Sepulveda Transit Corridor
The Sepulveda Transit Corridor is a two-phased planned rapid transit line in Los Angeles, California. Its first phase aims to connect the San Fernando Valley to the Los Angeles Basin through the Sepulveda Pass. A second phase would further extend the line southwards to connect with Los Angeles International Airport. The corridor is intended to relieve the heavily congested I-405 freeway through Sepulveda Pass and provide a fast public transit option on this north–south link. Phase 1 of the project would connect the G Line in the Valley to the D Line and E Line on the Westside and the K Line near Los Angeles International Airport. As of January 2026, the project is in the environmental review phase of planning, and construction is expected to be funded via a combination of local Measure M revenue and applications to federal grants. Pending these two requirements, the first phase is projected to open in 2033–2035.
Current traffic situation
The proposed transit line will traverse the Sepulveda Pass largely parallel to the existing I-405 freeway, which connects US 101 to its north in the San Fernando Valley with I-10 to its south in the L.A. Westside. I-405 is the busiest highway corridor in the United States, serving 379,000 vehicles per day. A five-year construction project to widen the I-405 at the cost of $1.6 billion was completed in 2014, but its impact on reducing congestion remains disputed.Currently, what is essentially Phase 1 of the project is being serviced by LA Metro with Metro Rapid Line 761, which uses Sepulveda Boulevard to traverse the Sepulveda Pass. Its southern terminus is Expo/Sepulveda station on the E Line. It connects to the G Line at its Van Nuys station and Amtrak and Metrolink at their Van Nuys station, before terminating at the Sylmar/San Fernando station. It takes about an hour to connect the E and G Lines. Route 233 serves the Sepulveda Pass at night.
What is currently designated as Phase 2 of the project is served by Culver CityBus lines 6 and Rapid 6 via Sepulveda Boulevard, with the latter only operating weekdays. The lines' northern terminus is the UCLA Gateway Plaza. Both lines 6 and Rapid 6 meet the aforementioned Metro 761 in Westwood Village at the Westwood Blvd/Weyburn Ave intersection and at the 761's southern terminus, the Metro E Line's Expo/Sepulveda station. The southern terminus is the Aviation/Imperial C Line station. As such, the lines indirectly serve LAX, requiring a transfer to a free shuttle bus that serves the station and LAX terminals. They were rerouted to the LAX/Metro Transit Center once it opened in 2025; the station features bus bays and direct connections to the LAX terminals by way of the LAX Automated People Mover. Rapid 6 is unique in that it has traffic intersection signal priority in the City of Los Angeles, whereas most agencies do not have signal priority outside of their base city. Line 6 completes its run as scheduled in 1 hour 4 minutes with average traffic while the Rapid 6 completes its run with 15 minute headways in 54 minutes as scheduled with average traffic.
Total transit time from the Aviation/Imperial C Line station to the Van Nuys G Line station with the current bus service is about 2 hours plus transfer time. The completion of both phases of this project is estimated to reduce total transit time to about 45 minutes.
History
The line is a long-established goal in Los Angeles transit planning. Proposition A, which imposed a half-cent sales tax in Los Angeles County to fund a regional transit system, was passed in 1980, and a Sepulveda Pass line was in the project map that was part of the proposition's documentation.Los Angeles Metro has $10 billion in funds available for construction planned to begin in 2026. The plan included in the Measure M transportation funding measure is to build improvements in three stages: additional lanes to be used for express bus service to open by 2028, an transit project between the G Line's Van Nuys Station and the D Line Extension’s Wilshire/Westwood Station by 2035, and a planned extension to LAX with a 2059 completion date. In April 2017, Metro issued a request for proposal to study alternatives, and several companies sent unsolicited proposals to accelerate the project via public-private partnerships. The project's timeline could be accelerated under the Twenty-eight by '28 initiative.
Initial proposed routings and modes
In June 2018, Metro released its initial six alternative rail concepts for the corridor. All of the proposals provided connections between the G Line and the E Line, as well as to the D Line Extension, currently under construction, and to the East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit Project, currently being planned. The proposals fell into four categories:- A standalone heavy rail line, primarily underground but possibly with some elevated sections in the Valley.
