Crews began replacing equipment on the Orange Line Trolley on Monday to give passengers who travel from the El Cajon Transit Center to downtown San Diego a more comfortable ride and an enhanced trolley experience.

Trolley service will be maintained for the duration of the project, which will be done at night, Sundays through Thursdays from midnight to 4 a.m. Improvements are expected to be complete by summer 2018.

“This is a preventative maintenance project. Much of the Overhead Contact System (OCS) has been in place since the Orange Line was built in the 1980s. The system has been maintained since it was built. Since the OCS is critical to keeping the trolleys moving, any failure could cause trolleys to stop running until a repair is made, which could take hours,” said Systems Engineer and the Project Manager of this improvement, Dale Neuzil to La Prensa San Diego.

“This project inspects moving parts that wear to verify that they work as intended. It also adjusts items such as cantilever arms and contact wire height to make sure that everything is aligned as it was originally built,” Neuzil continued. “These tend to go out of alignment slightly over time or after maintenance. A benefit of this is less wear and tear to the carbon strip on top of the pantograph which is the arm above the trolley that touches the contact wire. It also puts in section insulators in certain areas. This allows MTS to shut down some sections while keeping others operational.”

The work will include replacing the 32-year-old catenary assembly, including cantilever arms, brackets, and pulleys, and adjusting the overhead electrical lines that power the Trolley.

Crews will work along the Orange Line Trolley tracks, beginning from 16th and Commercial streets in Downtown San Diego and continuing up through the El Cajon Transit Center, located on South Marshall Avenue. Crews will be in each area for approximately four nights.

Some preparatory work may occur at the Spring Street Trolley Station construction staging area beginning at 9 p.m. each night. Residents may notice the presence of crews, work lights, and vehicle safety back-up alarms during construction.

“This type of work was already performed on the Blue Line a few years ago as part of the Trolley Renewal project. The Green Line is next in line for this type of work,” Neuzil added. “Currently, there are three trolley lines in San Diego that cover 53 miles. The Mid-Coast project adds an additional 11 miles.”

The Orange Line Overhead Contact System Improvements Project is a joint effort of the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) and the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS). The overhead contact system was originally installed in 1985.