Coaster (stylized as COASTER) is a
commuter rail
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Downtown, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter r ...
service in the central and
northern coastal regions of
San Diego County, California, United States, operated by the
North County Transit District
The North County Transit District (typically abbreviated as NCTD) is the agency responsible for public transportation in Northern San Diego County, California. The agency manages the COASTER commuter rail service between Oceanside and San Die ...
(NCTD). The commuter rail line features eight stops, with a travel time of about an hour and five minutes end-to-end. The service operates primarily during weekday peak periods, with limited midday, weekend and holiday service. The Coaster first entered service on February 27, 1995, and has since grown in ridership and capacity. In , the line had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of .
History
The
North San Diego County Transit Development Board was created in 1975 to consolidate and improve transit in northern San Diego County. Planning began for a San Diego–Oceanside commuter rail line, then called Coast Express Rail, in 1982.
Funding for right-of-way acquisition and construction costs came from TransNet, a 1987 measure that imposed a 0.5%
sales tax on San Diego County residents for transportation projects.
The Board established the San Diego Northern Railway Corporation (SDNR) – a nonprofit operating subsidiary – in 1994.
SDNR purchased the of the
Surf Line
The Surf Line is a railroad line that runs from San Diego north to Orange County along California's Pacific Coast. It was so named because much of the line is near the Pacific Ocean, within less than in some places. The tracks are now owned by ...
within San Diego County plus the
Escondido Branch (later used for the
SPRINTER) from the
Santa Fe Railway
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and ...
that year.
Coaster service began on February 27, 1995.
NCTD originally contracted
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...
to provide personnel for Coaster trains.
In July 2006,
TransitAmerica Services
TransitAmerica Services, Inc. is an American commuter rail corporation headquartered in St Joseph, Missouri.
Corporate history
In November 2002, Herzog Contracting Corp. and Stagecoach Group announced a corporate partnership to form TransitAme ...
took over the day-to-day operation of the commuter train, based on a five-year, $45 million contract with NCTD.
In 2016,
Bombardier Transportation replaced TransitAmerica as Coaster's operator. In December 2018, NCTD achieved full implementation of
positive train control
Positive train control (PTC) is a family of automatic train protection systems deployed in the United States. Most of the United States' national rail network mileage has a form of PTC. These systems are generally designed to check that trains a ...
along the entire Coaster route, making it one of only four railroads in the United States to achieve full implementation of this technology without needing an extension beyond 2018.
Future
![COASTER Train Torrey Pines New Bridge](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/COASTER_Train_Torrey_Pines_New_Bridge.jpg)
San Diego County voters extended the ''TransNet'' sales tax through 2038, which includes funding for rail track upgrades. By the early 2010s, numerous improvements such as added double track and bridge replacements were in various stages of construction and design.
As part of the broader
North Coast Corridor
The North Coast Corridor is an infrastructure improvement project in northern San Diego County, California that will upgrade road, rail, pedestrian, and bicycle transportation infrastructure, as well as fund environmental restoration. The project ...
project, approximately $1 billion is planned to be spent on new segments of double track between San Diego and Orange County.
Limited-use stations at the
San Diego Convention Center
The San Diego Convention Center is the primary convention center in San Diego, California. It is located in the Marina district of downtown San Diego near the Gaslamp Quarter, at 111 West Harbor Drive. The center is managed by the San Diego ...
and the
Del Mar Racetrack
The Del Mar Fairgrounds is a event venue in Del Mar, California. The annual San Diego County Fair is held here, which was called the Del Mar Fair from 1984 to 2001. In 1936, the Del Mar Racetrack was built by the Thoroughbred Club with foundi ...
for use during major events have been planned, and is expected to complete construction of the stations in late 2025. A northward extension to
Camp Pendleton
Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States. It is on the Southern California coast in San Diego County and is bordered by O ...
was also proposed in 2011.
Service
More than 20 Coaster trains run on weekdays,
with additional service on the weekends. As of April 3, 2017, Coaster also added Friday Night service with trains running until a quarter after midnight. More weekend services operate during summer months and when there are special events, such as home games for the
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...
