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The Blue Line (officially the UC San Diego Blue Line for sponsorship purposes) is a 26.3-mile (42.3 km)[3][4] 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).[3] With an end-to-end travel time of one hour and twenty-three minutes, it operates between the UTC and the San Ysidro, the latter of which is at the border with Mexico directly adjacent to the San Ysidro Port of Entry, facilitating easy connections across the border.[5] The line serves La Jolla, Downtown San Diego, National City, Chula Vista, and San Ysidro.[6]
The Blue Line is one of four lines in the Trolley system, along with the Green Line, Orange Line, and heritage rail Silver Line.[3] Among them, the Blue Line has the highest ridership, transporting 21,867,982 total riders, or 67,371 per day, in fiscal year 2023.[1] Its sponsored name is thanks to a $30 million naming rights deal with UC San Diego Health.[7] An extension to its namesake campus of the University of California, San Diego, as well as nine other stations, opened to revenue service on November 21, 2021.[8][9]
History
The initial line in the San Diego Trolley system, the Blue Line first opened between Centre City San Diego and San Ysidro on July 26, 1981,[2][10] at a cost of $86 million (equivalent to $277 million in 2022), using the existing tracks of the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway. In 1986, the line was named the South Line to differentiate it from the new East Line to Euclid Avenue, which later became the Orange Line. On July 2, 1992, the line was extended north from downtown with the opening of the County Center/Little Italy stop.[10] It was renamed the North-South Line when the Old Town extension opened on June 16, 1996.[10] The North-South Line was renamed the Blue Line in 1997,[2] with the opening of the extension to Mission San Diego on November 23, 1997.[10]
When the Green Line was brought into service in 2005, the Blue Line was cut back to the Old Town Transit Center. At rush hours, however, some Blue Line trains continued onto Qualcomm Stadium; and from Qualcomm Stadium onto San Ysidro. On September 3, 2006, the rush hour service Blue line trains were discontinued entirely, due to duplication of service with Green Line service. All Blue Line trains then terminated at Old Town. Rush hour Blue Line trains operated from San Ysidro to America Plaza with some serving the Bayside.
Blue Line service also experienced some change in the stations served. The San Diego Square station located between 7th and 8th Avenues in Downtown closed in 1986 due to low ridership and its close proximity to Fifth Avenue station. Later that year, the Bayfront/E Street station in Chula Vista opened in October 1986,[10] about five 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 was an 'infill' station that opened in 2000; however, it is now only served by the Green Line.
2012 realignment
During a system redesign which took effect on September 2, 2012, Blue Line service between America Plaza and Old Town was discontinued, making America Plaza the Blue Line's northern terminus.[11] Blue Line trains traveled between America Plaza to San Ysidro on a regular 15 minute frequency, with a 7+1⁄2 minute frequency during weekday rush hours.[11][12] Blue Line service to Old Town was reinstated once the Mid-Coast trolley extension to UC San Diego was completed.[13] UC San Diego Health paid $30 million to rename the route the UC San Diego Blue Line in 2015.[14]
Trolley Renewal Project
To accommodate the new Siemens S70 models and allow for their use on the line, the Blue Line stations needed to undergo renovation, although this was done over a period of five years to prevent the disruption of operation of the Trolley.[15] The project to renovate the stations, called the Trolley Renewal Project, began in fall 2010.[16][17] After beginning operation on the Green Line in 2011 and on the Orange Line in 2013, low-floor Siemens S70 LRVs began operation on the Blue Line on January 27, 2015.[18] Renovation of rail track and the final eleven Blue Line stations was completed in late 2015.[19][20]
Mid-Coast extension
The Mid-Coast Corridor Transit Project is an 10.9-mile (17.5 km)[4] extension of the Blue Line from the Old Town Transit Center north to La Jolla Village, University of California, San Diego and University City.[21][22] Ridership is projected at 34,700 trips in 2030.[23] The extension primarily follows the right-of-way of the Coaster and Interstate 5, with an elevated deviation around the UCSD area. MTS estimated construction costs of $2.1 billion.[23] An aim of the extension is to decrease demand for parking on the UCSD campus while providing direct trolley access to Westfield UTC, a popular shopping mall. The existing SuperLoop BRT Shuttle (Routes 201/202) provides transit in and around the UTC area from the nearby Trolley stations.[24] Testing of the line began in June 2021,[25] and it opened to revenue service on November 21, 2021, although alternate weekday and weekend late night Blue Line trips still short turn at America Plaza.[9]
The Mid-Coast Corridor Transit Project was done in conjunction with the North Coast Corridor project, which upgrades the LOSSAN Corridor further to the north. Both projects build upon the original right-of-way of the Surf Line, which was built in the 1880s as the original railway from Los Angeles to San Diego.
