DEL MAR, Calif. — A crumbling cliffside in Del Mar frustrated hundreds of re-routed Coaster passengers Saturday. Coaster service was suspended between San Diego and Solana Beach after part of a bluff eroded away under a portion of the train tracks.
Heavy rains and runoff eroded away a section of the bluffs in Del Mar over the past few days and the extent of the damage was realized Friday, November 29. That erosion prompted the Coaster to implement speed restrictions and eventually stop service altogether Saturday for repairs.
Part of the bluff is unstable on its own and NCTD reinforced part of it for the tracks, but it washed away. Then, crews worked to add new plates and a concrete slurry. Transit officials maintain the fix is safe and will hold and the priority is for the train to run safely and the goal the goal is complete repairs in a day.
However, this situation speaks to a lingering issue. SANDAG says erosion will inevitably force them to move the tracks five miles inland – a project that is at least a decade away
Meanwhile as erosion issues reoccur, thousands of passengers will have to board buses to get around the construction, as they did Saturday.
During Saturday’s repair work, NCTD closed the tracks south of the Solana Beach train station and implemented a bus replacement service all day Saturday. COASTER trains conducted a regular Saturday service schedule from Oceanside Transit Center to Solana Beach COASTER station.
Passengers were transported on a bus between the Solana Beach train station and Santa Fe Depot. Northbound COASTER passengers who boarded the COASTER south of the Solana Beach station were taken on a bus all the way to Oceanside Transit Center.
Train service is expected to return to the regular weekend schedule on Sunday.