Passengers Get an Unintended Subway Preview

The MTA sent the first trainload of riders on its new Hollywood subway line Monday evening, but--like so much connected with the trouble-plagued project--the trip turned out to be a mistake that left passengers puzzled over where they were headed.

The transit authority’s latest misadventure began when passengers were accidentally allowed to stay on a Hollywood-bound test train that had arrived at the Wilshire and Vermont station from downtown Los Angeles about 5 p.m.

The MTA has not received final certification to carry passengers in the Hollywood subway tunnel, but that didn’t stop a group of 50 to 60 commuters from getting a preview of coming attractions.

In an unofficial opening weeks before the planned June 12 start of subway service, they were taken on an unexpected and unannounced ride all the way to the Hollywood and Vine station.

“Nobody announced to us where we were going,” said a passenger who identified herself only by her nickname, “Zeny.”

She said riders aboard the train remained calm. “They were not scared. They seemed to be confused,” she said. “They didn’t know where it was headed. We didn’t expect it was going to take us to Hollywood-Vine. . . . So we had a joy ride.”

There were no announcements from the operator as the train traveled along the 4.6-mile route beneath Vermont Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard.

“There was nothing we could do but just wait,” Zeny said.

At one point, she added, the train stopped in the tunnel between stations for what seemed like “15 or 20 minutes” before pulling into the station at Hollywood and Vine.

“When we got to Hollywood and Vine, the driver came out and talked to some of the passengers.” She said he wondered why they had stayed on the train. “The passengers said nobody told us” to get off.

An MTA spokesman said the passengers were told they must remain on the train and would be taken back to the Wilshire and Vermont station.

“It certainly was an inconvenience to the passengers and for that we apologize,” said Jesse Diaz, MTA’s rail transportation superintendent. “We’ll do everything we can to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

Diaz emphasized that “there was never a safety issue” or risk to the passengers.

MTA officials blamed the unplanned ride on security officers who failed to clear the Hollywood-bound train of passengers when it arrived at the Wilshire and Vermont station. MTA’s operations staff told the security guards Tuesday that it is “imperative they sweep every train bound for Hollywood and Vine.”

Train operators will also be instructed to make an announcement that no passengers are allowed to ride to Hollywood.

The MTA began running a full schedule of test trains Saturday as a prelude to opening the Hollywood subway June 12.

Zeny said she was just glad to get back to the Wilshire and Vermont station, where she decided to take the bus rather than the subway on the rest of her trip.