The North County Transit District is offering a new link between Oceanside and Escondido in the form of the county's first light rail line of its kind. Called the Sprinter, it includes user-friendly rail cars that will carry passengers through Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos and Escondido faster than the express bus using the latest transit technology.

With significant population growth in North County's future, the concern about congestion and resulting pollution is growing. Use of public transportation continues to grow in the region, especially as the demand grows for an alternative to the crowded Highway 78. By offering mass transit like the Sprinter, traffic will be reduced by thousands of cars as people begin riding the new low emission train.

The Sprinter offers people the freedom of an affordable, reliable transportation alternative. Riders can work, read, sleep or just relax on the Sprinter, rather than fight traffic.

"This project is about the kind of community we want North County to be," said Pete Aadland, NCTD spokesperson. "The Sprinter will make it more convenient to go shopping, get to work and go to school. It will reduce smog by taking cars off the road and in general make our communities in North County an embodiment of smart growth rather than suburban sprawl."

The Sprinter is a Diesel Multiple Unit, or DMU, the most modern transit technology currently available. The sleek, quiet rail cars, similar to many European rail lines, are smaller than the Coaster, larger than a trolley and just the right size for trips to 15 stations in the cities of Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos and Escondido.

One of the stations on the Sprinter light rail line from Oceanside to Escondido will be located at Cal State San Marcos. The station, as shown in the artist rendering above, will be elevated.

The NCTD board worked 15 years to get this train on the national priority list, and federal funding is secured, due to the long-term efforts of community leaders.

The Sprinter is less expensive overall to operate than the bus system and can carry more passengers than buses, with a passenger capacity of more than 150 per train car. The Sprinter line will increase mobility not only east to west but also by linking riders with the Coaster, Amtrak, Metrolink and NCTD's bus service, the Breeze.

The Sprinter will benefit the communities involved well into the future by encouraging transit-oriented development in the cities along the route, a prospect that supports the principles of smart growth.

The $351 million light rail project, while not a replacement for bus service, will be less expensive to operate. A market assessment survey conducted in 2002 showed 17 percent of residents in the corridor will use the Sprinter.

Ridership forecasts have been modeled by Sandag, San Diego's regional planning agency, a number of times over the past several years and the numbers have remained consistent. The most recent forecasts for the first year of the Sprinter are 10,300 daily boardings and by 2020, daily boardings are forecast to increase to 16,000 and by 2030 to 36,200.

A June 2003 study by the Maryland Public Interest Research Group Foundation found that rail ridership tends to exceed forecasts. In Los Angeles, Denver and Dallas, between 50 percent and 75 percent of riders had access to a car but chose to use rail instead.

The North County Transit District has taken steps to ensure construction of the Sprinter light rail line from Oceanside to Escondido proceeds on schedule, despite the delayed adoption of the state budget. The NCTD board of directors voted to file a "letter of no prejudice," which notifies the state that NCTD intends to begin building the project even though state monies have not been released. Earlier this year the Federal Transit Administration signed a Full Funding Grant Agreement with NCTD, guaranteeing $152.1 million dollars for the new light rail line.

"This move allows us to continue work on a project that will bring traffic relief to hundreds of thousands of North County residents," Aadland said. "The fact that we have local and federal funding, in addition to state money, gives us the flexibility we need to avoid costly delays."

The state has committed $80 million in Transportation Congestion Relief Program funds. A federal appropriation for $48 million is expected to be available next year.

NCTD has spent approximately $60 million to date for planning, land development and property acquisition, while scheduled to authorize contracts for new construction and the purchase of rail cars within the next few months.

"Future Home of the Sprinter" signs have been installed at most of the new station locations along the Sprinter right-of-way between Oceanside and Escondido. Station locations and design elements are being carefully coordinated with host communities. Construction contracts will be issued in the fall of 2003 with the first passengers scheduled to board in late 2005.

Related Link

Sprinter information and construction updates: www.gonctd.co