. In March 2020, all weekend trains and some weekday trains were suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic; however, weekend service was reinstated on May 29, 2021.
Stations
Fares and ticketing
The cost of Coaster tickets is based upon the number of
zones traveled (see map). Fare collection is based on a
proof-of-payment
Proof-of-payment (POP) or proof-of-fare (POF) is an honor-based fare collection system used on many public transportation systems. Instead of checking each passenger as they enter a fare control zone, passengers are required to carry a ticket, p ...
system: tickets must be purchased before boarding and are checked by roving
fare inspectors.
Monthly passes are available. All tickets and passes include transfer agreements with NCTD BREEZE buses and monthly passes include transfer with the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) buses and Trolleys. On January 20, 2011, the NCTD implemented a fare reduction, which to increased ridership on the Coaster and so was made permanent in September 2011. , regular one-way fares are as follows:
*Within one zone: $5
*Within two zones: $5.75
*Within three zones: $6.50
With proof of eligibility, senior citizens (ages 60 and over), people with disabilities, and Medicare cardholders receive a 50% discount on the above fares.
Riding the Coaster without a valid ticket may result in a
penalty fare
A penalty fare, standard fare, or fixed penalty notice is a special, usually higher, fare charged because a passenger using public transport did not comply with the normal ticket purchasing rules. It should not be confused with an unpaid fares n ...
of up to $250. Riders cannot purchase tickets on board the train.
Pronto Fare System / Former Compass System
The Coaster, along with all other
NCTD
The North County Transit District (typically abbreviated as NCTD) is the agency responsible for public transportation in Northern San Diego County, California. The agency manages the COASTER commuter rail service between Oceanside and San Dieg ...
and
MTS services, utilizes the new
Pronto contactless fare system introduced in September 2021 by INIT Systems and
SANDAG
The San Diego Association of Governments (abbreviated SANDAG) is an association of local San Diego County governments. It is the metropolitan planning organization for the County, with policy makers consisting of mayors, councilmembers, and Count ...
; the Pronto system succeeded the
first-generation Compass Card system." As a replacement for the original "Compass Card," the Pronto fare system allows for a tap-on, tap-off approach, so riders on the Coaster can tap-on when entering the station platform (using one of the station's validators), and tap-off when arriving at the destination stop, in order to deduct the correct fare. However, unlike other NCTD and MTS services, Pronto users for Coaster are required to purchase Day or Monthly Passes prior to riding due to different electronic ticket requirements. These passes along with general Pronto cards can be physically purchased at Pronto ticket vending machines at NCTD facilities, or in customer service centers; electronic versions can be purchased through the website or through the mobile applications.
The Coaster previously utilized the aforementioned contactless "Compass Card", made possible by
Cubic Transportation Systems, Inc. The "Compass Card" allowed passengers from MTS and NCTD to store regional transit passes and cash value on a rewritable
RFID card. Customers would have purchased passes and added cash value on the Internet or at any ticket vending machine. Prior to boarding a train, customers tapped their Compass Cards on the ticket validator located on the train platform. The
LED display on the validator would then light up with lights resembling that of a stoplight, and the
LCD display showed text regarding the passenger's fare account. The new Pronto system now used expanded upon many of the design concepts previously employed with the Compass Card system.
Ridership
The Coaster carried about 514,450 passengers during its first year of operation, and ridership rose steadily in the years that followed. In 2019, Coaster ridership was approximately 1.4 million people, with an average number of 4,200 weekday boardings.
Approximately 40% of weekday commuters detrain at Sorrento Valley.
