The Most Optimistic Possible LA Metro Rail Map of 2040

We've seen the actual projections for when Los Angeles's many in-the-works rail lines should be wrapped up and ready to ride, but who doesn't love a little fantasy every now and then? Here with a little bit of whimsy is a dream map of the Los Angeles rail system of 2040, from Jake Berman of Studio Complutense (via LACMTA Tumblr). Berman, a lawyer by trade, has a backlog of fantasy maps drawn up on his Tumblr, but the one of LA is truly wild. He writes that it "Includes all of LA Metro’s currently unfunded projects," meaning subways, light rail, elevated lines, and rapid buses too. What does that even look like?

The map shows a substantial web of Metro transit across the city: Green Line extensions into Norwalk and San Pedro, a "high-speed elevated line to Santa Ana," light rail on Sunset Boulevard (take a train to Sunset Junction!)and through Cypress Park and Glendale, up to a future high-speed rail station in Burbank.

While it seems pretty unlikely that LA's transit network will look like this by 2040 (this is a fantasy map), there are a few projects here that are actually happening soon. The Gold Line's extension to Azusa (but not all the way out to Claremont) is set to open on March 5, and the Expo Line to downtown Santa Monica should open sometime this spring too (the exact date is still TBA). And the Purple Line extension into the Westside could possibly get a boost from the city's push to host the Olympics, which would have it reach UCLA by 2024. A similar acceleration could speed up the Crenshaw Line's connection to LAX, to help get all those athletes in and out of the airport smoothly.

Jake Berman

• Los Angeles 2040 [Studio Complutense]
• LA Metro Wants to Speed Up Two Rail Lines So They're Ready By the 2024 Olympics [Curbed LA]