A Line (Valley Metro Rail)

The A Line is a light rail line which serves Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa, Arizona. It is the east-west line of the Valley Metro Rail system, running from Downtown Phoenix to the east. With the inauguration of the two-line system in 2025, the A Line was split from its former routing north of downtown and was rerouted to terminate at the Downtown Phoenix Hub.^[1][2]

A Line
A light rail train passes Chase Field
Overview
Owner	Valley Metro
Locale	Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa, Arizona
Stations	23
Service
System	Valley Metro Rail
History
Opened	December 27, 2008 (2008-12-27)
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	Overhead line, 750 V DC
Route map A Line highlighted in blue Show interactive map Legend Capitol Extension (2028) 3rd Avenue Loop to Baseline/Central Avenue Downtown Phoenix Hub to Metro Parkway 3rd Street/ Jefferson | 3rd Street/ Washington 5th Street Loop 12th Street/ Jefferson | 12th Street/ Washington 24th Street/ Jefferson | 24th Street/ Washington 38th Street/Washington 44th Street/Washington PHX 50th Street/Washington Operations and Maintenance Center Phoenix Tempe Priest Drive/Washington Center Parkway/Washington Tempe Town Lake Mill Avenue/3rd Street Veterans Way/College Avenue University Drive/Rural Dorsey/Apache Boulevard McClintock/Apache Boulevard Smith–Martin/Apache Boulevard Price–101 Freeway/Apache Boulevard Tempe Mesa Sycamore/Main Street Alma School/Main Street Country Club/Main Street Center/Main Street Mesa Drive/Main Street Stapley/Main Street Gilbert Road/Main Street All stations are accessible This diagram: view talk edit Show route diagram

Service description

Route description

The A Line starts at the Downtown Phoenix Hub. Eastbound service runs on First Avenue south before turning east on Jefferson Street; likewise, westbound one-way service starts at 26th Street on Washington Street before turning north on Central Avenue.

Valley Metro Rail at night on Tempe Town Lake, 2008

Both tracks rejoin east of 24th Street on Washington Street. Continuing east on Washington, the rail line passes Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, which is connected by the PHX Sky Train at 44th Street/Washington,^[3] and then turns southeast towards Tempe. After Center Parkway/Washington station, the line leaves the median of Washington Street and runs south on a bridge that crosses Tempe Town Lake, parallel to the Union Pacific Railroad. It then turns east along Mill Avenue and connects to the Valley Metro Streetcar at Mill Avenue/3rd St before proceeding via its own right-of-way near Arizona State University. Going southward, it joins Apache Boulevard headed eastward, which becomes Main Street in Mesa. The light rail line ends at an intersection with Gilbert Road at Gilbert Road/Main Street station.

Hours and frequency

Time	4A	5A	6A	7A	8A-1P	2-6P	7P	8P-12A
Weekdays	12						20
Saturdays	15						20
Sundays/Holidays	20

Station listing

The following table lists the stations of the A Line, from west to east.

Station	Date opened	City (Neighborhood)	Major connections and notes
Downtown Phoenix Hub	December 27, 2008	Phoenix (Central City)
3rd Street/Jefferson (eastbound only)
3rd Street/Washington (westbound only)
12th Street/Jefferson (eastbound only)
12th Street/Washington (westbound only)
24th Street/Jefferson (eastbound only)
24th Street/Washington (westbound only)
38th Street/Washington			Park and rideː 190
44th Street/Washington		Phoenix (Camelback East)	PHX PHX Sky Train
50th Street/Washington	Apr 25, 2019
Priest Drive/Washington	December 27, 2008	Tempe (North Tempe)
Center Parkway/Washington
Mill Avenue/3rd Street		Tempe (Rio Salado)
Veterans Way/College Avenue
University Drive/Rural
Dorsey/Apache Boulevard		Tempe (Apache)	Park and rideː 190
McClintock/Apache Boulevard			Park and rideː 300
Smith–Martin/Apache Boulevard
Price–101 Freeway/Apache Boulevard			Park and rideː 693
Sycamore/Main Street		Mesa (Downtown)	Park and rideː 802
Alma School/Main Street	August 22, 2015
Country Club/Main Street
Center/Main Street
Mesa Drive/Main Street			Park and rideː 448
Stapley/Main Street	May 18, 2019
Gilbert Road/Main Street			Park and rideː 250

History

The line between Downtown Phoenix and Sycamore/Main Street station is a segment of the inaugural Valley Metro Rail system, which opened in 2008. Subsequent extensions in 2015 and 2019 brought the eastern terminus to Gilbert Road/Main Street station. As the South Central Extension was constructed, the intersection of the north-south and east-west rail segments was designed to act as a transfer point. The A Line split into its own service on June 7, 2025.^[4]

Future developments

Capitol Extension

The Capitol Extension will run from Central Station and the Downtown Phoenix Hub in Downtown Phoenix west to 15th Avenue, adding 0.8 miles (1.3 km) and two stations. As of 2024^[update] environmental assessment work is underway.^[5][6]

I-10 West Extension

The I-10 West Extension will run from 15th Avenue west to Interstate 17 before turning north to the interchange of Interstate 10 and I-17 ("The Stack"). Then the line will turn west and continue down I-10 in the median past 43rd Avenue. It will then go over the westbound lanes of I-10 to continue alongside the highway to Desert Sky Mall, adding 10 miles (16 km) and 8 stations to connect the West Valley and ease congestion on Interstate 10. The line will transfer over I-10 from the median to the shoulder at 47th Avenue, which will connect with I-10 around 51st Avenue with an elevated station.^[7][8] In fall 2021, the Phoenix City Council approved extending the project corridor to the Desert Sky Transit Center, adjacent to the Desert Sky Mall.