Surf Line

This article is about the railroad line. For the surf forecasting website, see Surfline.

The Surf Line is a railroad line that runs from San Diego to Orange County along California's Pacific coast. It was so named because much of the line is near the Pacific Ocean, within less than 100 feet (30 m) in some places. It is the second busiest passenger rail corridor in the United States after the Northeast Corridor.

Surf Line
Coaster train passes through Del Mar on the Surf Line in July 2021
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	BNSF Railway (Los Angeles–Fullerton) SCRRA (Tracks, Fullerton–OC/SD County line) OCTA (right of way) NCTD (OC/SD County line–San Diego)
Locale	Southern California
Termini	Los Angeles San Diego
Stations	34 (11 Amtrak stations, 23 commuter rail stations)
Service
Type	Inter-city rail Higher-speed rail Commuter rail
System	Amtrak (through SCRRA) NCTD BNSF Railway
Operator(s)	Amtrak Amtrak California Metrolink Coaster
Ridership	1,984,069 (FY24) 30.8%[a][1]
History
Opened	1882 (first section) 1885 (final section)
Technical
Track length	128 mi (206 km)
Number of tracks	1–4
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	Overhead line, 25 kV 60 Hz AC (Los Angeles–Anaheim, 2030–2033)[b]

The tracks are now owned by Metrolink in Orange County and the North County Transit District (NCTD) in San Diego County^[c] and hosts Metrolink's Orange County Line and Inland Empire–Orange County Line, San Diego County's Coaster, and Amtrak Pacific Surfliner passenger trains. BNSF Railway operates freight over the line using trackage rights.

History

The southbound San Diegan passes through Capistrano Beach, California on the Surf Line in April 1973.

San Diegan in San Clemente, c. 1940s

Construction of the Surf Line between Los Angeles and San Diego began on October 12, 1880, with the organization of the California Southern Railroad Company. On January 2, 1882, the California Southern commenced passenger and freight service between National City and Fallbrook Junction, just north of Oceanside.^[2] From Oceanside the line turned northeast for a winding route through the Temecula Canyon, and was finished on August 21, 1882.^[3] The section through Del Mar was built in 1881 but was originally built on an alignment about a block inland from the ocean. It was moved to its current location, along the seaside bluffs, in 1910, because the grade was less steep and there were fewer crossings.^[4]

The line became part of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad's transcontinental rail line in 1885 via an extension of the California Southern from Colton north over the Cajon Pass to Barstow. From 1886 to 1888, the Riverside, Santa Ana and Los Angeles Railway built a branch from Highgrove southwest via Riverside to Santa Ana and from Orange (just north of Santa Ana) northwest to Los Angeles. Also in 1888 the San Bernardino and San Diego Railway completed its line from Oceanside north to Santa Ana, completing what was originally called the Los Angeles–San Diego Short Line. The now-downgraded old route was destroyed by floods in 1891 and the new line, later named the Surf Line, was now the only line to San Diego from the north.

In 1910, the Fullerton and Richfield Railway built a short cutoff of the San Bernardino–Los Angeles route from Atwood west to Fullerton, giving the Surf Line its northern terminus of Fullerton.^{[citation needed]}

For much of the 20th century, the Surf Line (officially, the Fourth District of the Los Angeles Division^[5]) was to the Santa Fe what the New York City–Philadelphia corridor was to the Pennsylvania Railroad.^{[according to whom?]} Daily traffic could reach a density of ten trains (each way) during the summer months. The route hosted AT&SF San Diegan passenger trains, renamed the Pacific Surfliner by Amtrak in 2000.^[6] The Santa Fe installed centralized traffic control in 1943–1944 which increased capacity on the line.^[7]

Santa Fe sold the line to local transportation authorities in 1992, with ownership split between the Southern California Regional Rail Authority in Orange County and the San Diego Northern Railway in San Diego County.^[8]

Operations

v t e Orange Subdivision
Legend
165.5 BNSF San Bernardino Subdivision 169.8 UP Santa Ana Industrial Lead Tustin Industrial Lead 170.6 Anaheim Santa Ana River 172.3 Olive Subdivision 172.6 Orange 175.2 Santa Ana 175.7 UP Santa Ana Industrial Lead Irvine Industrial Park 179.5 Tustin 185.0 Irvine 193.5 Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo 197.2 San Juan Capistrano 203.6 San Clemente 204.8 San Clemente Pier 207.4 NCTD San Diego Subdivision

v t e San Diego Subdivision
Legend
207.4 SCRRA Orange Subdivision 207.6 Trestles Bridge over San Mateo Creek 222.6 Stuart Mesa Yard 226.4 Oceanside 226.8 Escondido Subdivision 229.2 Carlsbad Village 233.3 Carlsbad Poinsettia 237.7 Encinitas 241.8 Solana Beach 249.0 Sorrento Valley 252.9 Miramar Lead San Diego Trolley Blue Line Balboa Avenue Clairemont Drive Tecolote Road San Diego Trolley Green Line 264.2 Old Town Washington Street Middletown County Center/Little Italy 267.5 Santa Fe Depot San Diego Trolley Blue Line San Diego Trolley Green Line 267.7 SDAE San Diego Subdivision