Stations
| Station | Location | Connections[26] |
|---|---|---|
UTC  |
University City, San Diego | Metropolitan Transit System: 30, 31, 41, 60, 105, Rapid 201, Rapid 202, Rapid 204, 921 North County Transit District: 101 |
| Executive Drive | Metropolitan Transit System: 204, 237, 921A, 979 | |
| UC San Diego Health La Jolla | UC San Diego Triton Transit: Regents Express | |
| UC San Diego Central Campus | La Jolla, San Diego | Metropolitan Transit System: 985 UC San Diego Triton Transit: Outside Loop, Regents Express |
| VA Medical Center | ||
| Nobel Drive |
Metropolitan Transit System: 30, Rapid 201, Rapid 202 North County Transit District: 101 | |
| Balboa Avenue |
Bay Park, San Diego | Metropolitan Transit System: 8, 27, 43, 140 |
| Clairemont Drive |
Metropolitan Transit System: 105 | |
| Tecolote Road |
Morena, San Diego | |
| Old Town |
Old Town, San Diego |  Green Line  Pacific Surfliner .svg.png.webp){kind=icon} CoasterMetropolitan Transit System: 8, 9, 10, 28, 30, 35, 44, 83, 88, 105  San Diego Flyer shuttleUniversity of San Diego shuttle UC San Diego Triton Transit: Hillcrest Express |
| Washington Street | Mission Hills, San Diego | Green Line Metropolitan Transit System: 10 |
| Middletown | Middletown, San Diego | Green Line TROLLEY → TERMINAL shuttle |
| County Center/Little Italy | Little Italy, San Diego | Green Line |
| Santa Fe Depot | Core, San Diego | Green Line Pacific Surfliner Coaster Metropolitan Transit System: 83, Rapid 215, Rapid 225, Rapid 235, Rapid Express 280, Rapid Express 290, 923, 992 |
| America Plaza |  Silver LineMetropolitan Transit System: 83, Rapid 215, Rapid 225, Rapid 235, Rapid Express 280, Rapid Express 290, 923, 992 | |
| Civic Center |  Orange Line Silver Line | |
| Fifth Avenue | Orange Line Silver Line Metropolitan Transit System: 3, 120 | |
| City College | East Village, San Diego | Orange Line Silver Line Metropolitan Transit System: 2, 5, 7, 12, 20, 110, Rapid 215, Rapid 225, Rapid 235, Rapid Express 280, Rapid Express 290, 992 |
| Park & Market | Orange Line Silver Line Metropolitan Transit System: 3, 5, 12 | |
| 12th & Imperial Transit Center | Green Line Orange Line Silver Line Metropolitan Transit System: 4, 12, 901, 929 Greyhound Lines | |
| Barrio Logan | Logan Heights, San Diego | |
| Harborside | ||
| Pacific Fleet | Naval Base San Diego | |
| 8th Street |
National City | Metropolitan Transit System: 932, 955, 962, 963, 968 |
| 24th Street |
Metropolitan Transit System: 13, 961, 967 | |
| Bayfront/E Street |
Chula Vista | Metropolitan Transit System: 704, 705, 932 Living Coast Discovery Center shuttle |
| H Street |
Metropolitan Transit System: 701, 709 | |
| Palomar Street |
Metropolitan Transit System: 701, 704, 712 | |
| Palm Avenue |
Palm City, San Diego | Metropolitan Transit System: 932, 933, 934 |
| Iris Avenue |
Otay Mesa West, San Diego | Metropolitan Transit System: 901, 905, 906, 907, 929, 932, 933, 934, 950 |
| Beyer Boulevard |
San Ysidro, San Diego | Metropolitan Transit System: 906, 907 |
| San Ysidro | Metropolitan Transit System: 906, 907 |
Gallery
Riders boarding an original Siemens–Duewag U2 Blue Line train at Old Town Transit Center (March 2008)
The San Diego trolley at San Ysidro by the US-Mexico border
San Diego Trolley at America Plaza Station.
