San Diego MTS opens first new trolley station in years

The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) on Sunday opened a new Orange Line trolley station in downtown San Diego.

The first new trolley station to open since 2005, Courthouse Station is now the downtown terminus for the Orange Line, which runs from El Cajon to San Diego.

The line previously terminated a few blocks west at the Santa Fe Depot and briefly at the America Plaza. The Courthouse Station is needed to accommodate future growth of the trolley system when the Mid-Coast Trolley extension begins operations in 2021, MTS officials said in a press release.

There are more than 44,500 jobs within a half-mile walk from the new station, added MTS Chair Georgette Gomez. The stop features digital displays with next-train arrival times, as well as on-site security personnel, security cameras and ticket vending machines.

MTS obtained a $31.9 million competitive grant through California's Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program to help pay for the station. The grant funding also will help pay for the purchase of eight new light-rail vehicles.

Each year, the Orange Line serves about 9 million passengers.