Green Line (San Diego Trolley)

The Green Line is a 19.8-mile (31.9 km) 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).^[1] The route serves downtown San Diego, Mission Valley, and the cities of La Mesa and El Cajon.^[6][7] The Green Line has the second highest ridership of the San Diego Trolley's three core lines, transporting 13,673,926 riders during FY 2014 - according to MTS.^[8]

Green Line
A Green Line trolley at Convention Center station
Overview
Owner	Metropolitan Transit System
Locale	San Diego, California
Termini	12th & Imperial El Cajon
Stations	24[1]
Website	sdmts.com/schedules-real-time-maps-and-routes/trolley
Service
Type	Light rail
System	San Diego Trolley
Route number	530 (in internal documents only)[2][3]
Operator(s)	San Diego Trolley, Inc.
Rolling stock	3-car trains
Daily ridership	25,319 (FY 2024)[4]
Ridership	8,627,300 (FY 2024)[4]
History
Opened	July 10, 2005; 19 years ago (2005-07-10)[1]
Technical
Line length	19.8 mi (31.9 km)[1]
Number of tracks	2 tracks
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	Overhead line, 600 V DC
Operating speed	21 mph (34 km/h) (average)[Note 1] 55 mph (89 km/h) (max)
Route map Green Line highlighted in green Show interactive map Legend to San Ysidro │ Storage & Maintenance Yard 12th & Imperial to Courthouse Gaslamp Quarter Convention Center Seaport Village Santa Fe Depot County Center/Little Italy Middletown (via ) Washington Street I-5 Old Town (via ) I-8 Amtrak Pacific Surfliner & Coaster to Oceanside to UTC Morena/Linda Vista Fashion Valley SR 163 Hazard Center Mission Valley Center Rio Vista I-805 Fenton Parkway Stadium SR 15 Mission San Diego Grantville I-8 SDSU UC San Diego Health East 70th Street I-8 Grossmont SR 125 Amaya Drive I-8 El Cajon to Santee Multiple services All stations are accessible This diagram: view talk edit Show route diagram

The line is one of five lines in the trolley system, the others being the Blue, Orange, Copper, and Silver ("heritage weekend" service only) lines.

History

Siemens S70 Green Line train at SDSU Transit Center, on the station's opening day (July 10, 2005)

The Green Line is the third line in the San Diego Trolley system, with service beginning on July 10, 2005 along with the completion and opening of the 5.9 miles (9.5 km)^[1] Mission Valley East extension.^[9]

The line primarily operates on this extension as well as a segment previously served by the Blue Line between Old Town and Mission San Diego. It traverses Mission Valley and the San Diego River corridor for this segment.

During a system redesign which took effect on September 2, 2012, as part of the Trolley Renewal Project, the western portion of the Green Line was extended from Old Town south through downtown and along the Bayside Line, terminating at 12th & Imperial Transit Center's Bayside Platform.^[7][10] This redesign allowed for two "universal" transfer points among all three core lines: the 12th & Imperial Transit Center and Santa Fe Depot Transit Center (which consists of Santa Fe Depot, America Plaza, and Courthouse stations, as well as the Santa Fe Depot/America Plaza Rapid terminal).^[10]

In May 2024, MTS announced that a new service, known as the East County Connector (and later the Copper Line), would replace the Green and Orange lines between El Cajon Transit Center and the eastern terminus at Santee. The proposal was prompted by service issues caused by the merge of the double track to a single track between the final two stations, creating delays for Green Line trolleys waiting for the track to clear. On September 29, 2024, Green and Orange Line service was cut back to El Cajon Transit Center, and service on the Copper Line began.^[11]

The Green Line's SDSU Transit Center is the only underground station in the entire trolley network.

Naming rights

In October 2017, Sycuan Casino secured the naming rights for the Green Line when the MTS had sought out to sell out the naming rights for each line in the trolley system. The line was then named the Sycuan Green Line.^[12] However, this is no longer the case.^{[citation needed]} The Green Line is home to a paid station naming sponsorship, with the former Alvarado Medical Center station being known as UC San Diego Health East station.

Stations

See also: List of San Diego Trolley stations

Station	Location	Connections
12th & Imperial	East Village, San Diego	Blue Line  Orange Line  Silver Line MTS: 4, 12, 901, 929 Greyhound Lines Park and ride: 1,020 spaces, paid
Gaslamp Quarter	Gaslamp Quarter, San Diego	Silver Line
Convention Center	Marina, San Diego	Silver Line
Seaport Village		Silver Line
Santa Fe Depot	Core, San Diego	Blue Line  Orange Line Pacific Surfliner Coaster MTS: 83, Rapid 215, Rapid 225, Rapid 235, Rapid Express 280, Rapid Express 290, 923, 992
County Center/Little Italy	Little Italy, San Diego	Blue Line
Middletown	Middletown, San Diego	Blue Line (via ) TROLLEY → TERMINAL shuttle
Washington Street	Mission Hills, San Diego	Blue Line MTS: 10
Old Town	Old Town, San Diego	Blue Line Pacific Surfliner Coaster MTS: 8, 9, 10, 28, 30, 35, 44, 83, 88, 105 (via ) San Diego Flyer shuttle University of San Diego shuttle UC San Diego Triton Transit: Hillcrest Express Park and ride: 412 spaces
Morena/Linda Vista	Morena, San Diego	MTS: 44, 105 Park and ride: 199 spaces
Fashion Valley	Mission Valley, San Diego	MTS: 1, 6, 20, 25, 41, 88, 120, 928 Park and ride: 63 spaces
Hazard Center
Mission Valley Center		MTS: 6
Rio Vista
Fenton Parkway
Stadium
Mission San Diego	Grantville, San Diego	MTS: 14
Grantville		MTS: 13, 14, 18
SDSU	College Area, San Diego	MTS: 11, 14, 115, Rapid 215, 856, 936, 955
UC San Diego Health East
70th Street	La Mesa	MTS: 14 Park and ride: 125 spaces
Grossmont		Orange Line MTS: 852, 854 Park and ride: 220 spaces
Amaya Drive		Orange Line Park and ride: 236 spaces
El Cajon	El Cajon	Orange Line  Copper Line MTS: 115, 815, 816, 833, 848, 864, 872, 874, 875, 888, 891, 892, 894 Greyhound Lines Sycuan Casino Shuttle Park and ride: 469 spaces

Notes

1. Calculated from the following: Route length (19.8 miles)^[1] divided by scheduled travel time (57 minutes)^[5]