Silver Line (San Diego Trolley)



Silver Line
Overview
Type Light rail, Heritage streetcar
System San Diego Trolley
Status Currently Running limited Mid-day service on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Weekends, and select Holidays only.[1]
Undergoing Renovations,
No stations closed.
Locale San Diego, California
Termini 12th & Imperial Transit Center
Stations 9
Website http://www.sdmts.com/
Operation
Opened August 27, 2011; 6 months ago (2011-08-27)[2]
Owner Metropolitan Transit System
Operator(s) San Diego Trolley, Inc.
Rolling stock

1 PCC streetcar[3]

(5 additional cars pending restoration)
Technical
No. of tracks 1 Track
Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
(standard gauge)
Electrification 600 V DC Overhead lines
Operating speed Max. 50 mph (80 km/h)
Route map

The Silver Line is a light rail line operated by the San Diego Trolley, an operating division of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. It currently operates the "downtown loop"; a circle of tracks around Downtown San Diego, and is operated using renovated PCC streetcars. Service for the line currently only operates every 30 minutes during Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 am to 2 pm as well as Weekends and select Holidays from 11 am to 3:30 pm.[2][4]

The line is one of two supplementary and five overall lines in the trolley system, the others include the regular service Blue, Orange, and Green lines and supplementary Special Event line.

History

The Silver Line is the fourth line in the San Diego Trolley system as well as the first circular route with service beginning in 2011. Planning for the Silver Line dates back to the early 1990’s, upon the completion of the Downtown Loop, consideration was given to providing a downtown trolley service that circles around the loop. MTS (then MTDB) originally considered using three Vienna Class N1 cars formally used on the Wiener Stadtbahn in Vienna, Austria, but their age and limited power proved incompatible with the present trolley system, and renovations to make them so were considered unfeasible.[5]

Eventually in 2005, MTS would settle on using PCC streetcars; which were formally used by the San Diego Electric Railway, San Diego’s former transit service, in the 1930’s and 40’s. Between 2005 to 2010, MTS acquired six PCC streetcars formally used in San Francisco and Philadelphia, and would partner with the San Diego historic streetcar society,[6] an non-profit organization developed to educate the public of the history of the San Diego Electric Railway, to help restore these streetcars for use on the eventual line. [3] In early 2011 the first of these streetcars, Car 529, was completed and inauguration of the Silver Line began on August 27, 2011.[2] Restoring this car for use in the trolley system required over 3,000 volunteer hours and $850,000 in donations.[7]

Due to the limited amount of streetcars, initial service for the line was limited to weekends and holidays every 30 minutes between the hours of 10 am to 2 pm. On December 20, 2011, service was expanded to Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 am to 2 pm as well as weekends and holidays from 11 am to 3:30 pm. It is expected that more service hours will be added upon the completion of additional streetcars. [4]

Fares for the line are different from the other trolley lines in the system as tickets to ride this line can only be bought on board the trolley and cash will only be accepted,[1] meaning Compass Cards and other fare scripts such as daily passes cannot be used to ride the streetcar.[4] For the first two weeks of the trolley’s run, riders who boarded at the 12th & Imperial Transit Center received "commemorative tickets" to use for boarding the trolley.[1][4]

Stops along the Silver Line

As the vehicles are single sided, the Silver Line operates one-way in a clockwise rotation.[1][8]

Silver Line (Downtown Loop)
Station Name Connections Bus Notes
12th & Imperial Transit Center Blue Line
Orange Line
Special Event Line		 Serves Petco Park.

Transfer station for Blue and Orange Lines.
Gaslamp Quarter Orange Line
Special Event Line		 Serves Gaslamp Quarter, Petco Park, Convention Center.
Convention Center Orange Line
Special Event Line		 Serves Convention Center.
Seaport Village Orange Line
Special Event Line		 Serves Seaport Village.

Transfer station for Special Event Line.
America Plaza Blue Line
Orange Line		 Serves One America Plaza.

Transfer station for Blue Line.
Civic Center Blue Line
Orange Line		 Serves City Hall, Westfield Horton Plaza.
Fifth Avenue Blue Line
Orange Line
City College Blue Line
Orange Line		 Serves San Diego City College, San Diego High School.
Park & Market Blue Line
Orange Line

Future Service Plans

Main article: San Diego Trolley#Future service plans

Additional Streetcars

MTS is currently working on restoring an additional five PCC streetcars to expand service operations. It is yet to be announced when these streetcars will be completed for service.[3]

Trolley Renewal Project

While the Silver Line has no plans to use the new Siemens S70 models anytime soon, the current stations will be undergoing restoration to improve service on the trolley system and to enable usage of the Siemens S70 on the Orange and Blue Lines, although this will be done over a period of time to prevent the disruption of operation.[9] Currently no stations on the Silver Line are closed for these renovations.[10]

Balboa Park Streetcar Line

One of the future proposals for trolley expansion is to eventually extend the Silver Line from Downtown up towards Balboa Park and the Uptown communities.[11] MTS began work in March 2011 on a study to evaluate the feasibility of reconnecting Balboa Park, the San Diego Zoo and Downtown San Diego through a fixed-guideway, electrified streetcar line.[12] The project study corridor runs between the City College Trolley Station area, and Balboa Park, in the vicinity of the San Diego Zoo;[13] An alignment similar to the proposed one was last served by a streetcar system in 1949 on lines 7 Park Boulevard-University Avenue to East San Diego & 11 Park Boulevard-Adams Avenue to Kensington.[14][15][16]

Proposed Streetcar Alignment

Station Name Connections Bus Notes
Zoo Place
(Proposed Station)		 Will serve San Diego Zoo.
Prado
(Proposed Station)
Naval Medical Center
(Proposed Station)		 Will serve Naval Medical Center.
Presidents Way
(Proposed Station)
San Diego High School
(Proposed Station)		 Will serve San Diego High School.
Park Boulevard
(Proposed Station)		 Will serve San Diego City College.
City College Blue Line
Orange Line		 Serves San Diego City College.
Continues to Downtown Loop.

