The longest light rail line in the world can be found in Southern California. It snakes up from the South Bay, climbing through South LA, into Downtown LA, and crosses into the foothills of the San Gabriel Valley (SGV). Today, we know the route as the A Line — although some may remember it as either the Blue Line or the Gold Line prior to 2021.
Now, the A Line has expanded farther into the SGV, with four new stations opening for service, connecting the route to farther east communities such as Glendora and Pomona.
That route is made possible, in part, due to Southern California’s rich public transportation history and existing rights of way. More than a century ago, the region was home to a network of streetcars, operated by multiple companies. That includes Pacific Electric, which covered some 1,100 miles in LA, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino County, according to Michael Patris, the head of the Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society. And he says this is the first time the area’s seen rail service since the 1950s…