The route is the southerly portion of the 351-mile-long (565 km) LOSSAN Rail Corridor between San Luis Obispo and San Diego. Local agencies along the route formed the Los Angeles–San Diego-San Luis Obispo Rail Corridor Agency (LOSSAN) in 1989.^[9] Commuter trains began operating in the 1990s, initially as an outgrowth of existing Amtrak services until the establishment of Metrolink and Coaster by the California State Legislature in 1992.^[10] Coaster runs within San Diego County, between San Diego and Oceanside, while Metrolink's services operate north of Oceanside. Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner travels throughout the corridor. The San Diego Trolley light rail shares the Surf Line's right of way in San Diego, running adjacent to the heavy rail tracks. For about a mile in Oceanside, the Sprinter service parallels the Surf Line before heading east on the Escondido Subdivision towards Escondido, California.

Sprinter train departing from Oceanside

Pacific Surfliner 785 passing over Trestles Bridge

Metrolink train enters Oceanside station

Southbound BNSF "daygo" freight train near San Diego

Freight traffic includes military vehicles and equipment to Camp Pendleton and the Navy ports in San Diego.^[11] Due to passenger trains running on a daily schedule, BNSF manifest freight trains run through the Surf Line often at night, which is dubbed as the "Daygo".

The Surf Line is the second busiest rail corridor in the United States, after the Northeast Corridor between Washington D.C. and Boston, as the Surf Line hosts the Pacific Surfliner, the third busiest Amtrak route behind the Acela and Northeast Regional, which run on the Northeast Corridor. As trains on the Surf Line traverse speeds up to 90 mph (140 km/h) on portions of the route in Orange County and San Diego County, there are plans to upgrade tracks to Class 6 trackage, which can run at speeds of 110 mph (180 km/h), when funding is available.

About two-thirds of the 60-mile (97 km) segment from the Orange County line to the Santa Fe Depot in downtown San Diego has been double-tracked. As one of the nation's busiest corridors, local transportation and planning agencies want to complete the entire section.^[12] A 2.6-mile (4.2 km) section of double track between Elvira (SR 52) and Morena (Balboa Avenue) was completed in July 2020. The $192 million project, which began in August 2015, completed 14.6 miles (23.5 km) of double track from San Diego northward.^[13]

The segment of the LOSSAN Corridor within San Diego County achieved full implementation of positive train control in December 2018, for all passenger and freight trains operating on this segment.^[14]

Track issues

See also: North Coast Corridor

Due to its location along the beaches of Southern California, the line faces persistent issues due to sea level rise and coastal erosion, exacerbated by climate change. The tracks run atop coastal bluffs some 40 feet (12 m) above the beach for 1.7 miles (2.7 km) in Del Mar.^[15] Another segment along the San Clemente coast on a low-lying section of track crosses an ancient, recurring landslide. Aggravated by storms and high tides, waves sometimes crash across these rails at high tide that are close to the surf on the narrow beach.^[16] The eroding bluffs above the tracks in at least three locations require temporary closure of the tracks until conditions can be stabilized.^[17] Extra funding for maintenance of both sections continues to be sought to keep them in operation as long term solutions are developed.^[18]

Del Mar Bluffs

An Israel Railways IC3 being tested on the San Diegan, passing over the Del Mar Bluff in July 1996

Coastal erosion eats away at the Del Mar bluffs each year and the rate has accelerated due to sea level rise due to climate change. The bluffs erode by about six inches every year.^[4] The bluff has had to be shored up to safely run current operations.^[19] Steel beams were driven into the beach at the base of the bluff in September 2020 to stabilize the face of the bluff for 20 or 30 years.^[20] In August, the California Coastal Commission had emphasized the need to move the railroad tracks inland as they reviewed the emergency permits for the stabilization work. The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) is conducting a $3 million study on relocating the rail line.^[20] A tunnel under Del Mar, which would cost more than $3 billion, is under consideration.^[21] In 2022, $300 million was included in the state budget for the SANDAG so that the project can compete for federal matching funds.^[22] Local leaders, including SANDAG’s executive director, showed Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg the coastal erosion at the bluffs in October 2022.^[23] Del Mar City Council approved a list of guiding principles for the relocation on November 13, 2023.^[24] More than a dozen possible routes for the tunnel have been considered by SANDAG. Residents have expressed concerns about the shortest and fastest routed that would take trains beneath residential properties.^[25]

