The Culver City station of the Expo light rail line opened Wednesday, marking the end of the first phase of the train's $932 million extension from downtown Los Angeles into Santa Monica.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Culver Ciity officials took the first ride to the station at 9 a.m. at Washington and National boulevards. The line's Farmdale Station at 4420 Exposition Blvd. also opened to the public.
"Completion of Expo (Phase) One will become part of a national trend pushing mass transit to the forefront here in America," Villaraigosa said at the dedication ceremony.
By 2016, seven more stations will be built between Culver City and Santa Monica, where it will end just a couple of blocks from the beach. Construction is already underway near the future stop at Olympic Boulevard and 16th Street in Santa Monica.
"Now it's on to Santa Monica," Villaraigosa said Wednesday morning.
The line from downtown Los Angeles to the La Cienega/Jefferson Station opened 28, bypassing the stations in Culver City which weren't yet finished.
— City News Service and Patch editor Kelly Hartog contributed to this report.
