Eastside Transit Corridor Phase 2

The Eastside Transit Corridor Phase 2 project (project) is an approximately nine-mile extension of the Metro E Line farther east, connecting East Los Angeles to the City of Whittier. This extension will bring high-quality transit to the Gateway Cities, connecting riders to key destinations and communities in unincorporated Los Angeles County in East Los Angeles and West Whittier-Los Nietos and five cities, including Commerce, Montebello, Pico Rivera, Santa Fe Springs, and Whittier. Designed to enhance mobility and access in a high-demand corridor, the project will reduce traffic congestion, ease pressure on local roads, and provide residents with direct access to the expansive Metro regional network while serving expanding communities in southeast Los Angeles County. 

The Board-selected Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) is a 4.7-mile Initial Operating Segment that will extend the Metro E Line east from its current terminus at Atlantic Boulevard in East Los Angeles to the Greenwood Station in Montebello. Metro has a plan to further extend the Metro E Line from Montebello to its ultimate terminus at Lambert Station in Whittier, should funding become available in the future.  

Following the completion of the project’s Final Environmental Impact Report (Final EIR)  in May 2024 per the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidelines, Metro began coordinating with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), the lead federal agency, to initiate the federal environmental review process for the Project’s LPA, a 4.7-mile E Line extension from East Los Angeles to Montebello. In May 2025, FTA approved the project’s LPA entry into a 1-year Environmental Assessment (EA) process per the federal National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) guidelines. The EA evaluates the environmental effects and economic benefits of the LPA and will incorporate stakeholder input. Four public hearings are scheduled in June 2026 for Metro to provide project updates and receive public comments on the EA. 

The project would include a new MSF with equipment and facilities for cleaning and maintenance of rail cars and to store vehicles that are not in service. In May 2024, the Metro Board approved the Final EIR for the Project, which includes a 39-acre MSF in the City of Montebello.  To reduce the project’s environmental impacts, Metro has identified three smaller MSF design options for the E-Line extension from East Los Angeles to Montebello as part of the federal NEPA environmental review process. The three options include: two sites (25-29 acres) in Montebello (MSF Sites 1 and 2) and one 9-acre site in Commerce (MSF Site 3). Only one site will be considered and selected by the Metro Board of Directors for construction, pending public comments received during the 30-day public review period for the EA in Summer 2026. MSF Sites 1 and 2 would be located north of Washington Boulevard and south of Flotilla Street. MSF Site 1 would be located west of Vail Avenue and MSF Site 2 would be located west of MSF Site 1. MSF Site 3 would be located west of MSF Sites 1 and 2, at Gayhart Street east of Saybrook Avenue. 

The project has secured over $3 billion in local funds (Measure R, Measure M, Proposition A, and Proposition C) and $35 million in state funds (Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program). Metro is currently looking into local, state, and federal funding opportunities to close the $4 billion funding gap needed to construct the LPA to Montebello. The completion of the NEPA process will be crucial in Metro’s pursuit of federal funding opportunities to close the funding gap for the project.

More detailed FAQs in English and Spanish are also available.