 20, 2016

11:23 a.m. —

11:15 a.m. — Healthy line at DTSM Station. Guys in front started getting in line after 10 a.m. No overnighters.

11:00 a.m. — FREE rides is an hour away. Catch the ride and be part of history.

10:50 a.m. — Speeches continue. There’s a video at the bottom of this post for those who want to hear them.

10:50 a.m. — Mayor Eric Garcetti predicts a lot of people will use the train for purposes of dating and says he thinks at least one couple will fall in love on the train tonight. If you do fall in love, please tweet a pic to @metrolosangeles and a copy of your pre-nup!

10:45 a.m. — Several rider sentiments

@ericgarcetti says first date could lead to true love on #expoline – here's hoping! From the skyline to the beach… @metrolosangeles — Gwen M. Part (@OptimisticBruin) May 20, 2016

Today is a great day for public transit in Los Angeles! Way to go @metrolosangeles I can’t wait to ride this train https://t.co/vjrzxXoF2N — j (@jxst_) May 20, 2016

10:33 a.m. —

10:00 a.m. —

.@metrolosangeles is now open all the way to the beach! pic.twitter.com/vc2kn1mypI — LATech Digest (@LATechDigest) May 20, 2016

9:50 a.m. — Banner has been broken. A historical moment in LA.

Hello, @metrolosangeles Expo Line! For the first time since 1953, passenger rail has reached L.A.'s Westside. pic.twitter.com/cYLDqzyzA1 — Laura J. Nelson (@laura_nelson) May 20, 2016

9:30 a.m. — Tune in to Facebook Live to see the video coverage of the banner busting. Link

9:20 a.m. — Media gaggle waiting for banner bust.

9:10 a.m. —

8:00 a.m. — Some early morning photos as we get set to open the new Expo Line.

6:55 a.m. — As would be expected, a gaggle of media has descended upon Downtown Santa Monica Station for their morning live spots.

6:30 a.m. — Our new rail map for your perusal.

Like this: Like Loading...