Getting around Los Angeles by Rail/Stops and Facilities/Metro Rail Transfer Stations/Imperial-Wilmington



Imperial/Wilmington is one of four transfer stations in the Los Angeles County Metro Rail. It serves as the gateway from points along the Green Line (Norwalk, El Segundo) to Downtown LA (via the Blue Line). The station is also referred to as Rosa Parks.

Station Basics
Imperial/Wilmington is the major transfer station on the Green Line, as it provides a free connection to the Metro Blue Line to Long Beach and Downtown LA. Passengers wishing to go to Pasadena, East LA, Downtown LA, Hollywood, or Long Beach by rail from any station on the Green Line will transfer at this station. Imperial/Wilmington is located at 11611 Willowbrook Av, Los Angeles, CA 90059. It has 975 parking spaces, 36 bike rack spaces, and 6 bike lockers, all free of charge. Connection to the Metro Blue Line is downstairs at street level. It is located at the intersection of I-105, Imperial Hwy, and Wilmington Ave. The station is one of the few light-rail stations with fare gates; the other stations still use the honor system.

Floor Configuration


Imperial/Wilmington Station is entirely above-ground, with two levels and one mezzazine.

Street Level
Access to both lines is located on the floor level. The only escalators and elevators to the Green Line are in the ticketed areas of the Street Level. The Blue Line platforms are also at street level.

Mezzazine
Since the Green Line is located on the I-105, far from street level, it would be too expensive for Metro to construct enough escalators or elevators to the I-105 level. Therefore, Metro built a mezzazine level between the two levels. There are two completely separate elevators and escalators.

The mezzazine is the smallest of all the levels. In fact, some escalators and elevators do not pass the mezzazine and direct reach street level.

I-105 Level
Located three stories above street level, the I-105 level contains only the platforms for the Green Line. Since the platform is right by the I-105, it is the noisiest of all the levels.

Lines Covered


Imperial/Wilmington serves the Green and Blue Lines.

Blue Line
Imperial/Wilmington is linked to Downtown via 10 stations on the Blue Line. In the southerly direction, the Blue Line links to Long Beach. This is the only Blue Line station in Willowbrook. Stations to the north include 103rd Street (near Watts Tower), Pico (near STAPLES Center), and 7th Street/Metro Center (terminus/connection to Red/Purple Lines). To the south are Compton and the Downtown Long Beach loop.

Green Line
Imperial/Wilmington is one of 10 stations along the I-105 Freeway (Century Freeway) and one of 13 stations that are along any freeway (the other 3 are on the Gold Line and along I-210). Trains connect to Norwalk on the west side and LAX and El Segundo on the east side. Going east, trains stop at Long Beach, Lakewood, and Norwalk. In the other direction, trains stop at Avalon, Harbor Freeway (connection to Silver Line BRT)...Aviation/LAX (free shuttle bus to LAX)...and Redondo Beach (terminus).