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San Diego CoasterThe San Diego Coaster, or Coaster, is a commuter rail service administered by North County Transit District of San Diego County, California and operated by Amtrak. It services central and northern San Diego County, with stations at Oceanside, Carlsbad Village, Carlsbad Poinsettia, Encinitas, Solana Beach, Sorrento Valley, Old Town San Diego, and downtown San Diego. Background The Coaster was originally intended to help ease congestion along Interstate 5, the primary freeway running parallel to the coast. The money to purchase the right-of-way from the Santa Fe Railroad was garnered almost entirely from TransNet, a 0.5% sales tax imposed on San Diego County. One third of the tax money received from TransNet is designated to improve public transportation services. The Coaster saw 700,000 riders in its first year. It carried 1.4 million passengers in 2004. Today, on a morning southbound train, approximately 40% of passengers detrain at Sorrento Valley and 50% detrain in downtown San Diego. The San Diego Northern Railway maintains two rail yards. One is south of the convention center and is shared with the San Diego Trolley. It is used to store trainsets during midday for use during rush hour. The other is at Stuart Mesa on Camp Pendleton. This is where the main maintenance facility is located. Coaster engineers and conductors are Amtrak employees. Amtrak has a contract to provide personnel to operate the trains. History In the early 1990s, the North County Transit District along with the San Diego MTA wanted to duplicate the success of the Metrolink in San Diego. The agencies incorporated the San Diego Northern Railway (with NCTD having a majority ownership) in 1994. The right of way was purchased and stations were built. The San Diego Northern purchased five MK F40PH-2C locomotives along with several Bombardier Bi-level coaches. This equipment was the same as what Metrolink was using. SDNR also had an EMD switcher locomotive whose current disposition is unknown. The San Diego Northern began running its Coast Express Rail (Coaster) trains in 1995. Later, two EMD F59PHI locomotives were added as well as additional trainsets. Future The future of the Coaster seems stable. San Diego County voters renewed the TransNet tax in November 2004 which included some funds for track upgrades. An additional station is planned for the University City area. The local politicians are more interested in light rail. The Trolley has expanded its Mission Valley line and the Sprinter DMU line from Oceanside to Escondido is planned to go online in 2007. The current Coaster service is not expected to change significantly for the forseable future. External links
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