The E Line from Downtown Los Angeles to Culver City opened in 2012 and was extended to Santa Monica in 2016.

[6] All trips on the 22-mile (35 km) line[2] are scheduled at 69 minutes end-to-end,[7] an average speed of 19 miles per hour (31 km/h).

To improve reliability, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) continues to work with Metro to adjust traffic signals on Exposition Boulevard in favor of trains, and proposals have been made to reconstruct the junction of the A Line and E Line to speed up trains.

When the E Line was extended to Santa Monica in May 2016, ridership dramatically rose, carrying an average of 54,073 weekday riders that December.

[13] Construction on the extension began in 2004 and service started on November 15, 2009, with Gold Line trains running through Union Station northeast to Pasadena.

[19] Local advocacy groups, including Friends 4 Expo Transit[20] supported the successful passage of Proposition C in 1990, which allowed the purchase of the entire right of way from Southern Pacific by Metro.

In 2000, an urban art group called Heavy Trash placed signs advertising a fictional "Aqua Line."

The signs, with the text "Coming Soon," showed a subway route extending along Wilshire Boulevard to the Pacific Ocean, with ten stations.

Although the campaign was a hoax, it demonstrated newfound support and revealed the frustrations surrounding the lack of rail service connecting Santa Monica and the Westside with Downtown Los Angeles.

[24] After construction of the second phase was completed, the line was handed over on January 15, 2016, to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Partially funded by Measure M, construction is programmed to start in 2029 with service beginning in 2035,[41] though the project may be accelerated as part Metro's plans to prepare for the 2028 Summer Olympics.

[42] Division 14 is located east of Stewart Street and north of Exposition Boulevard in Santa Monica between 26th Street/Bergamot and Expo/Bundy stations.

Metro says that it takes 47 light rail vehicles to provide the maximum service on the E Line with 3-car trains running at 6-minute headways.

[citation needed] The Expo Bike Path parallels the route of the light rail line between 17th Street/SMC and Expo/Vermont stations.

The bikeway includes a mixture of bike lanes on Exposition Boulevard and off-street paths alongside the rail tracks.