COASTER and Amtrak
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefAn agreement between Amtrak and the North County Transit District will allow California COASTER customers to supplement monthly passes with a COASTER-Rail2Rail-UPGRADE. The upgrade opens access to Amtrak California Pacific Surfliner trains between the Oceanside Transit Center and San Diego.
The upgrade is available for $80 and more than doubles the number of trains available to COASTER monthly pass holders each day.
Amtrak Pacific Surfliner trains serve Oceanside, Solana Beach, and San Diego stations.
“We are proud to be able to expand service options this year, and the COASTER-Rail2Rail-UPGRADE is just another example of this,” said NCTD Executive Director Matthew Tucker. “This new bonus option will allow our regular commuters the increased flexibility they’ve been seeking. With the upgrade, they have more opportunities to travel during midday, stay at the office later in the evenings or take more weekend excursions.”
The COASTER’ s current (spring) schedule offers 22 weekday trains and 24 on Fridays, but the COASTER-Rail2Rail-UPGRADE will more than double that schedule to open up access to 24 more trains each weekday and 26 more on Fridays.The upgrade will also add 24 more trains to the COASTER’s typical weekend schedule of 22 trains, for a total of 46 weekend train options.
Amtrak’s 350-mile Pacific Surfliner route links San Diego, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo in southern California.
