Old Town Transit Center
San Diego, CA
Green Line trolley approaching Old Town Transit Center, 2008
General information
Other namesSan Diego–Old Town
Old Town San Diego
UC San Diego Health South
Location4005 Taylor Street
San Diego, California
United States
Coordinates32°45′19″N 117°11′58″W / 32.7552°N 117.1995°W / 32.7552; -117.1995
Owned bySan Diego Metropolitan Transit System
Line(s)Surf Line
Platforms2 side platforms (Amtrak/Coaster)
2 side platforms, 1 island platform (San Diego Trolley)
Tracks2 (Amtrak/Coaster)
2 (San Diego Trolley)
Train operators
Bus stands21[1]
Bus operators
Construction
Parking412 spaces[2]
AccessibleYes
Other information
StatusUnstaffed, platform with shelters
Station codeAmtrak: OLT
75042, 75043 (San Diego Trolley)[3]
Fare zone3 (Coaster)
History
Opened1994 (1994)
Passengers
FY 2022176,089[4] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Solana Beach
toward San Luis Obispo
 Pacific Surfliner San Diego
Terminus
Preceding station North County Transit District Following station
Sorrento Valley
towards Oceanside Transit Center
 COASTER San Diego
Terminus
Preceding station San Diego Trolley Following station
Tecolote Road
towards UTC
 Blue Line Washington Street
towards San Ysidro
Morena/Linda Vista
towards Santee Town Center
 Green Line Washington Street
towards 12th & Imperial
Location

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 Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner, the COASTER commuter rail service, and the San Diego Trolley, 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 and the freeway intersection of Interstate 5 and Interstate 8. It is also located about two miles southeast of SeaWorld San Diego and Mission Bay, providing access to the northernmost beaches in the city of San Diego. 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. In November 1997, the line, renamed the Blue Line,[5] was extended into Mission Valley. When the Green Line service was introduced with the opening of the Mission Valley East extension on July 10, 2005,[6] 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. The Special Event Line was eliminated; and instead, the Green Line added cars and offer more frequent service to Petco Park, San Diego Convention Center, Aztec Stadium and Viejas Arena at San Diego State University when necessary.[7] As part of the Mid Coast Trolley Project, on November 21, 2021, the returned to service the Old Town station. The Blue Line provides access to places such as the University of California, San Diego, Jacobs Medical Center, Westfield UTC, and the Mexico–United States border in San Ysidro, San Diego.

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 COASTER commuter rail service. Of the 22 weekday Amtrak Pacific Surfliner trains operating in San Diego, 18 of them stop at the Old Town Transit Center,[8] 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 between Fiscal Year 2011 and 2013. In Fiscal Year 2011, there were just 22,867 boardings and detrainings at Old Town[9] (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.[10] 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. (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.[11]

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 in September 2012 extended the Green Line though Old Town to Downtown San Diego.[7]

The Trolley's Mid-Coast extension that was completed in November 2021[12] extends to serve the University City area.[13]

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, 83, 88, and 105.[14] There is an underground pedestrian tunnel linking bus terminals on both sides of the station with the trolley/train areas.

The station is also served by San Diego International Airport's San Diego Flyer shuttle which operates every 20 to 30 minutes between the Old Town Transit Center, Terminal 1 and Terminal 2.[15] The station also sees service from UC San Diego's Triton Transit Hillcrest Express, which connects passengers with the UC San Diego Medical Center, Hillcrest,[16] University of San Diego shuttles,[17] and shuttle buses to Viejas Casino.[18]

Station layout

There are four tracks; two tracks are designated for the San Diego Trolley services, while the other two tracks are used for COASTER, Amtrak, and BNSF freight service.[19]

Side platform, doors will open on the right
Track 1 ← Blue Line toward UTC (Tecolote Road)
← Green Line toward Santee Town Center (Morena/Linda Vista)
Island platform, doors will open on the left
Track 2 Blue Line toward San Ysidro (Washington Street) →
Green Line toward 12th & Imperial (Washington Street) →
Island platform, doors will open on the right
Track 3 COASTER toward San Diego (Terminus) →
Amtrak Pacific Surfliner toward San Diego (Terminus) →
Track 4 ← COASTER toward Oceanside Transit Center (Sorrento Valley)
← Amtrak Pacific Surfliner toward San Luis Obispo (Solana Beach)
Side platform, doors will open on the right

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Old Town Transit Center Modernization". San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. September 5, 2021. Archived from the original on April 7, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  2. ↑ "UC San Diego Blue Line station list". San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. 22 May 2015. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Schedules & Real Time". San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. 14 May 2015. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2022: State of California" (PDF). Amtrak. June 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  5. ↑ "MTS Historical Timeline". San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. 2013. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
  6. ↑ Ristine, Jeff (July 23, 2006). "After 25 years, the trolley keeps on moving". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on 2012-10-09. Retrieved June 14, 2009.
  7. 1 2 "September 2, 2012, Service Changes. Major Bus and Trolley Service Changes". San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. 2012. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Pacific Surfliner Schedule, effective January 14, 2014" (PDF). Amtrak California. November 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 30, 2013. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2011 – State of California" (PDF). Amtrak. December 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 13, 2013. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2012 – State of California" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 17, 2013. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2013 – State of California" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 18, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  12. ↑ Olsen, Mark (November 22, 2021). "San Diego Region Celebrates Grand Opening of Mid-Coast Extension of the UC San Diego Blue Line Trolley". SDMTS (Press release). Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Mid-Coast Corridor Transit Project". San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG). Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  14. ↑ "San Diego Regional Transit Map" (PDF). San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. November 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  15. ↑ "San Diego Flyer". San Diego International Airport.
  16. ↑ "Triton Transit". transportation.ucsd.edu. Retrieved 2023-04-07.
  17. ↑ "Tram Information and Hours - Public Safety". University of San Diego. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  18. ↑ "V Bus Schedule". Viejas Casino. January 21, 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Old Town Transit Center map". November 21, 2021.
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