Old Town Transit Center
Old Town Transit Center | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 A Green Line trolley approaching Old Town Transit Center in 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other names | San Diego–Old Town Old Town San Diego | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | 4005 Taylor Street San Diego, California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 32°45′19″N 117°11′58″W / 32.7552°N 117.1995°W | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owned by | NCTD | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line(s) | Surf Line | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 2 side platforms (Amtrak/COASTER) 2 side platforms, 1 island platform (Trolley) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 (Amtrak/COASTER) 2 (Trolley) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Connections |  MTS: 8, 9, 10, 28, 30, 35, 44, 83, 84, 88, 105, 150 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parking | 437 "Park and Ride" lot spaces, with 350+ overflow spaces | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bicycle facilities | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Accessible | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Station code | OLT (Amtrak) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fare zone | 3 (COASTER) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 1994 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rebuilt | 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Passengers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | 350,518[1]  16.7% (Amtrak) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Old Town Transit Center, also known as San Diego–Old Town station or Old Town San Diego station, is an intermodal transportation station located in the Old Town neighborhood of San Diego, California. It is served by the San Diego Trolley, Coaster commuter rail, and Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner, as well as numerous San Diego Metropolitan Transit System bus lines.
The station is located at the intersection of Rosecrans Street/Taylor Street and Pacific Highway, adjacent to Old Town San Diego State Historic Park. Free parking (Park & Ride) for up to 24-hours is available in the Transit Center lots.
History
The Old Town Transit Center was built in the early 1990s, and San Diego Trolley's North/South Line was extended here on June 16, 1996.[2] In November 1997, the line, renamed the Blue Line,[3] was extended into Mission Valley.[2] When the Green Line service was introduced with the opening of the Mission Valley East extension on July 10, 2005,[2] the Blue Line's northern terminus was pushed back to this station, which also served as the Green Line's western terminus. During a system redesign on September 2, 2012, as part of the Trolley Renewal Project, MTS extended the western terminus of the Green Line from this station to 12th & Imperial Bayside Terminal and shortened the Blue Line's northern terminus to America Plaza.[4] The Special Event Line was eliminated; instead, the Green Line will add cars and offer more frequent service to Petco Park, San Diego Convention Center, SDCCU Stadium and Viejas Arena at San Diego State University when necessary.[4]
Service
Commuter and intercity rail
The Old Town Transit Center hosts passenger trains operating on Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner intercity rail route and on the San Diego Coaster commuter rail line. Of the 22 weekday Amtrak Pacific Surfliner trains operating in San Diego, 18 of them stop at the Old Town Transit Center,[5] though the Surfliner trains operating at Old Town do not offer checked luggage service, and stop at Old Town to board passengers (northbound trains) or detrain passengers (southbound trains) only, respectively.
Amtrak ridership at Old Town Transit Center has exploded over the last two years. In Fiscal Year 2011, there were just 22,867 boardings and detrainings at Old Town[6] (which was a 5.79% increase over Fiscal Year 2010). In Fiscal Year 2012, boardings and detrainings at Old Town rose to 61,118, a 167% increase over FY2011.[7] As of Fiscal Year 2013, the Amtrak ridership figure has continued to rise, to 135,749 boardings and detrainings, a further 122% increase over FY2012.[8] (There has been a corresponding decrease in Amtrak boardings at the Santa Fe Depot in Downtown San Diego over this same period, possibly indicating that some Amtrak boardings have been relocating from Santa Fe Depot to Old Town over the past two years.) Of the 74 California stations served by Amtrak, the Old Town Transit Center was the 25th-busiest in Fiscal Year 2013, boarding or detraining an average of approximately 372 passengers daily.[8]
San Diego Trolley
Old Town Transit Center is also a light rail station on the San Diego Trolley's Green Line. This station originally served as that line's terminus, until a system realignment on September 2012 extended the Green Line though Old Town to Downtown San Diego.[4]
Once the Trolley's Mid-Coast extension is completed, the Blue Line will be re-extended through this station to serve the University City area,[9] and so the Blue Line will once again serve Old Town by approximately 2021. In July 2015, a 30-year naming rights agreement between MTS and UC San Diego Health was announced; as a result of this agreement, the Blue Line will be renamed "UC San Diego Blue Line" and the Old Town Transit Center will become "Old Town UC San Diego Health South".[10]
Bus service
Old Town also operates as a bus transit center for San Diego Metropolitan Transit System's routes 8, 9, 10, 28, 30, 35, 44, 88, 105, and 150. There is an underground pedestrian tunnel linking bus terminals on both sides of the station with the trolley/train areas. Old Town is also served by university shuttles for University of California, San Diego and University of San Diego.[11][12]
Station layout
There are four tracks, two for the trolley station and two for commuter, intercity, and BNSF freight service.
| Side platform, doors will open on the right | |
| Track 1 | ←  Green Line toward Template:Mtss (Template:Mtss)←  Blue Line (future service) toward Template:Mtss (Template:Mtss)
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| Island platform, doors will open on the left | |
| Track 2 | Blue Line (future service) toward Template:Mtss (Template:Mtss) → Green Line toward Template:Mtss (Template:Mtss) →
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| Island platform, doors will open on the right | |
| Track 3 | ←  Coaster toward Template:Nctds (Template:Nctds)← Pacific Surfliner toward San Luis Obispo (Solana Beach) |
| Track 4 | Pacific Surfliner San Diego (Terminus) → Coaster toward Template:Nctds (Terminus) →
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| Side platform, doors will open on the right | |
See also
References
- ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2018 - State of California" (pdf). Amtrak. June 2019. Retrieved 2019-12-25.
- ^ a b c Ristine, Jeff (July 23, 2006). "After 25 years, the trolley keeps on moving". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
- ^ "MTS Historical Timeline". San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. 2013. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
- ^ a b c "September 2, 2012 Service Changes. Major Bus and Trolley Service Changes". San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. 2012. Retrieved 2013-12-29.
- ^ "Pacific Surfliner Schedule, effective January 14, 2014" (PDF) (PDF). Amtrak California. November 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
- ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2011 – State of California" (PDF). Amtrak. December 2011. Retrieved 2013-08-13.
- ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2012 – State of California" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2012. Retrieved 2013-08-13.
- ^ a b "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2013 – State of California" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-11.
- ^ "Mid-Coast Corridor Transit Project". San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG). Retrieved 2013-04-16.
- ^ Schupp, Rob (16 July 2015). "The New Blue: Metropolitan Transit System Trolley Line to be Renamed UC San Diego Blue Line". MTS Media Center. Metropolitan Transit System. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
- ^ University of California, San Diego
- ^ University of San Diego
External links
- San Diego - Old Town, CA – Amtrak
- San Diego - Old Town, CA – Station history at Great American Stations (Amtrak)
- COASTER Stations
- Old Town Transit Center (SDMTS)
- Old Town San Diego Amtrak Station(USA RailGuide – TrainWeb)
- Old Town San Diego State Historic Park (California State Parks)
- San Diego-Old Town (OLT)--Great American Stations (Amtrak)
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- Amtrak stations in San Diego County, California
- North County Transit District stations
- San Diego Trolley stations in San Diego
- Transit centers in the United States
- Bus stations in San Diego County, California
- Railway stations in San Diego
- Railway stations in the United States opened in 1994
- 1994 establishments in California