San Diego Launches Copper Line Light Rail System

The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) officials celebrated the launch of service on the Copper Line - East County Connector. 

The Copper Line will serve four stations between El Cajon Transit Center and Santee Trolley Station every 15 minutes every day for most of the day. 

Replacing Existing Service

The new segment is set to replace the existing Green and Orange Line Trolley service north of El Cajon Transit Center. 

The Copper Line will improve the reliability of Trolley service, not just in East County, but throughout the system.

“MTS wants to make taking transit more reliable not only for East County residents, but for riders across the entire system,” said Stephen Whitburn, MTS board chair. “With the Copper Line, we are doing just that. It creates a better, more efficient transit system. I look forward to seeing how this new line segment positively benefits the rider experience across our transit system.”

Copper Line Benefits

The primary purpose of the Copper Line is to reduce the impacts of the single-track segment between Gillespie Field and Santee. 

In turn, it will improve service reliability between El Cajon and Santee. In addition, delays that may occur on the rest of the system will no longer impact service between the two cities.

When the new service plan goes into effect, Green Line service will terminate at El Cajon Transit Center, allowing Trolleys to avoid the single-track segment between Gillespie Field and Santee stations. 

The segment can create a ripple effect of delays and missed transfers for riders coming in and out of East County as only one train can enter or exit this segment at a time. 

With Copper Line segment, trains will now turn at El Cajon Transit Center rather than Santee and alleviate the system from this bottleneck.

Increased On-Time Performance

MTS anticipates Green Line on-time performance will improve, meaning riders have more reliable transfer times, and fewer delays. 

Furthermore, Green Line Trolley service will be extended later at night, and all Sunday service will continue to El Cajon Transit Center, instead of alternating trains stopping short at the SDSU Transit Center. 

Operating with shorter trains, the Copper Line will reduce the wait times and lessen traffic at Santee intersections along Cuyamaca Street.

It is estimated that approximately 8% of passenger trips on the Green Line are expected to make a transfer to or from the Copper Line once the Trolley Line reconfiguration in East County is implemented this fall.