University of California, San Diego is entering into a $30 million deal with the Metropolitan Transit System to dub the Mid-Coast Trolley Line the “UC San Diego Blue Line.”

The name change is a nod to the school’s campuses, medical center and facilities that all sit alongside the proposed mass transit route.

Along with naming the line, the school will get to name two new stations on its campus in La Jolla and one station in Old Town.

UC San Diego will pay MTS $675,000 for naming rights while the line is under construction. On the first year of trolley service, the fee will increase to $945,000. After that, the annual cost will increase with the local inflation rate with UC San Diego paying a total of $30 million over a 30-year period.

The Mid-Coast Trolley Line is a nine-stop extension to the Blue Line. Construction is expected to begin early next year, and rail service on the route will stretch from Santa Fe Depot downtown northward to University City. Along the way, it will stop at Old Town, two stops at UC San Diego, and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, among other new stations. The route ends at the University Town Center Transit transit center. Rail service is expected to start four years after construction begins.

All funding for the sponsorship is from non-state sources. 

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