Copper Line (San Diego Trolley)

The Copper Line, officially the Copper Line - East County Connector, is a proposed line of the San Diego Trolley in East County, San Diego. If approved, it would operate as a shuttle between the El Cajon Transit Center and the Santee station, replacing the existing Green and Orange line service in that area. The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (SDMTS) proposed 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 would alleviate these issues by creating a dedicated shuttle service disconnected from the larger Green and Orange lines.

History
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 in the median strip 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. 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.

To address these issues, starting in the early 2020s, SDMTS 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 SDMTS 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 SDMTS 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 announced that it would accept public comments about this proposal until 1:00 PM on June 19, 2024. Furthermore, the MTS board of directors would meet on June 20, to discuss whether to approve the Copper Line proposal or not. MTS riders are invited to virtually attend the June 20 meeting. If the Copper Line is approved, then service on it is scheduled to begin on September 1, 2024, running once every 15 minutes from 5:00 AM until midnight.

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.