K Line Extension to Torrance

Alignment

The project extends light rail south from the K Line’s current terminus at Redondo Beach (Marine) into the South Bay. It was planned for years as the C (Green) Line Extension to Torrance. Metro renamed it after the 2024 reorganization of C and K Line service, which made the K Line the north–south line through the South Bay, so the extension will run as part of the K Line with a direct ride to LAX and transfers to the C and E Lines. Metro gives a 19-minute trip from Torrance to LAX.

Under the Hawthorne Option the Board approved in January 2026, trains leave the Metro/BNSF Harbor Subdivision right-of-way just south of Redondo Beach (Marine) and run on an elevated guideway along Interstate 405. Near 162nd Street the line turns into the center median of Hawthorne Boulevard, with an elevated South Bay Galleria station south of Artesia Boulevard. South of 190th Street it turns southeast back into the Metro-owned freight corridor and ends at an at-grade Torrance Transit Center station next to the Mary K. Giordano Regional Transit Center bus plaza. The line is fully grade-separated from roadways. Metro’s latest documents give the length as 4.7 miles; earlier ones, including the May 2026 board report, say 4.5 miles. Metro forecasts more than 4.9 million boardings a year.

The rejected staff-recommended Hybrid Alternative would have stayed in the Harbor Subdivision for its whole length, adding two light rail tracks beside the freight track with a mix of at-grade, elevated and trench sections. Because the Hawthorne route runs in Caltrans right-of-way on I-405 and on Hawthorne Boulevard (State Route 107), it needs further environmental review and encroachment permits from Caltrans and the Federal Highway Administration.

Updates

2026-10 — Metro targets late-2036 opening, pending funding

Updated Metro materials put preliminary engineering, field investigations and procurement in 2026–2028, followed by final design and construction from 2029. Revenue service is expected in late 2036, pending funding. Metro is also studying phasing and early works to manage cost and schedule.

2026-05 — $43M sought to take design to 30%

Staff asked the Board to add $43.1M to STV’s engineering contract, raising it to $76.5M and extending it to May 2029, to advance design from 15% to 30% and support Caltrans and FHWA approvals. The report lists $1.13B in identified funding: $272M from Measure R, $619M from Measure M, a $231M state grant from 2018 and $9M in SB 1 funds. It estimates each month of construction delay would add about $16.9M. A separate program management support contract was awarded in March 2026, partly to evaluate whether an initial operating segment is feasible.

2026-01 — Board picks Hawthorne Boulevard route and certifies the EIR

On January 22 the Board unanimously certified the Final EIR, approved the project and replaced the staff-recommended right-of-way route with the elevated Hawthorne Boulevard alignment, through a motion from Holly Mitchell, Jacquelyn Dupont-Walker, Tim Sandoval and James Butts. Streetsblog reported cost estimates of about $3.4B for Hawthorne against $2.7B for the right-of-way route. The City of Torrance opposed the choice, warning of more than $28M a year in lost sales tax from business acquisitions on Hawthorne Boulevard. A week earlier the Planning and Programming Committee had deferred the decision to the full Board.

2025-09 — Final EIR released

Metro published the Final EIR on September 11, 2025, still analyzing the Hybrid Alternative as the locally preferred alternative. Metro said construction could begin as early as 2027, with service in 2036.

2024-05 — Board adopts Hybrid Alternative

The Board selected the Hybrid Alternative, a mostly at-grade route within the Harbor Subdivision with grade separations at major streets, as the locally preferred alternative. It asked staff to refine cost estimates and develop a funding plan.

2023-01 — Draft EIR published

Metro released the Draft EIR for a 61-day public comment period. It evaluated the right-of-way route and the Hawthorne Boulevard alternative.

2018 — State grant awarded

The California State Transportation Agency awarded the project a $231M state grant, adding to the Measure R and Measure M sales-tax funds set aside for it. Environmental review under CEQA began in winter 2021.