Public Transportation

NCTD Breeze

NCTD BREEZE buses carry passengers in the north San Diego County region from Oceanside to Del Mar, northeast to Escondido, east to Ramona; north to Fallbrook and to San Clemente in Orange County - including service for Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base. The region is more than 1,020 square miles in area and has a population of more than 800,000 people.

The BREEZE can take you places... from Del Mar to San Clemente, Pala to Escondido and from Vista to Oceanside. Special BREEZE buses can take you to the Del Mar Fair (seasonal). And you can make connections to the COASTER, Metrolink, Amtrak, San Diego Transit and Trolley, the County Transit System and OCTA in San Clemente.

Many BREEZE bus routes connect with the COASTER and SPRINTER trains.

NCTD Coaster

The Train Station in Solana Beach, approximately 1 mile north of Del Mar, provides the comfort and convenience of more than 20 NCTD COASTER trains linking North County and San Diego every weekday and 10 trains on Saturdays (the COASTER does not operate regular service on Sundays).

Each COASTER train is at least five cars in length, holding more than 1,000 passengers per train. As of July 2008, NCTD began running select peak commute trains with six cars to increase passenger capacity and comfort.

Whether it's commuting to work or reaching recreational activities, the COASTER is a great way to save on gas and eliminate the stress of driving on clogged freeways. From your comfortable seat, enjoy the coastal lagoons, Pacific Ocean and inland canyons, while others sit in their cars on Interstate 5. Get on board the COASTER today!

NCTD Contact Information

  • Phone: 760-966-6500
  • Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

AMTRAK Pacific Surfliner

AMTRAK Pacific Surfliner services San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, and San Diego. The Train Station in Solana Beach, approximately 1 mile north of Del Mar, is the regional stop for the Pacific Surfliner. The Surfliner follows the same route into San Diego as the Coaster. However, the Surfliner provides rail transportation into Los Angeles and as far north as Santa Barbara.

Your Southern California Seaside Seat

Onboard the Pacific Surfliner, you can expect great service, style and amenities as you travel the Southern California coast between San Luis Obispo and San Diego. You'll find modern bilevel cars featuring large panoramic windows, comfortable, custom-designed interiors, automatic doors for faster boarding, and a spacious Cafe car serving a variety of fresh sandwiches, snacks, and beverages.

Upgrade to Pacific Business Class

Upgrade to Pacific Business Class and increase your productivity with free Wi-Fi access. The Surfliner features electrical outlets for laptop computers and other personal electronic devices, more leg room, complimentary light snacks, beverages and newspapers.

Bring Your Bike or Surfboard

Most Pacific Surfliners are equipped with bicycle and surfboard racks allowing you to bring your bike onboard, unboxed as carry-on baggage. Read more about bringing bikes aboard.

Frequent Trains

The Pacific Surfliner offers 12 daily round-trip services between San Diego and Los Angeles, and between Santa Barbara and San Diego.

AMTRAK Contact Information

  • Phone: 1-800-872-7245

Remember to be Safe Around the Train

Residents and visitors are reminded to be safe around the train tracks in Del Mar. Operation Lifesaver has the following tips:

  1. Freight trains don't travel at fixed times, and schedules for passenger trains change. Always expect a train at each highway-rail intersection.
  2. All train tracks are private property. Never walk on tracks; it's illegal to trespass and highly dangerous. By the time a locomotive engineer sees a trespasser or vehicle on the tracks it's too late. It takes the average freight train traveling at 55 mph more than a mile—the length of 18 football fields—to stop. Trains cannot stop quickly enough to avoid a collision.
  3. The average locomotive weighs about 400,000 pounds or 200 tons; it can weigh up to 6,000 tons. This makes the weight ratio of a car to a train proportional to that of a soda can to a car. We all know what happens to a soda can hit by a car.
  4. Trains have the right of way 100% of the time over emergency vehicles, cars, the police and pedestrians.
  5. A train can extend three feet or more beyond the steel rail, putting the safety zone for pedestrians well beyond the three foot mark. If there are rails on the railroad ties always assume the track is in use, even if there are weeds or the track looks unused.
  6. Trains can move in either direction at any time. Sometimes their cars are pushed by locomotives instead of being pulled, which is especially true in commuter and light rail passenger service.
  7. Today's trains are quieter than ever, producing no telltale "clackety-clack." Any approaching train is always closer, moving faster, than you think.
  8. Remember to cross train tracks only at designated pedestrian or roadway crossings, and obey all warning signs and signals posted there.
  9. Stay alert around railroad tracks. No texting, headphones or other distractions that would prevent you from hearing an approaching train; never mix rails and recreation.