High Speed Rail in San Diego?

High speed rail through the Central Valley is cool, but even cooler would be not-quite-high speed rail on the tracks connecting California’s two biggest cities—San Diego and Los Angeles. In the (hopefully) not too distant future, trains in San Diego could travel at speeds up to 110mph with a 30-minute travel time between Oceanside and Downtown. Faster than driving. This would transform travel in the region, making climate-friendly rail the fastest and most convenient way to travel between north and south county.

Currently, it takes 59 min to travel by train from Oceanside to Downtown San Diego via Amtrak or Coaster, comparable to a rush hour car commute, but slower than the 40 min no traffic drive time. Speeds already approach 90MPH in long straightaways, but most of the track is too curvy to get up to fast speeds.

We Strava tracked an Amtrak train to make the speed heat map below, which visualizes speeds to highlight where improvements are most needed.

Del Mar Tunnel
The tracks through Del Mar currently run along the bluff, feet away from the Pacific Ocean, which is eroding over 6 inches per year. Coastal erosion has already caused major service disruptions, so it’s vital for rail to be moved off the bluffs.
Current status: Planning and Public Outreach
Expected completion: 2035 (assuming Del Mar NIMBYs don’t block it.)

Miramar Hill Tunnel
The “miramar curve” as the track snakes around UTC and Miramar Hill forces trains to slow to a crawl of less than 20mph. A tunnel bypassing this section would greatly improve travel times and allow for an underground station connecting to the trolley at UTC.
Current status: Planning report drops soon.
Expected completion: 2050 (possibly sooner if SANDAG can get funding to prioritize it.)

Double Tracking
There are plans to double track the entire corridor–important for allowing trains to pass without having to wait on sidings for trains coming in the opposite direction. Especially impactful would be Miramar Curve double tracking, which will improve the speeds on Miramar Hill to 40mph from 18mph and eliminate a major bottleneck.
Status: Ready for construction, just needs funding
Expected completion: ??? how can we get money?

While 110mph falls just short of the 124mph threshold for being considered high-speed rail, it’s still very fast and cost-effective compared to building a new rail line. Sadly, with current funding, this won’t be a reality until 2050. However, the timeline could be accelerated if San Diegan’s lobby for increased rail funding at the local, state, federal levels.

SANDAG is the organization responsible for planning these improvements to the rail line through San Diego. They’ve done a good job creating a vision for the future, we now just need the money. Looking north, Orange County planners have been slacking and seem to be okay with the tracks falling into the sea. A new law proposed by Sen. Blakespear should help the state force Orange County to plan for the future and improve coordination along the entire LOSSAN corridor.

LOSSAN stands for Los Angeles - San Diego - San Luis Obispo. The Amtrak Pacific Surfliner and Coaster trains run through San Diego County on the LOSSAN track. LOSSAN is the 2nd busiest intercity rail corridor in the nation and is a vital link for San Diego passengers, freight, and the military. Improving these track are a necessity for our region to hit its climate goals and to give commuters a great alternative to sitting in traffic.

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