The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System’s new Copper Line opens on Sunday. It replaces the Green and Orange Line service north of the El Cajon Transit Center.
San Diego City councilmember Stephen Whitburn chairs the MTS board. He said Green and Orange line trolleys had to wait for access to a single track in the area.
“Because of that, some of those trains got delayed, and that delay rippled all the way down to downtown and elsewhere on the system,” he said.
Starting Sunday, the Green and Orange lines will end at the El Cajon Transit Center. Riders continuing north will transfer to the Copper Line.
“What we've done right here is going to improve reliability and dependability for every rider across the system in San Diego County,” Whitburn said. “That's one way that we are going to encourage more people to take transit and improve ridership systemwide.”
Whitburn and other MTS board members commemorated the new line by cutting a copper-colored ribbon at the El Cajon Transit Center on Friday.
East County leaders hopes that increased ridership leads to more economic activity in the area and less car traffic. They said nearly 5,000 people use the El Cajon Transit Center each day.
“MTS will save $1 million a year in operating costs that can be used to increase frequency and better security, and hopefully in East County,” Santee City council member Ronn Hall said.
MTS said adding a third track to the El Cajon Transit Center cost about $14 million. About half of it was covered by state grant funds.
Copper Line service starts Sunday at 5 a.m. and will run every 15 minutes for most of the day, according to MTS.
