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San Diego – The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) announced the restoration of full service along the Orange Line Trolley Friday, Feb. 16, after last month’s historic flooding. In total, the agency estimates it will cost nearly $24 million to repair damage done to various parts of the transit system by the flood on Jan. 22.
Since Jan. 22, the Trolley has not been able to serve two stations on the Orange Line due to extensive damage to a retaining wall at the 65th Street and Imperial Ave. grade crossing. Instead, passengers have to deboard the Trolley at either Euclid Avenue Transit Center or Lemon Grove Transit Center and take a bus shuttle serving the two impacted stations.
On Friday, MTS conducted successful test runs with Trolleys on the repaired segment and determined it was safe to resume service for the Friday afternoon commute.
“We appreciate the patience of our riders as we continue to recover from last month’s historic floods that caused extensive damage to the rail system and limited our ability to provide the quality service our Orange Line Trolley riders are accustomed to,” said Sharon Cooney, CEO of MTS. “When the damage first happened, we predicted it would take months to get the retaining wall fixed and service back to normal. But our employees and contractors have come through in a big way for our riders. I am pleased to say that today all 62 stations on our Trolley system will be back in operation again.”
The Trolley’s Orange Line has 19 stations, and averages approximately 24,000 passenger trips each weekday, 12,800 passenger trips on Saturdays and 11,500 Sundays. Service operates from approximately 5am and midnight. It serves communities in downtown San Diego, Southeast San Diego, Lemon Grove, La Mesa and El Cajon.
About MTS
The Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) operates 97 bus routes and three Trolley lines in 10 cities and unincorporated areas of San Diego. MTS is a leader in advancing initiatives to create a greener, cleaner and better-connected transit system in San Diego. Each weekday more than 250,000 passenger trips are taken throughout the MTS system taking people to work, school, health appointments and other essential trips. In FY 2023, MTS served more than 68 million riders. For service schedule updates, news, alerts and more information on how you can use public transportation, go to www.sdmts.com.
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