List of San Diego Trolley stations
The San Diego Trolley is the light rail system that serves the metropolitan area of San Diego. The operator of the Trolley, San Diego Trolley, Inc., is a subsidiary of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. The San Diego Trolley opened for service on July 26, 1981, Today operates three main lines named the Blue Line, the Orange Line, and the Green Line, as well as a supplementary heritage streetcar downtown circulator known as the Silver Line that operates mid-days on Tuesdays & Thursdays, and on weekends and holidays.
History
The current operating company of the San Diego Trolley system, San Diego Trolley Incorporated, was not founded until 1980 when the Metropolitan Transit Development Board began to plan a light-rail service along the Main Line of the former San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway, which the MTDB purchased from the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1979. The Trolley began operations on July 19, 1981, with revenue service beginning on July 26, 1981. Trains at that time operated on a single line between Centre City or Downtown San Diego and San Ysidro, with stops in some San Diego neighborhoods, and in the cities of National City and Chula Vista.In March 1986, SDTI opened an extension east from Centre City San Diego to Euclid Avenue, along the La Mesa Branch of the former SD&AE Railway – this new second line of the Trolley was then called the East Line, while the original line opened in 1981 became the South Line. Service was extended along the East Line to Spring Street on May 12, 1989 serving Lemon Grove, and then to La Mesa and El Cajon on June 23, 1989. Service between El Cajon and Santee, which is not along the old SD&AE right-of-way, began on August 26, 1995.
The "Bayside" extension of the Trolley in San Diego, which operates near the waterfront, opened on June 30, 1990. The first phase of the extension to Old Town, from C Street to Little Italy in Downtown San Diego, opened on July 2, 1992. The second phase of the Old Town extension, running from Little Italy to Old Town, opened on June 16, 1996.
The "Mission Valley West" SDTI extension, which opened a new Trolley route between Old Town and Mission San Diego commenced service on November 23, 1997, just before San Diego's hosting of Super Bowl XXXII in early 1998. It was at this time that the former South and East Trolley Lines were renamed the Blue Line and Orange Line, respectively. The "Mission Valley East" extension between Mission San Diego and La Mesa opened for service on July 10, 2005, coinciding with the inauguration of the Green Line.
Stations along the Blue and Orange lines were renovated during 2010–15 as part of the Trolley Renewal Project.
Current system
The San Diego Trolley system currently has 53 stations serving its four Trolley lines.Fourteen of these stations operate as transfer stations, which allow passengers to transfer between lines. There are two "universal" transfer points : the 12th & Imperial Transit Center station, and the adjacent America Plaza/Santa Fe Depot stations. Six of the Trolley stations are termini—stations at the end of lines. Of the 53 stations, 37 of them are within the city limits of San Diego, serving various neighborhoods in San Diego; the other 16 stations are located in surrounding communities, such as El Cajon and National City.
Most stations in the San Diego Trolley system are 'at-grade' stations. There are 8 aerial stations in the system, mostly on the newer Green Line. Currently, there is just one station in the Trolley system that is underground, also on the Green Line.
Renamed station
In 1986, the station on C Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, originally named Gaslamp North or Centre City station, was renamed Fifth Avenue station and has been known as such ever since.The Qualcomm Stadium stop was simply renamed "Stadium" after Qualcomm's naming rights to the stadium expired in June 2017.
Closed station
The San Diego Square station, opened in 1981 on C Street between Seventh & Eighth Avenues downtown, was closed on March 23, 1986, due to low ridership, its close proximity to the Fifth Avenue station, and the desire to eliminate a station in order to accommodate the soon-to-open infill station at E Street without adding to travel times along the line.Remnants of this old station still remain on C Street between Seventh & Eighth Avenues.
