D Line (Los Angeles Metro)
The D Line (formerly the Red Line from 1993–2006 and the Purple Line from 2006–2020) is a fully underground 5.1-mile (8.2 km)[1] rapid transit line operating in Los Angeles, running between Koreatown and Downtown Los Angeles. It is one of six lines on the Metro Rail system, operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
D Line
Red Line (1993–2006)
Purple Line (2006–2020)
805
8 (7 more under construction)
Division 20 (Los Angeles)
Breda A650 running in 4 or 6 car consists
25,899,711[a] (2023) 
0.5%
January 30, 1993
5.1 miles (8.2 km)[1]
2
Fully underground (except yard)
4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
55 mph (89 km/h) (max.)
29.5 mph (47.5 km/h) (avg.)
The D Line is one of the city's two fully underground lines (along with the B Line). The two lines share tracks between Koreatown and Downtown Los Angeles. As of 2019, the combined B and D lines averaged 133,413 boardings per weekday.[2]
In 2020, Metro renamed all of its lines using letters and colors, with the Purple Line becoming the D Line (retaining the purple color in its service bullet) and the Red Line becoming the B Line.
Construction is underway for a major extension of the line to the Mid-Wilshire district, Beverly Hills, Century City, and Westwood, which will add 7 stations and 9 miles of track to the line. The extension is expected to open in phases from 2025 to 2027.[3][4][5]
The current D Line is the product of a long-term plan to connect Downtown Los Angeles to central and western portions of the city with a subway system. Original proposals in the 1980s had the subway line running down Wilshire Boulevard to Fairfax Avenue and then north to the San Fernando Valley. Residents in some parts of the city bitterly opposed the subway. A 1985 methane explosion at a Ross Dress for Less clothing store near Fairfax gave Rep. Henry Waxman, who represented the Fairfax District, a reason to derail the project that was opposed by his constituents by prohibiting tunneling in an alleged "methane zone" west of Western on Wilshire.[10]
The groundbreaking for the first segment of the subway was held on September 29, 1986, on the site of the future Civic Center/Grand Park station.[11] Today's D Line was built in two minimum operating segments:
The Hollywood branch (MOS-2B) began service in 1999. Initially, both branches were designated as part of the Red Line, but in 2006 trains traveling between Union Station and Wilshire/Western were rebranded to the Purple Line (changed to D Line in 2020) for greater clarity.