Rolling stock
![NCTD Bombardier Bi-level](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/NCTD_Bombardier_Bi-level.jpg)
In June 2018, the North County Transit District (NCTD) Board approved the purchase of five
Siemens SC-44 Charger locomotives to replace their existing five F40PHM-2C locomotives that were remanufactured by
Morrison-Knudsen, with $10.5 million of the estimated $53.9 million cost earmarked from statewide gas tax and vehicle registration fees. In June 2019, the NCTD Board approved the purchase of two additional SC-44 locomotives to replace two EMD F59PHI locomotives; they are due for delivery in late 2022. In September 2020, the NCTD Board approved the purchase of two more SC-44 Chargers, for a total of nine; planned for delivery in April 2023, they will be used to expand service. Deliveries of the first five Siemens SC-44 Charger locomotives took place from August–October 2020; they began revenue service on February 8, 2021, the same day Coaster retired their five F40PHM-2C locomotives. Two locomotives were donated; 2103 to the
Pacific Southwest Railway Museum, and 2105 to the
Southern California Railway Museum
The Southern California Railway Museum (SCRM, reporting mark OERX), formerly known as the Orange Empire Railway Museum, is a railroad museum in Perris, California, United States. It was founded in 1956 at Griffith Park in Los Angeles before movin ...
.
In January 2020, Bombardier began to overhaul the legacy BiLevel equipment at a minimum rate of four cars per year; all 28 cars are planned to be overhauled and repainted into the new COASTER livery by 2026. The coach overhaul improvements include upgraded door systems, installation of LED light fixtures, seat cushion replacements, installation of electrical charging outlets, and suspension maintenance improvements.
In July 2020, the NCTD Board approved the purchase of eleven new Bombardier BiLevel passenger cars (consisting of eight coaches and three crash-energy management cab-cars) that will be used to add two trainsets to regular service and support
SANDAG
The San Diego Association of Governments (abbreviated SANDAG) is an association of local San Diego County governments. It is the metropolitan planning organization for the County, with policy makers consisting of mayors, councilmembers, and Count ...
expansion upon delivery in late 2022. The base order also includes options for 27 additional cars, but such options have not currently been exercised.
In August 2018, NCTD announced that they were seeking public opinions and input on a re-brand of the agency, and ran online polls for the public to vote on a new livery for Coaster equipment. The new livery, chosen by Siemens in late 2019, is being applied to the overhauled coaches and to new equipment.
In June 2023, the NCTD board voted to sell five older bilevel cars to the
Utah Transit Authority
The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) is a special service district responsible for providing public transportation throughout the Wasatch Front of Utah, in the United States, which includes the metropolitan areas of Ogden, Park City, Provo, Sal ...
, and to sell two Charger locomotives (possibly to
Caltrans or
Metrolink). The funds will be used for operations or capital projects, including planned conversion to zero-emissions equipment.
Yards
NCTD maintains and utilizes two rail yards for the Coaster. The main maintenance and storage yard, located at Stuart Mesa on
Camp Pendleton
Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States. It is on the Southern California coast in San Diego County and is bordered by O ...
, just north of the Oceanside Transit Center. This is where trains are serviced, maintained and stored for the night. NCTD also utilizes Tracks 25, 26 and 27 of a yard shared by the
San Diego Trolley
The San Diego Trolley is a light rail system operating in the metropolitan area of San Diego. It is known colloquially as "The Trolley". The Trolley's operator, San Diego Trolley, Inc. (SDTI), is a subsidiary of the San Diego Metropolitan Tra ...
and the
San Diego and Imperial Valley Railroad at
12th and Imperial in
Downtown San Diego to store trains during midday hours.
See also
*
Transportation in San Diego County
*
Commuter rail in North America
Commuter rail services in the United States, Canada, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, and Costa Rica provide common carrier passenger transportation along railway tracks, with scheduled service on fixed routes on a non-reservation basis, primarily for sho ...
*
List of United States commuter rail systems by ridership
The following is a list of commuter rail systems in the United States, ranked by ridership. All figures come from the American Public Transportation Association's (APTA) Ridership Reports Statistics for the Fourth Quarter of 2019, unless otherwis ...
References
External links
Coaster – official NCTD site511sd.com—New site for sdcommute.comSan Diego Metropolitan Transit System
{{California railroads
North County Transit District
Passenger rail transportation in California
California railroads
Commuter rail in the United States
Transportation in San Diego
Public transportation in San Diego County, California
Railway lines opened in 1995
Standard gauge railways in the United States
1995 establishments in California