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Route Map and Fares". San Diego Vintage Trolley, Inc. sdvintagetrolley.com. http://www.sdvintagetrolley.com/route_map_fares.aspx. Retrieved August 18, 2011. 
  2. ^ a b c "Vintage trolley rolling out; 1949 all over again". The San Diego Union-Tribune. August 17, 2011. http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/aug/17/vintage-trolley-be-unveiled-service-begins-aug-27/. Retrieved August 17, 2011. 
  3. ^ a b c "Discovering Old PCCs". San Diego Vintage Trolley, Inc. sdvintagetrolley.com. http://www.sdvintagetrolley.com/restore_disc_old_cars.aspx. Retrieved August 18, 2011. 
  4. ^ a b c d "San Diego Vintage Trolley: Opening Weekends". Metropolitan Transit System. http://www.sdmts.com/. http://www.sdmts.com/vintagetrolley.asp. Retrieved August 28, 2011. 
  5. ^ P. Allen Copeland. "San Diego and the PCC Streetcar". sdvintagetrolley.com. http://www.sdvintagetrolley.com/pdf/San_Diego_PCC_PAllen.pdf. Retrieved December 16, 2011. 
  6. ^ "San Diego Vintage Trolley Website". San Diego Vintage Trolley, Inc. sdvintagetrolley.com. http://www.sdvintagetrolley.com/. Retrieved August 17, 2011. 
  7. ^ "News Releases". San Diego Vintage Trolley, Inc. sdvintagetrolley.com. http://www.sdvintagetrolley.com/news_news_releases.aspx. Retrieved August 19, 2011. 
  8. ^ "San Diego Vintage Trolley – The "Silver Line"". San Diego Electric Railway Association. sdera.org. http://www.sdera.org/vintage_trolley.php. Retrieved August 17, 2011. 
  9. ^ MTS To Purchase 57 New Light Rail Vehicles KGTV (10 News). September 24, 2009. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  10. ^ "Trolley Renewal Project". http://www.sdmts.com/trolleyrenewal.asp. Retrieved October 3, 2011. 
  11. ^ "Trolley madness". San Diego Uptown News. sduptownnews.com. December 20, 2010. http://sduptownnews.com/trolley-madness-from-uptown-to-downtown-trolley-fever-is-spreading-but-getting-the-project-from-concept-to-tracks-is-another-story/. Retrieved October 9, 2011. 
  12. ^ "MTS City/Park Streetcar Feasibility Study". http://www.sdmts.com/streetcarstudy.asp. Retrieved July 6, 2011. 
  13. ^ "MTS Streetcar Proposed Alignment Map". http://www.sdmts.com/images/StreetcarAreaMap.gif. Retrieved July 6, 2011. 
  14. ^ "Steering Committee Presentation & Discussion". pp. 3. http://www.sdmts.com/documents/StreetcarSteeringCommittee_1.pdf. Retrieved July 6, 2011. 
  15. ^ "Steering Committee Presentation & Discussion No. 2 Presentation". http://www.sdmts.com/documents/CityParkStreetcarSteeringCommitteePresentationJune2011.pdf. Retrieved July 6, 2011. 
  16. ^ "Steering Committee Presentation & Discussion No. 3 Presentation". http://www.sdmts.com/documents/October2011Streetcar_Presentation.pdf. Retrieved December 17, 2011. 

External links

Current lines
Blue • Green • Orange • Silver • Special Event
Stations
5th Avenue • 8th Street • 12th & Imperial • 24th Street • 25th & Commercial • 32nd & Commercial • 47th Street • 70th Street • Alvarado Medical Center • Amaya Drive • America Plaza • Arnele Avenue • Barrio Logan • Bayfront/E Street • Beyer Boulevard • City College • Civic Center • Convention Center • County Center/Little Italy • El Cajon Transit Center • Encanto/62nd Street • Euclid Avenue • Fashion Valley Transit Center • Fenton Parkway • Gaslamp Quarter • Gillespie Field • Grantville • Grossmont Transit Center • H Street • Harborside • Hazard Center • Iris Avenue • La Mesa Boulevard • Lemon Grove Depot • Massachusetts Avenue • Middletown • Mission San Diego • Mission Valley Center • Morena/Linda Vista • Old Town Transit Center • Pacific Fleet • Palm Avenue • Palomar Street • Park & Market • Qualcomm Stadium • Rio Vista • Santa Fe Depot • Santee Town Center • San Ysidro Transit Center • SDSU Transit Center • Seaport Village • Spring Street • Washington Street
Other