North County Transit District (NCTD) offers services that are a vital part of San Diego’s regional transportation network. NCTD moves more than 11 million passengers annually by providing public transportation for North San Diego County. The family of transit services includes:
• COASTER commuter rail service
• SPRINTER hybrid rail
• BREEZE fixed-route bus system
• FLEX specialized transportation service
• LIFT ADA paratransit
This wide network of services covers approximately 1,020 square miles from San Diego to Ramona to Camp Pendleton. We connect with MTS at various points of our route including Old Town Station, Santa Fe Depot, Escondido and Ramona. We also connect with other transportation agencies such as Amtrak, Metrolink and Riverside Transit. NCTD meets with these agencies a few months prior to each schedule change to discuss edits to the timetables. Once those schedules are decided upon, the planning staff at NCTD schedules bus connections to COASTER, as well as Amtrak and Metrolink where possible. We strive to integrate the schedules in order to meet the needs of our customers and allow a seamless ride for passengers using multiple routes or services.
The LOSSAN rail corridor is the second busiest intercity rail corridor in the nation supporting commuter, intercity, and freight rail services. The 351-mile rail corridor stretches from San Luis Obispo to San Diego, connecting major metropolitan areas of Southern California and the Central Coast. Train operations on the line include Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner; the Southern California Regional Rail Authority’s Metrolink and the North County Transit District’s COASTER and SPRINTER passenger rail services; and Union Pacific and BNSF Railway freight rail services.
Each year, more than 2.8 million intercity passengers and 4.4 million commuter rail passengers (Metrolink, Amtrak and COASTER) travel the LOSSAN corridor. One in every nine Amtrak riders uses the corridor. The 60-mile San Diego segment of the LOSSAN corridor extends from the Orange County line to the Santa Fe Depot in Downtown San Diego. The segment passes over six coastal lagoons, Camp Pendleton, and the cities of Oceanside, Carlsbad, Encinitas, Solana Beach, and Del Mar before coming to its final destination in Downtown San Diego.