The Green Line is a 19.8-mile (31.9 km) light rail line in the San Diego Trolley system, operated by San Diego Trolley, Inc. an operating division of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS).[1] The route serves downtown San Diego, Mission Valley, and the cities of La Mesa and El Cajon.[6][7] The Green Line has the second highest ridership of the San Diego Trolley's three core lines, transporting 13,673,926 riders during FY 2014 - according to MTS.[8]
| Green Line | |||
|---|---|---|---|
.svg) | |||
 A Green Line trolley at Convention Center station | |||
| Overview | |||
| Owner | Metropolitan Transit System | ||
| Locale | San Diego, California | ||
| Termini | |||
| Stations | 24[1] | ||
| Website | sdmts | ||
| Service | |||
| Type | Light rail | ||
| System | San Diego Trolley | ||
| Route number | 530 (in internal documents only)[2][3] | ||
| Operator(s) | San Diego Trolley, Inc. | ||
| Rolling stock | 3-car trains (one SD-100 between two S70s of either length) | ||
| Daily ridership | 25,319 (FY 2024)[4] | ||
| Ridership | 8,627,300 (FY 2024)[4] | ||
| History | |||
| Opened | July 10, 2005[1] | ||
| Technical | |||
| Line length | 19.8 mi (31.9 km)[1] | ||
| Number of tracks | 2 tracks | ||
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge | ||
| Electrification | Overhead line, 600 V DC | ||
| Operating speed | 21 mph (34 km/h) (average)[Note 1] 55 mph (89 km/h) (max) | ||
| |||
The line is one of five lines in the trolley system, the others being the Blue, Orange, Copper, and Silver ("heritage weekend" service only) lines.
History
edit
The Green Line is the third line in the San Diego Trolley system, with service beginning on July 10, 2005 along with the completion and opening of the 5.9 miles (9.5 km)[1] Mission Valley East extension.[9]
The line primarily operates on this extension as well as a segment previously served by the Blue Line between Old Town and Mission San Diego. It traverses Mission Valley and the San Diego River corridor for this segment.
During a system redesign which took effect on September 2, 2012, as part of the Trolley Renewal Project, the western portion of the Green Line was extended from Old Town south through downtown and along the Bayside Line, terminating at 12th & Imperial Transit Center's Bayside Platform.[7][10] This redesign allowed for two "universal" transfer points among all three core lines: the 12th & Imperial Transit Center and Santa Fe Depot Transit Center (which consists of Santa Fe Depot, America Plaza, and Courthouse stations, as well as the Santa Fe Depot/America Plaza Rapid terminal).[10]
In May 2024, MTS announced that a new service, known as the East County Connector (and later the Copper Line), would replace the Green and Orange lines between El Cajon Transit Center and the eastern terminus at Santee. The proposal was prompted by service issues caused by the merge of the double track to a single track between the final two stations, creating delays for Green Line trolleys waiting for the track to clear. On September 29, 2024, Green and Orange Line service was cut back to El Cajon Transit Center, and service on the Copper Line began.[11]
The Green Line's SDSU Transit Center is the only underground station in the entire trolley network.
Naming rights
editIn October 2017, Sycuan Casino managed to secure the naming rights for the Green Line when the MTS had sought out to sell out the naming rights for each line in the trolley system. The line was then named the Sycuan Green Line.[12] However, this is no longer the case.[citation needed] The Green Line is home to a paid station naming sponsorship, with the former Alvarado Medical Center station being known as UC San Diego Health East station.
Stations
edit| Station | Location | Connections |
|---|---|---|
| 12th & Imperial | East Village, San Diego |
|
| Gaslamp Quarter | Gaslamp Quarter, San Diego |  Silver Line
|
| Convention Center | Marina, San Diego | Silver Line
|
| Seaport Village | Silver Line
| |
| Santa Fe Depot | Core, San Diego | |
| County Center/Little Italy | Little Italy, San Diego |  Blue Line
|
| Middletown | Middletown, San Diego |
|
| Washington Street | Mission Hills, San Diego | |
Old Town 
|
Old Town, San Diego |
|
| Morena/Linda Vista
|
Morena, San Diego | |
| Fashion Valley | Mission Valley, San Diego | |
| Hazard Center | ||
| Mission Valley Center |  MTS: 6
| |
| Rio Vista | ||
| Fenton Parkway | ||
| Stadium | ||
| Mission San Diego | Grantville, San Diego | MTS: 14
|
| Grantville
|
MTS: 13, 14, 18
| |
| SDSU | College Area, San Diego | MTS: 11, 14, 115, Rapid 215, 856, 936, 955
|
| UC San Diego Health East | ||
| 70th Street | La Mesa |
|
| Grossmont |
| |
| Amaya Drive |
| |
| El Cajon | El Cajon |
|
Notes
edit- ^ Calculated from the following: Route length (19.8 miles)[1] divided by scheduled travel time (57 minutes)[5]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f "San Diego Trolley, Inc" (PDF). San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. February 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 21, 2023. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
- ^ "Appendix P: Travel and Tourism" (PDF). San Diego Association of Governments. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
Trolley Route 530 (Sycuan Green Line): Santee to Downtown
- ^ "Appendix A: Transportation Projects, Programs, and Phasing" (PDF). San Diego Association of Governments. p. 119. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
LRT 530 Green Line (Santee to Downtown)
- ^ a b "Annual Service Performance Report" (PDF). San Diego Metropolitan Transit System . October 9, 2024. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
- ^ "Trolley map & timetable" (PDF). San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. 2023. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 8, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
- ^ "SDMTS - Trolley". San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. 2015. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
- ^ a b Fudge, Tom (April 30, 2012). "San Diego's Green Line Will Finally Arrive Downtown In September". KPBS-FM. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
- ^ "MTS Announces a Record 95 Million Passengers Rode the Bus and Trolley in FY 2014". San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. August 19, 2014. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
- ^ Ristine, Jeff (July 23, 2006). "After 25 years, the trolley keeps on moving". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on October 9, 2012. Retrieved June 14, 2009.
- ^ a b "SDMTS Service Changes, September 2012". San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. September 2, 2012. Archived from the original on April 30, 2015. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
- ^ Vigil, Jennifer (September 29, 2024). "MTS Copper Line Trolley Service Begins Sunday Between El Cajon, Santee". Times of San Diego. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
- ^ "Sycuan Casino Inks Naming Rights Agreement for the MTS Sycuan Green Line" (Press release). Sycuan Casino. October 23, 2017. Retrieved June 17, 2024.