Hello everyone and welcome to Train Talk!
In this episode, we are going to take a look at several track improvement projects that
are happening in San Diego County, California along the coastal rail line known as the LOSSAN
corridor.
We’ll visit several different sites and take a look at some of the work being done
at each location.
But first, let’s take a look at some background information.
The rail line between San Diego and Los Angeles, California is the second busiest passenger
rail corridor in the United States.
This line was completed in 1887 and for many years, it consisted of mostly one track with
occasional sidings where trains traveling in opposite directions could pass each other.
In the 1990’s, the rail line was purchased by local transit agencies from the Santa Fe
Railroad.
Various improvements were made, upgrading the tracks and rebuilding several sidings
that were removed by the Santa Fe.
Today, as may as 24 Amtrak, 26 Coaster, 46 Metrolink, and 5 freight trains a day travel
along at least a portion of the corridor between San Diego and Fullerton.
With additional train traffic expected in the future, there is a need now more than
ever to expand train capacity and upgrade various sections of track.
In this video, we will be focusing on the portion of the line within San Diego County,
a total of about 62 miles.
This stretch of railroad is owned by the North County Transit District, which is the transit
agency that operates the Coaster commuter trains between Oceanside and San Diego.
There are several different construction projects underway that we will be taking a look at
in this video.
SANDAG, or the San Diego Association of Governments, is the regional transit planning agency for
the greater San Diego area and they are the main agency responsible for managing all of
these projects.
Over the next 20 years, nearly one billion dollars of investment is planned for the rail
corridor in conjunction with a multi-billion dollar investment in added bike trails and
Interstate 5 improvements in the northern coastal portion of San Diego County.
As of 2018, about 66% of the rail corridor in San Diego County is double tracked.
The long term goal is to have 99% of the route double tracked in San Diego County by the
year 2050.
In addition to adding more sections of double track, other projects include station improvements,
grade separations, and bridge replacements.
We will start in San Diego and work our way north toward Oceanside.
The first major construction project north of San Diego is the new railroad bridge over
Friar’s Road.
This bridge is located just north of the Old Town Transit Center and is the first section
of single track to the north of downtown San Diego.
This short single track section creates a choke point where trains have to wait for
each other to cross the bridge one at a time.
The old single track bridge is being replaced with a new, steel girder double track bridge
over Friars Road and the San Diego River, connecting a section of double track located
to the north with the one to the south.
This will result in the complete elimination of single track railroad in this area.
Half of the new bridge is already open to train traffic with the second track opening
some time in 2019.
The new bridge is shifted slightly to the west of the old bridge in order to accommodate
a new extension of the San Diego Trolley.
This new trolley line will extend the blue line from Old Town north along the current
railroad right of way to UCSD and University Town Center.
The new route will feature a combination of at grade track along with several sections
of elevated rail line along Interstate 5 and Genesee Avenue.
This extension is expected to open in 2021.
A few miles north of the Friars Road Bridge is the next major construction site in Rose
Canyon.
This is one of the largest construction projects currently underway and will result in a second
track being added between Balboa Avenue and the highway 52 overpass.
In addition to a second track being added, several bridges are being replaced and some
curvy segments are being straightened to increase speeds through the canyon.
Certain sections of track are also being raised to protect them from periodic flooding.
In some areas, the tracks need to be shifted over to make room for the trolley line, which
will be running along the rail line through much of the canyon.
This project is expected to be completed in 2020
Currently, there are no track work projects in Sorrento Valley but just a few years ago,
a second track was added both north and south of the station and two bridges were replaced.
The bridge to the north of the station was replaced with a new concrete span.
The tracks were also raised, like many sections in Rose Canyon, to protect them from periodic
flooding.
South of Sorrento Valley, there is still one more section of single track railroad over
Miramar Hill.
This section will be double tracked and straightened to increase speed limits some time in the
future.
The Torrey Pines Bridge Replacement is another project that was recently completed but is
also worth mentioning.
5 aging wooden bridges through the Torrey Pines State Reserve were replaced with new
concrete bridges.
This section was not double tracked because it is possible that this area will eventually
be bypassed with a two track tunnel underneath Del Mar.
Another major track improvement project is in full swing in between Solana Beach and
Cardiff.
The San Elijo double track project is one of the two largest construction projects currently
underway along the coastal rail corridor.
This project involves adding a second track between the current sidings at Solana Beach
and Cardiff, replacing a very old wooden trestle over the San Elijo Lagoon, and improving the
railroad crossing at Chesterfield Drive with more barriers, warning signs, and landscaping.
The improvements at the Chesterfield Drive crossing will allow for a quiet zone to be
established in the future.
As of June, 2018, the new concrete bridge has been completed and track installation
over the bridge is also in progress.
A “universal crossover” is also being added just north of the Chesterfield crossing.
A universal crossover allows trains to switch over between either track in both directions.
The estimated completion for this entire project is late 2019.
Just north of Encinitas in La Costa, a new track project is expected to begin in late
2018.
This is another bridge replacement and double track project that will eventually see the
old wooden bridge over the Batiquitos Lagoon replaced with a new double track concrete
bridge.
Construction on this project has been delayed but in 2016, the estimated completion date
was some time in 2019.
In Carlsbad, the Poinsettia Station is receiving a number of safety enhancements.
The current platforms will be replaced with longer, slightly elevated ones that will make
boarding much easier.
The at grade pedestrian crossings are also being replaced with a pedestrian underpass,
similar to the ones that can be found at Old Town and Oceanside and a fence will be placed
between the two tracks.
This will allow a train to pass through the station at full speed while another train
is loading on the other track.
Currently, approaching trains are required to stop outside of the station if there is
another train loading.
This project is expected to be completed by 2020.
The final project that I’ll mention for this episode is the Oceanside Quiet Zone Construction.
As of mid 2018, not much work has been done on this project but by some time in 2019,
all 5 railroad crossings along the coastal rail corridor in Oceanside are expected to
become quiet zones.
This means that engineers will no longer be required to sound the horn when approaching
railroad crossings, although they are still allowed to if the need should arise.
Improvements to the crossings will include new signage, raised medians in the road, and
additional fencing and traffic signals.
Thank you for coming along for this look at several railroad construction projects along
the coastal rail corridor in the greater San Diego area.
For a full listing of past, current, and future rail improvement projects in San Diego county,
please visit keepsandiegomoving.com.
If you enjoyed the video and would like to see more like it in the future, let me know
by liking the video and leaving a comment below.
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That’s it for now.
Until next time, I’m Mike Armstrong.
I’ll see you down the line!
Thanks for watching!