Foothill Gold Line / @IWillRide via X
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Senior Staff Writer
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February 26, 2026
Los Angeles Metro’s A Line, previously known as the Blue Line, has been an essential part of the city’s public transit system since it opened in 1990. With the addition of the DTLA tunnel and extension to Azusa in 2023, it became the longest light rail line in the world at 48.5 miles.
In September 2025, another $1.5 billion extension project added 4 new stops to Pomona, but it still has two more stops to add: Claremont and Montclair, which we’ll see in the somewhat-distant future.
Here’s a closer look at what’s going on…
Extension to Claremont
The A Line is currently being extended through the “Foothill Gold Line” project, managed by the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority. To be clear, the project name comes from when this eastern stretch was part of the former Gold Line — which can be confusing now that it all operates as the A Line.
The Foothill Gold Line project has expanded light rail east from Pasadena in stages since 2010, opening the first 11.5-mile extension to Azusa in March 2016, and adding another 9.1 miles to Pomona North in 2025.
What remains is the final 3.2-mile, two-station segment from Pomona to Claremont and Montclair. While the Construction Authority previously projected an early-2030s opening, they’ve since updated the FAQs on the website to clarify that the Claremont and Montclair additions will be handled in two different projects.
Pending the procurement of a design/engineering team, the Pomona to Claremont section is expected to begin construction in 2027 and open in 2031.
But the Claremont to Montclair section is currently stalled, as the Construction Authority is still awaiting funding decisions from San Bernardino County.
For now, passengers are still basking in the excitement of the new 9.1-mile section that opened last year. With stops in Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne/Fairplex, and Pomona North, the extension broadens transit access to a wide range of destinations, including Raging Waters, Glendora Village, the University of La Verne, the L.A. County Fairgrounds, and the Pomona Arts District.
The ‘longest light rail line on Earth’
During the 3 decades following its opening in 1990, L.A.’s A Line underwent several expansions and upgrades, including the addition of a Downtown L.A. tunnel in 2014.
That tunnel enabled the A Line to absorb the L Line’s former Union Station–Pasadena–Azusa route in 2023, surpassing the length of Belgium’s 42-mile Coast Tram to earn the title of the “world’s longest light rail line.”
With the eventual addition of the Claremont and Montclair stations, the A Line will reach a full length of 58 miles.