San Diego County Double-Tracking - Trains Magazine
David Craig
Updated on April 07, 2026
In the just-released 2050 Regional Transportation Plan:
it is proposed that the currently inadequate single-tracking from San Diego going north and up along the Pacific coastline (literally for a piece) to Oceanside CA is to be double-tracked (with some grade separations and quiet zones), as is the current Sprinter tracking between Escondido CA and Oceanside (amongst other non-rail projects, as expected !).
Those who know this coastal route are aware of the difficulties that have faced the quite busy coastal single-track, since it is partially along a narrow and potentially unstable beach bluff for several miles, thence through the cities of Del Mar (whose citizens have also rejected a tunnel option), Solana Beach (w / Amtrak terminal), Encinitas, Cardiff, Carlsbad, and Oceanside. This now-single-track hosts the California Surfliner, the Coaster, and I don't know how many freight consists each day.
But, at least these measures are on someone's agenda, albeit up to forty (40) years out. I found no detail re: the (alleged) HSR, which is supposedly mostly inland, perhaps along Interstate 15.