LOS ANGELES (CNS) – The first phase of Metro’s long-awaited D (Purple) Line subway extension opened Friday, adding three new stations along the Mid- Wilshire corridor and expanding rail service west from Koreatown.
Metro officials, elected leaders and community members — including Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and county Supervisor Lindsey Horvath — gathered Friday morning for an opening celebration on the roof of the Petersen Automotive Museum, located steps from the new Wilshire/Fairfax subway station. The ceremony came after the various dignitaries rode on the inaugural train through the extended subway corridor.
Passenger service to the new stations began at 12:30 p.m. Friday.
The first phase of the project brought stops at Wilshire/La Brea, Wilshire/Fairfax and Wilshire/La Cienega, providing a direct rail link from downtown Los Angeles to the edge of Beverly Hills.
The opening of the Wilshire/La Cienega station gave Beverly Hills its first rail passenger service since Sept. 26, 1954, when the Pacific Electric Railway closed its Hollywood Line streetcar line.
Transit officials said the expansion will significantly improve travel times along Wilshire Boulevard, one of the region’s busiest corridors, with trips from Union Station to the new western terminus taking about 20 minutes without transfers.
“This train will give us new doors to some of the most iconic places in our city,” Bass said during the opening ceremony. “They connect the people of Miracle Mile to work, to museums, to neighborhoods and to each other. It makes our very huge city smaller and a lot more connected.”
Bass noted that the extension of the D Line will continue, eventually reaching the Westwood area, “transforming how Angelenos get around for generations to come.”
“So today, we celebrate progress. We celebrate partnership. And we celebrate something that Angelenos deserve — a city that’s easier to move through, easier to connect in, and that’s built for the future,” Bass said.
The extension runs nearly four miles through neighborhoods including Hancock Park, the Fairfax District and Carthay Circle, connecting riders to major cultural and commercial destinations such as Museum Row and the La Brea Tar Pits.
Metro Board Chair Fernando Dutra called Friday “a historic day,” adding, “I don’t use that word lightly.”
“This is one of Metro’s biggest accomplishments to date,” he said. “The idea for the D Line started almost 100 years ago. … All the way back in 1927 when the leaders identified Wilshire as one of the best corridors for a subway. … The road to the D Line took many twists and turns for generations. Angelenos embraced a car over public transit, and that shaped how we moved and how long it took for us to get here. But the subway beneath Wilshire was always a great idea, right? It was always worth doing, because this is one of the busiest, densest, most traffic-clogged areas in all of Los Angeles. And today, we finally delivered on that promise.”
Metro officials said each new station features public art installations and full accessibility, along with enhanced security measures including surveillance systems and transit personnel.
“Angelenos and visitors alike will love the extended service from downtown Los Angeles to Beverly Hills, delivering greater access to the iconic and culturally diverse communities, institutions and destinations that define the deep history along Wilshire Boulevard,” Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins said in an earlier statement.
Artist Karl Haendel, who worked on the installations, said the art connects local residents with artifacts from nearby museums.
“What you see on the walls here are depictions of people who live and work in the area holding objects from the various museum collections around here,” Haendel told KTLA 5.
“All of the things that are in these institutions, and that are made in L.A., they’re all connected to L.A. in some way,” he added.
A series of pop-up events, markets and community activities accompanied the opening of the subway extension.
According to Metro, the three-month pilot program will bring daily “activations” to stations at Wilshire/La Brea, Wilshire/Fairfax and Wilshire/La Cienega.
Officials said the effort is designed to encourage ridership, support local businesses and create a more welcoming environment.
Activities planned at the stations include morning coffee carts, weekly farmers markets, pop-up retail shops and cultural programming, officials said.
At the Wilshire/La Brea and Wilshire/Fairfax stations, local vendors are expected to operate coffee carts on weekday mornings, while farmers markets are planned weekly at both locations.
Additional programming is expected to include free salsa dance classes, temporary pickleball courts and pop-up events featuring local businesses, including merchants from the nearby Little Ethiopia district.
Metro officials said similar activation efforts have been tested at other stations in recent years, including community events and night markets.
The second phase of the subway extension, tentatively set to open in spring 2027, will add stations in Beverly Hills and Century City. The third phase, tentatively planned for fall 2027, will add stations at UCLA and the VA hospital.
The overall extension effort is expected to cost nearly $10 billion.
Copyright 2026, City News Service, Inc.
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