LA Metro celebrated the official opening of Section 1 of the D Line Subway Extension with a grand opening event. Riders can now go west beyond the Wilshire and Western station in Koreatown, with service to neighborhoods and communities including Hancock Park, Windsor Square, the Fairfax District, and Cathay Circle into Beverly Hills in around 21 minutes.

“LA county residents are now connected from Downtown Los Angeles to Beverly Hills with three new beautiful underground stations, making the trip through Mid-Wilshire to experience the culture, cuisine, and commerce across diverse neighborhoods faster, easier, and a lot more accessible,” said Fernando Dutra, Metro board chair. “Today, we showed what’s possible when residents, community leaders, and local, state, and federal government agencies work together in a shared vision to improve the region’s mobility.”

LA’s New D Line Extension

The only new subway opening in the US this year, the D Line Extension represents one of Metro’s top transit priorities and a historic milestone for Los Angeles, with Sections 2 and 3 set to open in 2027.

The opening of Section 1 of the D Line Extension transforms the way many riders will experience the Metro system, providing a seamless, single-seat ride from Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles to La Cienega in Beverly Hills in around 21 minutes.

Riders will now have access to three new underground stations: Wilshire/La Brea, Wilshire/Fairfax, and Wilshire/La Cienega.  

The new Metro stations themselves are the newest museum destinations to join Museum Row. Riders will be greeted by large-scale, architecturally integrated artworks by renowned contemporary artists. Artworks were commissioned by the agency’s Metro Art program, which worked closely with curators from leading Los Angeles museums and cultural organizations.

The full D Line Extension will be a critical connection for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, with stops in Westwood and the athlete village at UCLA.

Every day for the next 90 days, Metro will activate these new stations with more than 100 experiences, welcoming riders into three distinct neighborhoods through local pop-up coffee carts, boutique vendors, weekly farmers markets, dance classes, and more.

Continuing a Metro tradition, limited-edition TAP cards have also been created to reflect the unique culture and character of the communities surrounding each station.

Constructing the D Line Extension

As with previous construction projects, Section 1 of the D Line Extension was designed and built with community input and local voices, LA Metro officials said.

In addition, the project benefited from Metro’s board-approved small business mitigation programs: the Business Interruption Fund, which provides financial assistance to businesses located along project corridors, and Eat Shop Play, which provides marketing assistance. Both helped support small businesses in the areas along this project during construction.

The Business Interruption Fund awarded 465 grants to 122 small businesses across Section 1 totaling more than $14 million, and the Eat Shop Play program provided free marketing assistance to 52 businesses, officials said.

“Today’s opening is a transformative moment for Los Angeles, and a clear demonstration of what sustained investment in public transit can deliver for our region,” said Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins. “Riders can get from DTLA to Beverly Hills in 21 minutes, and we’re not stopping here. With Sections 2 and 3 on track to reach Century City and Westwood next year, we’re building a world-class transit system that will serve Angelenos for generations to come and help prepare our city for the global stage. This is a clear example of the Olympics legacy already in motion.”

Section 1 of the D Line Extension was funded primarily by Metro’s 2008 Measure R transportation sales taxes. Local sales tax funding also secured federal matching funds, including $1.25 billion in FFGA, $66.4 million in supplemental New Starts, $12.7 million in CMAQ funding, and a $749.3 million TIFIA loan in May 2014.