Kansas City streetcar, L.A. line extension to open in May

The Kansas City Streetcar Authority yesterday announced that the KC Streetcar system will open May 6.

Rendering of the Kansas City Streetcar
Photo: Kansas City Streetcar Authority

The two-mile route will primarily run along Main Street in downtown Kansas City and connect the River Market area to Crown Center and Union Station. The KC Streetcar has 16 stops spaced every two blocks for both northbound and southbound travel, according to the project's website.

"This is the first step of what I believe will be a truly historic transformation of the entire city," said Kansas City Mayor Sly James in a press release. "Building owners and developers have completed, started or announced more than $1.6 billion in construction in the KC Streetcar district since the route was announced three years ago."

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) announced that its Expo Line extension is slated to open May 20.

The 6.6-mile route, which will run from Culver City to Santa Monica, Calif., marks the first rail project to L.A. County's far Westside since streetcars halted service in 1953, Metro officials said in a blog post.

A westbound Expo Line test train heads toward downtown Santa Monica.
Photo: Steve Hymon/Metro

The second phase of the Expo Line, the extension adds seven stations. A trip from the 7th Street/Metro Center Station in downtown L.A. to the Downtown Santa Monica Station is expected to take 46 minutes, Metro officials said.

The current Expo Line runs 8.5 miles from the 7th/Metro Center Station into Culver City.