January 21, 2025

“Letter of No Prejudice” could mean $985 million toward new rail line

Los Angeles, CA – Chair of the Metro Board and Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn is celebrating news that last week the Federal Transit Authority approved a Letter of No Prejudice for the Southeast Gateway Line. This means that Los Angeles Metro could be eligible for up to $985 million in federal reimbursement for funds spent on construction of early critical activities.

“This is a huge vote of confidence in the Southeast Gateway Line and could mean nearly $1 Billion toward its construction,” said Supervisor Janice Hahn. “I could not be more grateful for the support we received for this project from the Biden Administration and our Congressional champions like Congressman Robert Garcia and Senator Alex Padilla. The Southeast Gateway Line is going to be transformative for the communities up and down this line, from Artesia to Union Station – many of whom don’t own cars and rely on transit.”

The Letter of No Prejudice was approved in a letter to Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins from FTA Regional Administrator Ray Tellis dated January 17, 2025. Early critical construction activities eligible for possible federal reimbursement with this approval includes hazardous materials abatement, railroad relocation, and grade crossings for the Southeast Gateway Line project among other early construction work.

In October 2024, Hahn, Metro officials, and local, state, and federal supporters broke ground on utility relocation for the Southeast Gateway Line. The Southeast Gateway Line will connect southeast LA County to Downtown Los Angeles from Artesia through Cerritos, Bellflower, Paramount, Downey, South Gate, Cudahy, Bell, Huntington Park, and Vernon to Union Station. Nearly half the residents in the neighborhoods that will be served by this line live below the poverty level, including one-in-five residents who are transit dependent and don’t have access to their own car. The Southeast Gateway Line 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.