City Leaders Champion Southeast Gateway Metro Rail Line in Washington

Southeast LA leaders in Washington, DC. L to R: Maywood Councilmember Heber Marquez; Paramount Councilmember Isabel Aguayo; Lakewood Councilmember David Arellano; Downey Mayor Mario Trujillo; Supervisor Janice Hahn; Gateway Cities Council of Governments Executive Director Hector De La Torre; Artesia Mayor Pro Tem Ali Taj; South Gate Vice Mayor Maria Davila; Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins; Paramount Councilmember Vilma Cuellar Stallings.

September 18 2024

Washington, DC—Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn is in Washington, DC leading a delegation of Southeast Los Angeles and Gateway Cities elected officials to champion the need for federal funding for the planned Southeast Gateway Metro Rail Line.

“Residents across Southeast LA and the Gateway Cities have been taking two, three buses to get to work, to school, and to doctor’s appointments,” said Hahn. “These communities need and deserve this high quality, reliable rail line, that will not only help people get to their jobs in other parts of the County but will be an investment in jobs and businesses along the route itself. This project has cleared every hurdle necessary and now it’s time to get it the funding it deserves from our federal partners and get it built.” 

The Southeast Gateway Line is the Metro light rail transit line that will stretch from Artesia through Cerritos, Bellflower, Paramount, Downey, South Gate, Cudahy, Bell, Huntington Park, Vernon, and unincorporated Florence-Firestone to Union Station providing fast, reliable transit service to communities that have long been underserved. Along the route, one-in-five residents are transit dependent and do not have their own car.

In recent weeks, the project has gotten its official certification completing the environmental process, making it officially eligible for federal funding. Now, Supervisor Hahn and members of the Gateway Cities Council of Governments are in Washington meeting with the Biden Administration and members of Congress advocating for the federal funding the Southeast Gateway Line needs. The delegation includes Paramount Councilmember Vilma Cuellar Stallings who also serves as the Chair of the Gateway Cities Council of Governments, Paramount Councilmember Isabel Aguayo, Artesia Mayor Pro Tem Ali Taj, Maywood Councilmember Heber Marquez, South Gate Vice Mayor Maria Davila, Downey Mayor Mario Trujillo, and Lakewood Councilmember David Arellano.

“The dozen communities along the Southeast Gateway Line are unified in supporting accessibility to jobs, cultural, and educational opportunities through this project,” said Vilma Cuellar Stallings who serves as a council member for the City of Paramount as well as President of the Gateway Cities Council of Governments. “We are grateful to partner with Supervisor Hahn in advocating with the Biden-Harris Administration and Congressional Leaders to improve our residents’ quality of life.”

“I’m honored to advocate for the Southeast Gateway Line in Washington D.C., pushing for a project that will ignite economic growth, create union-paying jobs, and provide affordable housing for our community,” said Artesia Mayor pro tem and former Eco Rapid Transit Chair Ali Sajjad Taj. “This 19-mile light rail line will serve 1.4 million residents, generating $5 billion annually and transforming the lives of those in Southeast LA and Gateway Cities. I extend my deepest gratitude to Chair Hahn for her unwavering leadership and vision in making this project a reality. Her dedication ensures our region is no longer left behind, and we’re eager to get to work building this game-changing infrastructure.”

The project was proposed over twenty years ago and was included in both voter-approved sales tax measures Measure R and Measure M with nearly $2 billion in local sales tax going toward its construction. Supervisor Hahn had partially blamed the project’s former name (the West Santa Ana Branch) for preventing it from getting the funding and attention it deserves.  Earlier this year, Hahn held a renaming contest in which thousands of residents across LA County voted to name the project the “Southeast Gateway Line.”

Metro plans to begin the important utility relocation and pre-construction work later this Fall to prepare for major construction of the Southeast Gateway Line in the next few years.

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