STV Partners with San Diego MTS to Revamp Vital Transit Infrastructure Systems

SAN DIEGO, CA – STV, a professional services firm that plans, designs and manages infrastructure projects across North America, today announced that it has signed a contract with the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) to support the replacement of five traction power substations (TPSS) crucial for powering the agency’s electric-powered trolley system.

The project team, led by STV as the overall task lead and subconsultant to Chen Ryan Associates (CRA), will design plans to replace the existing TPSS while minimizing impacts and delays to the system, maintaining the operational efficiency of MTS’s extensive 65-mile track network and keeping the system’s 300,000 weekday trips on schedule. STV will provide comprehensive systems, civil and structural engineering services for the traction power site layout design, substation building foundations and retaining walls.

“While STV has provided maintenance facility design for MTS in the past, this marks the first collaboration between MTS and our systems team,” said Ja-Mie Luey, P.E., vice president and West Coast rail and transit systems lead at STV. “We look forward to leveraging our extensive experience in substations design to help MTS rehabilitate its transit system, which plays a crucial role in empowering the San Diego community.”

MTS’s initiative to replace and decommission aging TPSS, some of which have been in place for more than thirty years, addresses the challenges posed by aging infrastructure that is surpassing its life expectancy. With replacement parts becoming increasingly difficult to procure and structural deterioration emerging, this project is crucial for ensuring the continued safe and reliable operation of the trolley system.

STV’s national systems team specializes in signaling, communications, power and control systems for light rail, heavy rail and bus transit projects. To ensure the efficient and safe operation of transportation infrastructure, STV has supported the design and commissioning of traction power systems and overhead contact systems nationwide, including for the Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Transit Authority (MDOT MTA), the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and, most recently, the Utah Transit Authority (UTA).

STV provides comprehensive engineering, planning and design services for local transportation projects across California, including environmental, civil and rail infrastructure, systems, facilities and structures. The firm is committed to delivering transformative, generational projects in this region that bring equitable outcomes to communities in the present and for the future. In Southern California, recent projects include California High Speed Rail, LA Metro’s Zero-Emissions Bus Program and LA Metro’s Purple Line Extension Section 2 and Section 3.

About STV

STV is one of the top infrastructure-focused professional services firms in North America. Founded in 1912, STV advises, plans, designs, engineers and delivers the infrastructure that powers local economies, including transportation systems, buildings, water and other facilities. Headquartered in New York City, the company has more than 60 offices and 3,000 employees who reimagine the solutions and structures that connect our communities. The firm is ranked 35th in Engineering News-Record’s Top 500 Design Firms survey and is 11th in its transportation category. In 2022, STV signed the Equity in Infrastructure Project (EIP) Pledge, becoming one of the first architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) firms to commit to advancing equity in infrastructure. Learn more at stvinc.com.