Green Line

The heavy-metal clash as rail cars slam together is like a symphony to Andrew Fox, and he can hear just how well each note is played as trains assemble on the railroad he runs. On a recent morning, Fox winced only once. "It can be too hard or too soft. You can just tell when it isn't quite right," said Fox, president of Pacific Harbor Line Inc., which operates inside the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

I recently spent a long weekend in Portland, Ore. It was hard not to marvel at all the things that city does well on the transportation front. I began to wonder what elements could be applied here. Of course, comparing the Portland area to the Southland is a bit unfair. It has the advantage of being much smaller, and in the world of urban planning that usually translates into getting things done faster. -- Light rail Perhaps the biggest difference between Portland and L.A. is something you notice within minutes of walking off a plane: A light rail line stops at the airport terminal.

A bill that would have created an agency to oversee the extension of the Green Line light rail to Los Angeles International Airport was killed in the state Legislature on Thursday for the second year in a row. The bill, by Sen. Jenny Oropeza (D-Long Beach), was one of dozens that were not moved forward by the Senate's Appropriations Committee on Thursday. Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland) said only urgent bills were moved forward because of the state's ongoing budget crisis.

Is the MTA going to build a rail line to nowhere? That's what some critics are asking after transportation officials unveiled long-awaited plans for a light-rail system that would run through Southwest L.A. and to the South Bay. The proposed $1-billion line would start on Crenshaw Boulevard at Exposition Boulevard and end at the 105 Freeway in El Segundo.

THESE days, the only thing trickier than getting through an airport is making it there in the first place. Southern California's mass transit options are a mixed bag, but they shouldn't be ruled out. Meanwhile, new remote check-in services and special waiting areas for drivers picking up passengers can ease the hassle. Here's how: 1. Use cellphone waiting lots LAX and Long Beach offer designated parking lots where drivers can wait for arriving passengers.

Los Angeles officials are drawing a new route aimed at finally closing perhaps the biggest gap in the region's mass transit system: A lack of a rail line flowing directly into Los Angeles International Airport. Planners envision a new light rail line that would run along Crenshaw Boulevard and Florence Avenue between Exposition Boulevard and the airport.

The City Council on Tuesday sought a study of the environmental consequences of connecting the proposed Exposition Line light-rail system with a possible extension of the Metro Green Line to Los Angeles International Airport. The Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority broke ground this week on the first phase of its project from Exposition Park to Culver City.

The City Council on Friday unanimously approved a motion to revive efforts to extend the Green Line rail tracks to Los Angeles International Airport. The proposal by Councilman Bill Rosendahl, whose district includes LAX, would reestablish the LAX/Metro Green Line Interagency Task Force, which worked more than a decade ago to connect the rail system to the airport, said Aaron Gross, Rosendahl's deputy chief of staff. Gross said the plan is in the early stages.

Re "Parks Aims to Derail 'Aqua Line,' " July 20 I agree with L.A. City Councilman Bernard Parks' proposal of Expo Line as the designation of the new light-rail route from downtown L.A. to Culver City and, I hope, on to Santa Monica. And while we're at it, why can't all the "color" labels be scrapped? How do they help anyone -- especially tourists -- navigate the system? Do you know how many hundreds of people every day find themselves standing forlornly in the Wilshire/Western station because they were told to take the Red Line to Hollywood or Universal City?