Newest station
In April 2018, MTS opened its first new station since 2005. Courthouse station serves the Orange line only, and is used to access the redesigned downtown courthouse complex. Upon the station's opening, the Orange Line changed its western terminus from America Plaza to the new Courthouse station.Lines
Trolley service currently operates on three main lines offering daily service: the Blue, Green, and Orange Lines, and travels through the 53 stations and 53.5 total miles of double-track rail. A fourth line, the heritage streetcar Silver Line, operates more limited weekday and weekend service, in a clockwise 'circle-loop' around downtown San Diego only.| Line | Opened | Length | Number of stations | Termini | Operation |
| ' | 1981 | 18 | San Ysidro Transit Center | Daily | |
| ' | 2005 | 27 | 12th & Imperial Transit Center | Daily | |
| ' | 1986 | 19 | Daily | ||
| ' | 2011 | 9 | 12th & Imperial Transit Center | Mid-day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday |
Stations
The following table lists all stations currently served by the San Diego Trolley.| Station | Line | Location | Date opened | Comments |
| ' | National City | |||
| ' ' ' | San Diego, East Village | Universal transfer station for all lines: transfer for Blue, Green, Orange, and Silver Lines. Serves Petco Park. Terminus for Green and Silver Lines. | ||
| ' | National City | |||
| ' | San Diego, Grant Hill | |||
| ' | San Diego, Stockton | |||
| ' | San Diego, Chollas View | |||
| ' | La Mesa | |||
| Alvarado Medical Center | ' | San Diego, College Area | Serves the Alvarado Medical Center. | |
| ' ' | La Mesa | Transfer station for Green and Orange Lines. | ||
| ' ' | San Diego, Downtown Core | Transfer station for Blue and Silver Lines. Directly adjacent to Santa Fe Depot – so is also an "indirect" transfer point for the Green Line. This was an infill station – added upon competition of the One America Plaza building in 1991. Terminus for Blue Line. | ||
| ' | El Cajon | Serves Westfield Parkway. | ||
| ' | San Diego, Logan Heights | Serves Chicano Park. | ||
| ' | Chula Vista | This was an infill station – the first infill station on the current Blue Line. | ||
| ' | San Diego, San Ysidro | |||
| ' ' ' | San Diego, East Village | Serves San Diego City College, San Diego High School. | ||
| Civic Center | ' ' ' | San Diego, Downtown Core | Serves City Hall, Courthouse, and Horton Plaza. | |
| Convention Center | ' ' | San Diego, Marina | Serves Convention Center. | |
| ' | San Diego, Middletown | Serves San Diego County Administration Center. | ||
| ' | San Diego, Downtown Core | Serves the San Diego County Courthouse complex. | ||
| ' ' | El Cajon | Terminus for Orange Line. | ||
| ' | San Diego, Encanto | |||
| ' | San Diego, Emerald Hills | |||
| ' | San Diego, Mission Valley | Serves Fashion Valley Mall. | ||
| ' | San Diego, Mission Valley | This was an infill station – the only infill station on the current Green Line. | ||
| ' ' ' | San Diego, Downtown Core | Serves Downtown San Diego. | ||
| ' ' | San Diego, Gaslamp Quarter | Serves Gaslamp Quarter; also Convention Center & Petco Park. | ||
| ' | El Cajon | Serves Gillespie Field . | ||
| ' | San Diego, Grantville | |||
| ' ' | La Mesa | |||
| ' | Chula Vista | |||
| ' | San Diego, Logan Heights | |||
| Hazard Center | ' | San Diego, Mission Valley | Serves the Hazard Center Shopping Center. | |
| ' | San Diego, Otay Mesa West | |||
| ' | La Mesa | |||
| ' | Lemon Grove | |||
| ' | Lemon Grove | |||
| ' | San Diego, Mission Hills | |||
| ' | San Diego, Mission Valley | Serves Mission San Diego de Alcalá. | ||
| Mission Valley Center | ' | San Diego, Mission Valley | Serves Westfield Mission Valley. | |
| ' | San Diego, Morena | Serves University of San Diego. | ||
| ' | San Diego, Old Town | Serves Old Town Historic Park. | ||
| ' | San Diego, Logan Heights | Serves Naval Base San Diego. | ||
| ' | San Diego, Palm City | |||
| ' | Chula Vista | |||
| ' ' ' | San Diego, East Village | |||
| ' | San Diego, Mission Valley | |||
| ' | San Diego, San Ysidro | Serves U.S.-Mexico International Border. Terminus for Blue Line. This was the original terminus for the original Trolley line. | ||
| ' ' | San Diego, East Village | Transfer station for Green and Orange Lines. Directly adjacent to America Plaza – so is also an "indirect" transfer point for Blue and Silver Lines. Terminus for Orange Line. This was the original terminus for the original Trolley line. | ||
| Santee Town Center | ' | Santee | Terminus for Green Line. | |
| ' | San Diego, College Area | Serves San Diego State University. Only underground station in the San Diego Trolley system. | ||
| ' ' | San Diego, Marina | Serves Seaport Village. | ||
| ' | La Mesa | |||
| Stadium | ' | San Diego, Mission Valley | Serves SDCCU Stadium. | |
| ' | San Diego, Mission Hills |