Notes
References
- 1 2 3 "Annual Service Performance Report" (PDF). San Diego Metropolitan Transit System . November 2, 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 2, 2023. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
- 1 2 3 "MTS Historical Timeline". San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. 2013. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
- 1 2 3 4 "San Diego Trolley, Inc" (PDF). San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. February 2013. Retrieved November 30, 2021 – via sdmts.com/about-mts.
- 1 2 3 4 "Mid-Coast Corridor Transit Project" (PDF). San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG). April 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 12, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2021 – via U.S. Department of Transportation.
- 1 2 "Trolley map & timetable" (PDF). San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. 2023. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 8, 2023. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
- ↑ "SDMTS - Trolley". San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. 2015. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
- ↑ "San Diego MTS teams with UC San Diego to rename Blue Line Trolley". Metro Magazine. July 17, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
- ↑ Luczak, Marybeth (June 30, 2021). "San Diego's Mid-Coast Trolley Extension Project Advances". Railway Age. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
- 1 2 "It's finally here: Riders take first trips on trolley extension with 9 new stops". Fox 5 San Diego. San Diego. November 21, 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
- 1 2 3 4 5 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.
- 1 2 "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.
- ↑ "San Diego's Green Line Will Finally Arrive Downtown In September". KPBS. April 30, 2012. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
- ↑ "Mid-Coast Trolley". San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG). Archived from the original on May 5, 2013. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
- ↑ UCSD Guardian Editorial Board (September 30, 2015). "Crossing the Blue Line". The Guardian. University of California, San Diego. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
- ↑ "MTS To Purchase 57 New Light Rail Vehicles". KGTV (10 News). September 24, 2009. Retrieved September 24, 2009.
- ↑ Robert J. Hawkins (September 22, 2010). "Construction Begins To Upgrade SD Trolley - $620M Project To Include New Track, Stations Along Blue, Orange Lines". KGTV ABC10 San Diego. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
- ↑ "Several Blue Line trolley stops to close this weekend". The San Diego Union Tribune. October 27, 2010. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
- ↑ "Blue Line Upgraded with a New Fleet of Low-Floor Trolley Cars". San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. January 27, 2015. Archived from the original on February 18, 2015. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
- ↑ "Trolley Renewal". San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2016 – via sdmts.com/inside-mts/current-projects.
- ↑ "San Diego Trolley Renewal Project Fact Sheet" (pdf). San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) & San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS). September 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2016 – via keepsandiegomoving.com/Trolley/trolley-newsroom-factsheet.aspx.
- ↑ "MTS Moves! Summer 2010 (MTS Newsletter)" (PDF). San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. Summer 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 19, 2015. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
- ↑ "Mid Coast Trolley Extension Map" (pdf). San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG). Retrieved January 24, 2014.
- 1 2 "Mid-Coast Corridor Transit Project" (PDF). Federal Transit Administration. April 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 21, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
- ↑ "Mid-Coast Corridor Transit Project Fact Sheet" (PDF). San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG). May 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
- ↑ Jennewein, Chris (June 29, 2021). "First MTS Trolley Enters New Tecolote Road Station as Testing Begins on Blue Line Extension". Times of San Diego. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
- ↑ "San Diego Regional Transit Map" (PDF). San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. November 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
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