CA: Coaster, Amtrak rail service to be suspended this weekend

All coastal rail service in San Diego County will be suspended Saturday and Sunday and again Jan. 24 and 25 for scheduled work on maintenance and improvement projects.

The suspensions include all Coaster, Amtrak and freight trains. Amtrak trains will go only as far south as Irvine in Orange County, and Amtrak will offer bus connections from Irvine to stations in Oceanside, Solana Beach, and the Old Town and Santa Fe stations in San Diego.

Regular service will resume as scheduled on the Monday mornings after each weekend. The work is a collaboration of North County Transit District, the San Diego Association of Governments and Caltrans.

“Weekend closures occur periodically throughout the year on a pre-determined schedule to provide construction crews the opportunity to work safely on and along the rail line to complete preventative maintenance improvements and advance major railroad construction projects,” states a news release from NCTD.

“NCTD and its project partners will use these two weekends to advance critical projects … including the Del Mar Bluffs Stabilization Phase 5 project and Batiquitos Lagoon Double Track project in Carlsbad. On Jan. 10 and 11, NCTD will also perform track maintenance at Leucadia Boulevard.”

The Del Mar bluff stabilization is an $88 million project that has been underway since the spring of 2024, primarily between Sixth Street and Coast Boulevard. At Batiquitos Lagoon, the agencies are adding a second set of tracks and replacing a 1940s-era bridge at a total cost of about $166 million.

Test trains, construction vehicles, and equipment will be active along the railroad right-of-way and on the tracks throughout the weekend, the release states. Nearby residents should remain alert, and people should only cross the rail line at lawfully designated crossings.

NCTD also has scheduled the suspensions, called “absolute work windows,” for one weekend in February, two in March, one in October and one in November.

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