Blue Line (San Diego Trolley)

Blue Line
Blue Line train at Trolley at the US-Mexico Border
Overview
Type	Light rail
System	San Diego Trolley
Status	Currently Running, Undergoing Renovations, No stations closed.
Locale	San Diego, California
Termini	Old Town Transit Center San Ysidro Transit Center
Stations	23 total
Website	http://www.sdmts.com/
Operation
Opened	July 19, 1981 (1981-07-19)
Owner	Metropolitan Transit System
Operator(s)	San Diego Trolley, Inc.
Rolling stock	Triple Car U2 Trains * Train configuration may vary during special events
Technical
Line length	18.8 mi (30.3 km)
No. of tracks	2 Tracks
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge)
Electrification	600 V DC Overhead lines
Operating speed	Max. 55 mph (89 km/h) Average 50 mph (80 km/h)
Route map Legend University Towne Center Executive Drive UCSD East Interstate 5 UCSD West VA Medical Center Nobel Drive Interstate 5 Balboa Avenue Clairemont Drive Tecolote Road COASTER to Oceanside, Amtrak to Los Angeles Green Line to Santee Interstate 8 Old Town Transit Center Interstate 5 Washington Street Middletown County Center/Little Italy Santa Fe Depot Orange Line to Convention Center America Plaza Civic Center Fifth Avenue City College Park & Market 12th & Imperial Transit Center Silver Line Orange Line to Gillespie Field (Storage and Maintenance Yard) Barrio Logan State Route 75 Harborside 32nd Street to State Route 15 Pacific Fleet 8th Street Interstate 5 24th Street State Route 54 Bayfront/E Street H Street Palomar Street Palm Avenue Iris Avenue State Route 905 Beyer Boulevard Interstate 805 San Ysidro Transit Center

The Blue Line is a light rail line operated by the San Diego Trolley, an operating division of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. It currently operates between San Ysidro and Old Town in San Diego.

The line is one of three primary and five overall lines in the trolley system, the others include the regular service Orange and Green lines and supplementary Silver and Special Event lines.

History

The initial line in the San Diego Trolley system, the Blue Line first opened between Centre City San Diego and San Ysidro in 1981, at a spartan cost of $86 million. In 1986, the line was named the South Line to differentiate it from the new East Line to Euclid Avenue. It was renamed the North-South Line when the Old Town extension opened in 1996. The North-South Line was renamed the Blue Line in 1997, with the opening of the extension to Mission San Diego.

With the introduction of the Green Line on July 10, 2005, most Blue Line service between Old Town and Qualcomm stadium was discontinued, save for a few select rush hour trains. On September 3, 2006, the Qualcomm service Blue line trains were discontinued entirely, due to duplication of service with Green Line service. All Blue Line trains then terminated at the Old Town Transit Center.

Blue Line service also experienced some change in the stations served. The Bayfront/E Street station in Chula Vista opened in 1985, about four years after service already operated along the tracks served. At the same time, the Centre City station on C Street, between Sixth Avenue and Fifth Avenue, was renamed the Fifth Avenue Station. The Fenton Parkway stop opened in 2000; however, it is now only served by the Green Line.

Stops along the Blue Line

Blue Line (San Ysidro–Old Town)
Station Name	Connections	Bus	Train	Parking	Info	Notes
Old Town Transit Center	Green Line Special Event Line					Serves Old Town Historic Park. Transfer station for Green and Special Event Lines.
Washington Street	Special Event Line
Middletown	Special Event Line
County Center/Little Italy	Special Event Line
Santa Fe Depot	Special Event Line					Transfer station for Special Event Line.
America Plaza	Orange Line Silver Line					Serves One America Plaza. Transfer station for Orange Line.
Civic Center	Orange Line Silver Line					Serves City Hall, Westfield Horton Plaza.
Fifth Avenue	Orange Line Silver Line
City College	Orange Line Silver Line					Serves San Diego City College, San Diego High School.
Park & Market	Orange Line Silver Line
12th & Imperial Transit Center	Orange Line Silver Line Special Event Line					Serves Petco Park. Transfer station for Orange, Silver, and Special Event Lines.
Barrio Logan						Serves Chicano Park.
Harborside
Pacific Fleet						Serves Naval Base.
8th Street
24th Street
Bayfront/E Street
H Street
Palomar Street
Palm Avenue
Iris Avenue
Beyer Boulevard
San Ysidro Transit Center						Serves International Border.

Because of the sharing of the track with freight traffic, stations along the southern end are sparsely furnished and do not feature raised concrete platforms, as do those in the rest of the system.

Future Service Plans

Main article: San Diego Trolley#Future service plans

Trolley Renewal Project

To accommodate the new Siemens S70 models to be usable on the line, the current stations will need to undergo renovation, although this will be done over a period of time to prevent the disruption of operation. The New LRVs are scheduled to begin operation on the Blue Line in 2013. In addition, MTS also plans to realign the trolley system by around June 2012, which will temporarily shorten the northern portion of the Blue Line to terminate at America Plaza until the Mid-Coast Trolley extension is completed. Currently no stations on the Blue Line are closed for these renovations.

Mid-Coast Trolley Expansion

The next major Trolley extension would be to expand the Blue Line north to UCSD and University Towne Centre (UTC). MTS estimates the extension will be completed and ready for service in 2015. One aim of the extension is to ease parking on campus while providing direct light rail access to UTC, a popular shopping mall. The already existing "SuperLoop" BRT Shuttle will provide Rapid transit in and around the UTC area.

Future Extension Alignment

Station Name	Connections	Bus	Train	Parking	Info	Notes
University Towne Center (Future Transit Center)						Will serve Westfield UTC.
Executive Drive (Future Station)
UCSD East (Future Station)						Will serve University of California, San Diego.
UCSD West (Future Station)						Will serve University of California, San Diego.
VA Medical Center (Proposed Station)						Will serve UC San Diego School of Medicine.
Nobel Drive (Future Station)
Balboa Avenue (Future Station)
Clairemont Drive (Future Station)						Will serve Mission Bay.
Tecolote Road (Future Station)						Will serve SeaWorld.
Old Town Transit Center	Green Line					Serves Old Town Historic Park. Transfer station for Green Line.
Washington Street	Green Line
Middletown	Green Line
County Center/Little Italy	Green Line
Santa Fe Depot	Green Line Orange Line					Transfer station for Green Line.
America Plaza	Orange Line Silver Line					Serves One America Plaza.
Continues to San Ysidro.

Photo Gallery

Riders about to board Blue Line train at San Diego Old Town Transit Center. March 2008.

References

• Mid Coast Trolley Extension Map