Red and robust

Written by Carolina Worrell, Senior Editor
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San Diego’s landmark light rail system, with its distinctive bright red LRVs, continues to expand in ridership and reach.

There are two things that make San Diego, Calif., among the most pleasant places to live in the U.S. One is the climate. The other is the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) light rail network, better known as the San Diego Trolley, considered the first of the modern LRTs in the U.S. With a record ridership of almost 97 million trips in FY 2015—breaking the previous record set in FY 2014 by nearly 2 million—and a major expansion project under way, MTS is well on its way to surpassing 100 million passengers in FY 2016.

Mid-Coast Trolley

Construction on San Diego MTS’ $2 billion, 11-mile Mid-Coast Trolley project is expected to begin in 2016 and will extend LRT service north from Santa Fe Depot in Downtown San Diego to the University City community, serving major activity centers such as Old Town, the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and Westfield UTC. Completion of the Mid-Coast Trolley is slated for 2021 or 2022.

The route begins just north of the Old Town Transit Center and travels in existing railroad right-of-way and alongside Interstate 5 to Gilman Drive. It crosses to the west side of I-5 just south of Nobel Drive and continues on to the UC San Diego campus, crosses back to the east side of I-5 near Voigt Drive to serve the UC San Diego east campus and medical centers on the east side of I-5, transitions into the median of Genesee Avenue, and continues down Genesee Avenue to the Westfield UTC transit center.

Nine new stations will be constructed at Tecolote Road, Clairemont Drive, Balboa Avenue, Nobel Drive, VA Medical Center, Pepper Canyon (serving UCSD west campus), Voigt Drive (serving UCSD east campus), Executive Drive, and the Terminus Station at the Westfield UTC transit center.

The project will connect corridor residents with other Trolley lines serving Mission Valley, East County, and South County. As an extension of the existing Blue Line, it will offer a one-seat ride from the international border at Tijuana, Mexico and communities south of Downtown San Diego all the way to University City. This new service “will enhance direct public access to other regional activity centers and improve travel options to employment, education, medical, and retail centers for corridor residents, commuters, and visitors,” MTS says.

The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) will pay for half of the project with funds from the region’s TransNet half-cent sales tax for transportation. MTS is seeking the other half of the funding from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) New Starts Program.

Sorrento Valley Double-Track

SANDAG has been working with North County Transit District (NTCD) and MTS to add a second, 1.1-mile main line to the north from the Sorrento Valley Station. The $31.8 million project began construction in February 2014 and was completed this past November.

In addition to double-track construction, the project included elevating portions of the existing track bed, placing it above the 50-year flood level; replacing two aging wooden trestle bridges; building retaining walls adjacent to the tracks near the parking lots; and installing an embankment protection system along the westerly side of the track, adjacent to Los Peñasquitos Creek. A new 81-space surface parking lot was added south of the station, across Sorrento Valley Boulevard. There are now 189 parking spaces to serve transit riders.

The project improved a critical section of the 351-mile LOSSAN rail corridor, which serves as a vital link for passenger and freight movements in San Diego County. The LOSSAN corridor is the second-busiest intercity passenger rail line in the U.S. and is the only viable freight rail link between San Diego and the rest of the nation.

LRV Overhaul

San Diego MTS also recently completed a $660 million Trolley Renewal project to overhaul the agency’s entire system. One of the biggest accomplishments, MTS says, was introducing low-floor light rail vehicles (LRVs) on the UC San Diego Blue Line. The Trolley Renewal project began in fall 2010.

The new LRVs, which were manufactured by Siemens in Sacramento, Calif., were introduced on the Blue Line this past January and provide more than 50,000 weekday passengers with faster trips, easier boarding and more comfortable rides. Running from the U.S.-Mexico border through Downtown San Diego, the Blue Line is the busiest transit line in the San Diego region, providing more than 15 million passenger trips in FY 2014, MTS says. In fact, with 16.5 million riders in FY 2015, the Blue Line was MTS’ most-used trolley line, gaining a ridership increase of 9.5% over the previous fiscal year.

The launch of low-floor service on the Blue Line is part of a $600 million effort to modernize the entire Trolley system. Trolley Renewal is funded primarily by California Proposition 1B bond funds and TransNet, the regional half-cent sales tax for transportation administered by SANDAG. In addition to low-floor cars, the Trolley Renewal project included new station platforms, next-arrival electronic signs, signaling systems, overhead catenary, larger shelters and track replacement.

“In the San Diego region, we are making historic investments to keep our transit system in a state of good repair, as well as to expand transit services,” SANDAG Chair and Santee Councilmember Jack Dale said. “Expanding transit ridership is one of our top priorities, and it’s a key strategy for our region to meet greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.”

The new low-floor LRVs will improve operational efficiency by eliminating steps and mechanical lifts for people with disabilities. Trolley platforms are now nearly level with the floor of the trolley, making boarding and de-boarding much easier for all passengers. An integrated access ramp for people with mobility devices also deploys easily. This new feature eliminates the need for mechanical lifts that slowed boarding and caused delays. Other amenities include larger windows, higher ceilings, improved lighting, dedicated seating access for special-needs passengers, and more room for standing passengers. MTS now operates 76 low-floor cars throughout the entire system. Up to 28 will be dedicated to operations on the Blue Line.

In September 2009, MTS placed an order for 65 low-floor Siemens S-70 Ultra Short cars and took delivery of the last car in August 2014. MTS says it anticipates getting nine additional S-70 cars to handle demand on the Blue Line in late 2018/early 2019. “We will need to replace 52 Siemens SD-100s in the early 2020s and require 36 S-70 LRVs for the Mid-Coast extension in 2021,” MTS says. Exact timing for those procurements has not been established.

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