2023 was the 42nd anniversary of the San Diego Trolley, and MTS prepared a brief historical review of San Diego trolleys, and in particular the San Diego Trolley. MTS also has a more extensive slideshow and timeline available. The last day of streetcar operation in San Diego was April 23, 1949. On July 19, 1981, electric railcars returned to San Diego streets on the first modern American light rail system integrated with its bus system.
Early history Electric rail service in San Diego traces its roots back to 1891 when
John D. Spreckels incorporated the
San Diego Electric Railway. San Diego's streetcar system had been replaced with buses in 1949, and by 1966 the local bus company, San Diego Transit, was facing a financial crisis and public takeover. Planning for mass transit in the San Diego region began in 1966 under the auspices of the Comprehensive Planning Organization (CPO, now known as the
San Diego Association of Governments, SANDAG), an intergovernmental agency of 13 cities and San Diego County. Over the next decade, the CPO researched various technologies including improvements to local buses, express buses, heavy rail, light rail, and advanced technologies. The CPO also closely studied the San Francisco
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system, then under construction. Ultimately, the early studies went nowhere due to disagreements between stakeholders and a lack of funding. In 1975, the CPO published the Regional Transportation Plan which included a
intermediate capacity fixed guideway system (an untested technology at the time) at a cost of $1.5 billion.
Metropolitan Transit Development Board In the early 1970s, three state legislative acts would set the stage for the construction of mass transit in the San Diego region. The Transportation Development Act, signed by Governor
Ronald Reagan in 1971, earmarked 25% of the
state sales tax for funding transportation projects, including mass transit. A 1974 amendment to Article 19 of the
Constitution of California permitted the use of gas tax revenues, previously reserved for highway construction, for construction of rail systems. Finally, a 1975 law established the San Diego Metropolitan Transit Development Board (MTDB) with a clear mission: design, construct and operate a guideway transit system. The MTDB formally started operations on January 1, 1976. The MTDB's enabling legislation and principles adopted by the Board required the planning give added weight to systems that satisfy a number of criteria: priority consideration for technologies available and in use, a system that is capable of being brought into operation incrementally, and using
rights-of-way owned by public entities to minimize construction costs.
Early expansions The San Diego Trolley added a second line on March 23, 1986, that shared the same downtown tracks and traveled east to Euclid Avenue on the La Mesa Branch of the SD&AE. The new route was then called the Euclid Line (part of today's
Orange Line). Service was expanded beyond the old SD&AE right-of-way when the line was extended further, north, to
Santee on August 26, 1995. Officials secured $660 million in funding after the 2008 election as voters passed the TransNet half-cent local sales tax and two statewide transportation bond measures. The project also received funding from the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and federal formula funds. The "Trolley Renewal Project" included larger shelters to provide more protection from sun and rain, new benches, and digital "next arrival" signs at each station. Worn-out infrastructure such as rails,
ties,
catenary wires, power lines, and electrical substations were replaced as needed. A new signalling system was also installed, allowing two freight trains to operate at night instead of one. Funding was insufficient to replace all 123 high-floor cars immediately, so the original
Siemens-Duewag U2 LRVs were retired and three-car trains ran with low-floor LRVs at the front and rear and an older high-floor
SD-100 in the middle. Construction to rebuild stations began in late 2010 at
Old Town Transit Center and progressed south. By September 2, 2012, work was completed on the Old Town and Bayshore lines, allowing for a service realignment. The Green Line was extended from Old Town to
12th & Imperial Transit Center's Bayside Terminal platform, while the Orange Line was cut back to
Santa Fe Depot and the Blue Line to
America Plaza. The new alignment sent all lines through downtown and established a universal transfer point at 12th & Imperial. By January 9, 2013, all stations on the Orange Line had been rebuilt, allowing low-floor LRVs to operate on that line. Reconstruction of the remaining stations on the Blue Line was completed by January 27, 2015. The overall project, including station and track renovations, was completed in late 2015.
Mid-Coast Trolley extension project In 2011, SANDAG received key approval for the Mid-coast extension of the
Blue Line, running from
Old Town north to the
University City community, serving major activity and employment centers such as Mission Bay Park, the
University of California, San Diego campus, three major hospitals, and
Westfield UTC mall. Construction began in October 2016, and the line opened on November 21, 2021. The Blue Line was re-extended north from its northern terminus at
America Plaza to run through five existing stations (up to and including its pre-2012 terminus, the
Old Town Transit Center), and continuing to the nine new Mid-Coast Trolley stations:
Tecolote Road,
Clairemont Drive,
Balboa Avenue,
Nobel Drive,
VA Medical Center,
UC San Diego Central Campus,
UC San Diego Health La Jolla,
Executive Drive, and
UTC Transit Center, the site of a large bus transfer center. The proposal addressed longstanding operational issues on the single-track section down Cuyamaca Street, where trains often faced delays and occasionally were forced to turn back early at
Gillespie Field station. To accommodate the shuttle, a third track and platform were added at El Cajon. The MTS board approved the plan on July 18, 2024, and Copper Line service began on September 29, 2024. == Current service ==