By Lookout Staff

June 29, 2015 -- Dignitaries including L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti will get a preview of the Expo Line extension from Culver City to Santa Monica next week at the newly completed station in Palms, just east of the Mar Vista community in Los Angeles.

Although test trains running on their own power won't begin crossing into Santa Monica's City boundaries until later this year, Monday's test run from Westwood to Palms marks another  milestone for the Exposition Construction Authority (ECA), which is overseeing the project, said Elisabeth Rosenson, spokeswoman for the agency.

Joining Garcetti on Monday for a “behind-the-scenes look” at the new transit system will be members of the ECA Board of Directors, LA City Council members Paul Koretz and Mike Bonin, and county Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, said Rosenson.

“The train will come in and depart and will be operated by a very experienced engineer,” said Rosenson. “There also will be a chance to see the Palms Station in its nearly completed form, although the  elevators are not operational as of yet.”

This month, the authority began some preliminary testing of trains as far west as Centinela Boulevard -- between Military Avenue and Centinela -- but the tests so far have involved trains being pulled by other trains and not running on their own power as will be the case at Monday's test, said Rosenberg.

According to Expo's website, officials are testing the rail segment from Military to Centinela, checking  for train clearances and testing the overhead electric system that powers the trains, crossing gates and traffic signals.

So far, the tests of trains moving on the tracks have remained within LA City borders, Expo officials said.

“I don't believe the tests have crossed over into Santa Monica yet,” said Rosenson. “I've got reporters from Santa Monica asking me almost every day when that's going to happen.”

ECA officials say Phase II of the project bringing the line from Culver City into Downtown Santa Monica is still on schedule, with passenger service expected to start by early next year.

 Completed in 2011, the first phase of the route brought the rail line from Downtown L.A. to Culver City. Passenger service officially began in April 2012 (“Santa Monica Expo Line Segment on Track for 2015,” January 5, 2015)

In November, Expo officials announced that work had been completed on more than 80 percent of the second phase of the line, which extends the tracks from Culver City to Santa Monica.

According to Expo’s website, Phase 2 of the project includes seven passenger stations: Palms, Westwood/Rancho Park, Exposition/Sepulveda, Exposition/Bundy, 26th Street/Bergamot, 17th Street/Santa Monica College and Downtown Santa Monica. Once the completed line to Santa Monica opens, Expo officials estimate 64,000 daily riders will be traveling the route by 2030, according to the website.

Light rail cars will take riders from Santa Monica to downtown Los Angeles in about 40 minutes, Expo officials have said.

“It’s going to be a very exciting time,” Santa Monica City Councilwoman and ECA Board member Pam O’Connor told The Lookout earlier this year.