Orange Line (San Diego Trolley)

The Orange Line is an 18.0-mile (29.0 km)[5] 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.[4] The route connects Downtown San Diego with the cities of Lemon Grove, La Mesa, and El Cajon.[6][7] The Orange Line has the lowest ridership of the San Diego Trolley's three regular lines, transporting 10,896,289 riders during FY 2014 according to the MTS.[8]

Orange Line
Orange Line train at Downtown San Diego
5th Avenue Station (March 2008).
Overview
OwnerSan Diego Metropolitan Transit System
LocaleSan Diego, California
Termini
Stations19
WebsiteSDMTS – Trolley
Service
TypeLight rail
SystemSan Diego Trolley
Route number520 [a]
Operator(s)San Diego Trolley, Inc.
Rolling stock3-car trains
Daily ridership19,128 (FY 2023)[3]
Ridership6,251,754 (FY 2023)[3]
History
OpenedMarch 23, 1986; 38 years ago (1986-03-23)[4]
Technical
Line length18.0 mi (29.0 km), as of 2013[5]
Number of tracks2 tracks
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)
(standard gauge)
ElectrificationOverhead line600 V DC
Operating speed55 mph (89 km/h) (max)
Route map
Map Orange Line highlighted in orange
Courthouse
Civic Center
Fifth Avenue
San Diego Square
closed
1986
City College
San Diego International Airport (via City College station (San Diego))
Park & Market
12th & Imperial
Greyhound Lines
Storage and Maintenance Yard
25th & Commercial
32nd & Commercial
47th Street
Euclid Avenue
Encanto/62nd Street
Massachusetts Avenue
Lemon Grove Depot
Spring Street
La Mesa Boulevard
Grossmont
Amaya Drive
El Cajon
Greyhound Lines
Arnele Avenue
Other service sharing track

Handicapped/disabled access All stations are accessible

It is one of four lines in the Trolley system, along with the Blue, Green and Silver lines.[4]

At night, the San Diego and Imperial Valley Railroad uses the Orange Line right of way east of the rail yard near the 12th & Imperial Transit Center for its freight service to El Cajon and Santee.[9]

History

Orange Line train at Downtown San Diego America Plaza (January 2008).

The Orange Line is the second line in the San Diego Trolley system. Service began on March 23, 1986, originally as the East Line and initially operated between downtown San Diego and Euclid Avenue.[10][11] The East Line, as it was then called, kept this name after successive extensions to Spring Street on May 12, 1989,[10] to the El Cajon Transit Center on June 23, 1989,[10] along the Bayside in downtown San Diego on June 30, 1990,[11] and finally to Santee Town Center on August 26, 1995.[10]

The line was renamed the Orange Line in 1997.[10] Service between Gillespie Field and Santee Town Center was replaced by the Green Line in July 2005 upon that line's introduction.[10][11]

2012 realignment

During a system redesign on September 2, 2012, the Orange Line's eastern terminus was further shortened to the El Cajon Transit Center, while Orange Line service along the Bayside was eliminated and its western terminus was rerouted to the Santa Fe Depot in downtown San Diego.[12]

Trolley Renewal Project

To accommodate the new Siemens S70 models so that they could be used on the line, Trolley stations needed to undergo renovation, although this was done over a period of time to prevent the disruption of operation. The new S70 models began operation on the Orange Line in January 2013,[13] once all remaining Orange Line stations had been upgraded to handle them, and all renovation work on the Orange Line was completed in 2013.[13]

2017 and 2018 realignment

On July 11, 2017, the Orange Line was once again realigned to terminate at America Plaza instead of Santa Fe Depot.[14] MTS says the change should help improve on-time performance of the Orange Line and relieve train congestion at Santa Fe Depot.[15]

In order to alleviate train congestion at America Plaza in preparation for the Mid-Coast trolley extension to University City,[16] MTS constructed a new station, Courthouse, which serves as the new western terminus for the Orange Line.[17][18] Courthouse station is a single platform station located on C street between State and Union. The station opened April 29, 2018.[19] The line was also re-extended north one station at this time to service Arnele Avenue.

Stations

StationLocationConnections
CourthouseCore, San Diego
Civic Center  Blue Line  Silver Line
Fifth Avenue
City CollegeEast Village, San Diego
Park & Market
12th & Imperial
25th & CommercialGrant Hill, San Diego MTS: 3
32nd & CommercialStockton, San Diego
47th StreetChollas View, San Diego
  • MTS: 955
  • Park and ride: 129 spaces
Euclid AvenueEmerald Hills, San Diego
Encanto/62nd StreetEncanto, San Diego
Massachusetts AvenueLemon Grove Park and ride: 241 spaces
Lemon Grove Depot MTS: 856, 936
Spring StreetLa Mesa
  • MTS: 851, 855
  • Park and ride: 324 spaces
La Mesa Boulevard MTS: 852
Grossmont
Amaya Drive
El CajonEl Cajon
Arnele Avenue

Future

Possible extension to San Diego International Airport

In January 2013, San Diego Mayor Bob Filner and SANDAG conducted talks about a possible trolley extension to San Diego International Airport. SANDAG has been conducting feasibility studies on an extension to Lindbergh Field since 2009. There are many different plans and scenarios for such an extension, but one of the possible scenarios is to extend the Orange Line from downtown San Diego up N. Harbor Drive to the passenger terminals on the south side of Lindbergh Field, with possible stops along the way. Currently, there is no projected start or completion date for such a proposed extension of the Orange Line to Lindbergh Field.[citation needed]

Service transition to Copper Line in East County

Copper Line
Santee
Gillespie Field
Arnele Avenue
El Cajon
Green Line
to 12th & Imperial
Orange Line
to Courthouse
Other service sharing track

All stations are accessible

In May 2024, MTS proposed a new Trolley line to take over service from the Orange and Green lines between El Cajon Transit Center and the terminus at Santee. Known as the Copper Line, the proposal was prompted by service issues caused by the merge of double track to single track between the final two stations, creating delays for Green Line trolleys waiting for the track to clear and occasional cancellations at eastern stations when trains turn around early to prevent the delays. If the new service gets final approval, the Orange Line would truncate by one station, with its terminus moved from Arnele Avenue to El Cajon Transit Center starting in September 2024.[20]

Notes

References

KML is from Wikidata