The Copper Line, officially the Copper Line–East County Connector, is a

light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

line in the

San Diego Trolley The San Diego Trolley is a light rail system serving San Diego County, California. The trolley's operator, San Diego Trolley, Inc. , is a subsidiary of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS). The trolley operates as a critical componen ...

system, operated by San Diego Trolley, Inc. an operating division of the

San Diego Metropolitan Transit System The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) is a public transit service provider for San Diego County, California. The agency operates a transit system that includes the San Diego MTS bus system, San Diego Trolley, and Rapid (San Diego), Rap ...

(MTS). Located in

East County, San Diego East County is a region of San Diego County, California, east of San Diego. Geography East County does not have an official geographic definition, although East County boundaries are unofficially drawn by the County of San Diego for its second d ...

, it operates as a shuttle between El Cajon Transit Center and

Santee station Santee station (also known as Santee Town Center station) is a station on the Copper Line of the San Diego Trolley, in the San Diego suburb of Santee, California. The station currently serves as the Copper Line's northern terminus and serves a ...

. It opened on September 29, 2024, making it the system's newest line. The line is one of five lines in the trolley system, the others being the

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Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

, and

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(operates on select holidays only) lines. MTS created the Copper Line because the section of the line between Gillespie Field station and Santee has a single track, which has been the source of delays that impact both the Green and Orange lines. The Copper Line aims to alleviate these issues by creating a dedicated shuttle service disconnected from the larger Green and Orange lines.

History

Background

The tracks between El Cajon and Santee originally opened on July 26, 1995, as part of the fourth extension of the Orange Line (known as the "East Line" until 1997). Between Gillespie Field station and Santee Town Center, the line is single tracked and

street running A street running train is a train which runs on a track built on public streets. The rails are embedded in the roadway, and the train shares the street with other users, such as pedestrians, cars and cyclists, thus often being referred to as ru ...

in the

median strip A median strip, central reservation, roadway median, or traffic median is the reserved area that separates opposing lanes of traffic on divided roadways such as divided highways, dual carriageways, controlled-access highway, freeways, and moto ...

of Cuyamaca Street. This single-tracked section has caused operational issues for the San Diego Trolley, which became worse after the opening of the Green Line in 2005, which shared the tracks between Santee and El Cajon with the Orange Line. Since that time, SDMTS has tried several different service patterns to attempt to lessen the operational issues, including truncating the Orange Line at various stations in the area. SDMTS reports that Green Line trains are often unable to complete their route to Santee and are turned around at Gillespie Field at least once a day. In addition, during periods of heavy ridership such as

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, Green Line trolley service between Gillespie Field and Santee was replaced with a shuttle. The trolley also adds to congestion in the Santee area as the three-car trains (necessary on other sections of the line) operate with few passengers and stop traffic as they slowly traverse Cuyamaca Street.

Copper Line proposal

To address these issues, starting in the early 2020s, the MTS began planning to add a third track and extending a platform at the El Cajon Transit Center, to allow shuttle trains to terminate there. The MTS believes that Copper Line shuttle trains will alleviate these issues by creating a dedicated shuttle service disconnected from the larger Green and Orange lines. The MTS says that these shorter trains will also improve roadway traffic, since drivers at the railroad crossings on Mission Gorge Road and Cuyamaca Street will have shorter wait times as the single-car Copper Line trains pass. The MTS accepted written public comments about this proposal until 1:00 PM on June 19, 2024, for potential approval at its June 20, 2024, meeting. MTS stated that Copper Line service could begin as soon as September 1, 2024, running once every 15 minutes from 5:00 AM until midnight.

Approval of the Copper Line

Although the promised June 20 public hearing was held, the MTS Board of Directors was prevented from approving the Copper Line because under federal law, a service equity analysis needed to be redone. Although the original analysis concluded that the Copper Line would not negatively effect people of color or low-income residents, the MTS conceded at the meeting that they needed more analysis. On July 18, 2024, the MTS board of directors unanimously approved to implement the Copper Line. In preparation for the opening of the Copper Line, the MTS made safety improvements to the El Cajon Transit Center, including the addition of new personnel, support staff, and signs. The MTS has stated that the new Copper Line will save the MTS $1 million in operational costs, and although only 8% of trolley trips will be affected by this service change, it will improve the ability of the Green and Orange Lines to run on time. Schedules for the Copper Line were published in August 2024, and the line began service on September 29, 2024.

Stations

Notes

References

External links

Copper Line schedules
{{San Diego Trolley Railway services introduced in 2024 San Diego Trolley lines Santee, California El Cajon, California 2024 establishments in California