- A continuation of the East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit Project, primarily underground but with a possible elevated spur to Sepulveda station.
- A monorail or rubber-tired metro line, underground on the Westside, elevated in the Valley, and running at grade or elevated along the 405.
- A further extension of the heavy rail D Line, with a wye that would allow direct connections between the Valley and the E Line as well as from both to downtown. This option would be mostly underground but could include elevated sections in the Valley.
- Three routings for a heavy rail line, primarily underground but possibly with some elevated sections in the Valley.
- A monorail, underground on the Westside, elevated in the Valley along Sepulveda Boulevard, and running at grade or elevated along the 405, terminating at the Van Nuys Metrolink station.
The feasibility study for both phases was completed and presented in November 2019, with no significant refinement from the July 2019 presentation. The study said that additional research was needed on whether the project would need to relocate or maneuver around a nine-foot wide DWP water pipe called the "Sepulveda Feeder." Additional studies were also called for on general station locations, tunnel design configuration, rider transfer patterns, and the identification of costs and cost reductions. The study also called for more information to be gathered on the impact of the Santa Monica Fault near Santa Monica Boulevard. The Metro Board then commenced the NEPA and CEQA scoping process.
Two consortia were chosen to prepare pre-development materials for the two potential modes. Initially, monorail proposals were being developed by BYD LA SkyRail Express, while heavy rail work proposals were being developed by Bechtel. By December 2021, six alternatives had been prepared for further consideration: three heavy rail options and three monorail options. Ultimately, the Metro Board approved one of the HRT proposals in January 2026.
Phase 1: ''Valley–Westside''
Status overview
, Metro is in the environmental review stage of planning for the first phase, to traverse Sepulveda Pass. This involves the development of an environmental impact report under the California Environmental Quality Act, and subsequently, an environmental impact statement under the National Environmental Policy Act. The draft EIR was completed and circulated for a 90 day public comment period from June–August 2025. Next, metro staff recommended a modified alternative 5 as the locally preferred alternative to the board of directors. After the LPA was identified, the final EIR, draft EIS, and final EIS will be prepared to complete the environmental review process. Environmental review is followed by detailed engineering and design, and then construction. Revenue service is projected to start in 2033–2035 if environmental review and funding proceed according to plan.Project alternatives
As of October 2025, LA Metro considered five project alternatives to connect the San Fernando Valley to the Los Angeles Basin through the Sepulveda Pass, all of which are developed in a partnership with private consortia: Alternatives 1 and 3 were based around a monorail system that would be built along the existing I-405 freeway for substantial parts. They are developed by LA SkyRail Express. Alternatives 4 and 5 were based around automated heavy rail and a new rail tunnel under Bel Air. They are being developed by Sepulveda Transit Corridor Partners. Alternative 6 was based on driver-operated heavy rail, as implemented on the B- and D-Line. As required under CEQA, a no-build alternative was also evaluated. Alternative 2 was dropped in July 2024.Project development history
In March 2021, Los Angeles Metro awarded contracts to two consortia to develop alternatives to separately advance the project via different modes. Plans for an automated heavy rail are being developed by Sepulveda Corridor Transit Partners, a consortium led by construction firm Bechtel, along with other partners including the European rail vehicle and systems firms Stadler Rail and Siemens Mobility, engineering firms Systra and T.Y. Lin, and French transit operator RATP Dev. The rival design approach is a monorail as planned by LA SkyRail Express, a consortium led by British infrastructure investor John Laing plc along with other partners including Chinese EV manufacturer BYD, Swedish construction firm Skanska, and French transit operator Keolis.In April 2021, Metro advanced the five routes to the next study stage, including three routes selected as part of Metro's public-private partnership solicitation for the line. The P3 proposals came from Bechtel and BYD Company, with Bechtel submitting the same heavy rail alignment and station proposals as HRT-4, and BYD submitting two monorail proposals that differed from the original MRT-1 alternative studied by Metro.
