ASSESSMENT OF THE SAN DIEGO LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM

This report documents an assssment of the San Diego Light Rail Transit (LRT) system which began revenue service on July 26, 1981. The objectives of this assessment are: to document early planning leading to the decision to build, essentially without federal funding; to document the system that was built entirely with limited state and local funds; to assess the performance and operation of this system; to assess the applicability to other cities of this low-budget approach for providing rail transit service; and to provide urban planners with information to assist them in determining whether this type transit can meet their specific needs. This report is limited to an assessment of the original first phase system which began operation in July 1981. The San Diego LRT (San Diego Trolley) operates both on city streets and on the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway dedicated right-of-way. The 25.5 km system was built at a cost of $85.8 million, all at-grade and runs from San Diego to San Ysidro at the border with Mexico. In this report, the San Diego trolley is described and its technology assessed--cars, track, power and facilities. The assessment of operations includes patronage, mixed traffic, single tracking, and staffing. Reliability, energy consumption and safety are included in the performance assessment. Economics are addressed in terms of capital costs, operating costs, and comparisons with other systems. The project history is described, including organization, planning and system implementation. Information and data were collected from literature surveys, site visits, interviews, and reviews of operating and maintenance logs.