In November 2021, the CEQA notice for the project alternatives were released, with an environmental scoping period in February 2022. Rail options were refined to three monorail and three heavy rail alternatives. Monorail options 1 and 2 did not include a station on the UCLA campus and proposed connecting transit options instead. The alternatives considered for the Draft Environmental Impact Report north to south routes from the Valley to E Line are in the following table:
| Alternatives in the November 2021 CEQA notice | Alternatives in the November 2021 CEQA notice | Alternatives in the November 2021 CEQA notice |
| DEIR Alternative | Description | Ridership |
| Alternative-1: MRT w/ Aerial I-405 alignment | A monorail line heading west from the Van Nuys Metrolink station then heads south on Sepulveda Boulevard. Eight total aerial station stops, similar to Metro C line stations on the center medians of a freeway. Stops include Van Nuys G Line station, US-101 freeway, the Getty Center freeway entrance, I-405 station with a bus to UCLA, a station near Westwood D Line station and at Santa Monica Boulevard before terminating at the Expo/Sepulveda station E Line. A 19-minute ride. | 64,798 |
| Alternative-2: MRT w/ Aerial I-405 alignment | Similar to Alt-1, A monorail line heading west from the Van Nuys Metrolink station then heads south on Sepulveda Boulevard. Eight total aerial station stops, similar to Metro C line stations on the center medians of a freeway. Stops include Van Nuys G Line station, US-101 freeway, and the Getty Center freeway entrance. Last three stations at Wilshire/I-405, Santa Monica Boulevard/I-405 and terminating at the Expo/Sepulveda station E Line. All along I-405. A 19-minute ride. | 69,985 |
| Alternative-3: MRT w/ I-405 alignment | Similar to Alt-1 except with a tunnel, A monorail line heading west from the Van Nuys Metrolink station then heads south on Sepulveda Boulevard. Nine total stops, including the Van Nuys G Line station, US-101 freeway, and the Getty Center freeway entrance. A 3.3-mile underground tunnel between the Getty Center/I-405 station with a station at UCLA and at Wilshire boulevard. Returning to aerial south of Wilshire Boulevard. Last two stations at Santa Monica Boulevard/I-405 before terminating at the Expo/Sepulveda station E Line. A 19-minute ride. | 86,013 |
| Alternative-4: HRT Sepulveda Blvd alignment | A Heavy Rail Transit line on Sepulveda Blvd., aerial in the San Fernando Valley and underground south of the Santa Monica Mountains. Eight total stations, Four aerial in the Valley and four underground in the Westside area. Includes a station on the UCLA campus. Would make direct transfer stations out of Wilshire/Westwood Station on the D Line and at Expo/Sepulveda station on the E Line. A 14-minute ride. | 120,546 |
| Alternative-5: HRT Sepulveda Blvd alignment | A Heavy Rail Transit line on Sepulveda Blvd., same Alignment as Alt: 4, all underground except northern terminus Van Nuys Metrolink station. Seven total stations before terminating at the Expo/Sepulveda station E Line. It would be a 14-minute ride. | 121,624 |
| Alternative-6: HRT All Underground Van Nuys Blvd alignment | A Heavy Rail Transit line down Van Nuys Blvd., Heads south from Van Nuys Metrolink station, all underground. Three stations in the Valley and four on the west side. The southern terminus would be Expo/Bundy station. Direct stations within UCLA, Wilshire/Westwood D line station. Seven total stations. It would be a 14-minute ride. | 107,096 |
In October 2023, Metro released ridership estimates for the six Sepulveda Line options, with the results greatly favoring the heavy rail option. Estimates showed that the heavy rail alternatives not only had higher ridership than the monorail alternatives by between 21,000 and 57,000 daily riders, but the heavy rail alternatives also were 8–14 minutes faster and had quicker connections to other lines in the LA Metro system, such as the D and E lines.
On July 3, 2024, Metro formally eliminated Alternative 2. This follows a request from LASRE for its elimination, along with Metro's independent review and public input in May 2024. In May 2025, Metro released preliminary cost estimates for each route in advance of releasing the draft environmental impact report. Alternative 1 budget was placed at $15.4 billion, Alternative 3 at $20.8 billion, Alternative 4 at $20 billion, Alternative 5 at $24.2 and Alternative 6 at $24.4 billion. All proposed budgets include the FTA's 40% cost contingencies mandate. Metro released the draft environmental impact report on June 3, 2025.