San Clemente beach

With extensive beach erosion, waves crashing over the rails damaged the tracks in San Clemente on September 15, 2021. The segment had to be shut down through October 3 as storms and high tideshad aggravated the situation.^[26][27][21] An extended closure occurred the next year when the segment was closed to passenger traffic on September 29, 2022 due to soil movement; freight traffic continued at lowered speed.^[28][29] Additional rock was added between the beach and the railroad tracks after each incident.^[16] The passenger rail traffic stop continued as anchors were being placed into bedrock.^[30] The line fully reopened in April 2023 but rail service was halted again two miles to the north.^[31][32] Falling debris did not damage the tracks but ground movement continued from a landslide involving Casa Romantica on the bluff above.^[33] Full service resumed in late May^[34] but was halted indefinitely again in early June.^[35] During the work closures, freight trains are able to resume at a speed of 10 miles per hour (16 km/h) as officials were on site to clear them when it is safe to proceed.^[36][37] Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), which owns the section of track,^[38] declared an emergency on June 12 to speed up construction of temporary barrier wall at the bottom of the slope.^[39] The 250-foot long (76 m) barrier is 12 feet (3.7 m) high with the piles set roughly 32 feet (9.8 m) into the ground.^[40] Service resumed on July 19, 2023.^[41] The bluffs can become unstable after a rainstorm soaks the slope.^[42] Service was suspended on January 25, 2024, due to a landslide from private property north of the San Clemente Pier.^[43] Two damaged sections of the Mariposa Pedestrian Bridge on the slope above the tracks had to be removed.^[44] California Transportation Commission initially awarded $2 million to clean up the debris and added $7.2 million in February to help repair the rail line.^[45] A barrier wall similar to the one at the Casa Romantica slide will be constructed.^[46] Limited service through the landslide area resumed on March 6.^[47] Full service then resumed on March 25.^[48] OCTA says $7 million is needed to study realignment and other possible solutions to protect 7 miles (11 km) of the line along the shore.^[49][50] The first study, that started in August 2023, will identify the issues that impact the rail corridor, offer solutions to protect it, and develop the cost of the necessary improvements.^[51]

Future

As stated above, sections of the Surf Line in Del Mar and San Clemente will be relocated inland from their current locations to reduce the amount of times of service disruption. This would mean that there would be tunnels inland in San Clemente and Del Mar. There have been plans to upgrade tracks to Class 5 trackage, in which passenger trains can reach up to speeds of 110 miles per hour (180 km/h).

The California High-Speed Rail will run on a brief portion of the Surf Line between Los Angeles and Anaheim as part of its full Phase 1 route. Similarly, for Phase 2 of the California High-Speed Rail, the final portion of the route from Los Angeles to San Diego via the Inland Empire will parallel the Surf Line into San Diego from University City to either San Diego International Airport, Old Town San Diego station, or Santa Fe Depot in San Diego. This plan for the CAHSR Phase 2 has yet to be finalized.

Historic station stops

Many, but not all of these stations currently operate. Many of these stations no longer exist (e.g. Linda Vista) and new ones have opened (e.g. Sorrento Valley). For a list of stations that currently operate, see the articles for Metrolink's Orange County Line and the Coaster or the templates to the right.

Key:	Open	Closed	Proposed

Municipality	Station	mi (km)	Services	Opened	Closed
Los Angeles (Downtown)	Los Angeles		Amtrak: Coast Starlight, Pacific Surfliner, Southwest Chief, Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle Metrolink: 91/Perris Valley Antelope Valley Orange County Riverside San Bernardino Ventura County Metro:  A Line,  B Line,  D Line,  J Line Amtrak Thruway: 1 FlyAway to  LAX Los Angeles Metro Bus, Antelope Valley Transit Authority, Big Blue Bus, City of Commerce Transit, City of Santa Clarita Transit, Dodger Stadium Express, LADOT Commuter Express, LADOT DASH, Torrance Transit FlixBus	May 3, 1939
	La Grande Station		ATSF services (formerly)	July 29, 1893	May 3, 1939
Commerce	Commerce		Metrolink: Orange County	July 28, 1993[52]
Pico Rivera	Rivera[53]		ATSF services (formerly)		Before 1948[54]
Los Nietos	Los Nietos[53]		ATSF services (formerly)		Before 1948[54]
Santa Fe Springs	Santa Fe Springs[53]		ATSF services (formerly)		Before 1948[54]
Norwalk	Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs		Metrolink: 91/Perris Valley, Orange County	July 17, 1995[55]
La Mirada	La Mirada[53]		ATSF services (formerly)		Before 1948[54]
Buena Park
	Buena Park (Santa Fe)[53]		ATSF services (formerly)		Before 1948[54]
	Buena Park		Metrolink: 91/Perris Valley, Orange County	September 4, 2007
Fullerton	Fullerton		Amtrak: Pacific Surfliner, Southwest Chief Metrolink: 91/Perris Valley Orange County Amtrak Thruway: 39 OC Bus	1888
SCRRA Orange Subdivision begins
Anaheim	Anaheim	170.6 (275)	Amtrak: Pacific Surfliner Metrolink: Orange County Anaheim Resort Transportation, OC Bus Flixbus	2014 (newest station)
Orange	Orange	172.6 (278)	Metrolink: Inland Empire–Orange County Orange County OC Bus Chapman University Shuttle	1888
Santa Ana	Santa Ana	175.2 (282)	Amtrak: Pacific Surfliner Metrolink: Inland Empire–Orange County Orange County OC Bus Greyhound	September 8, 1985 (newest station)[56]
Tustin	Tustin	175.2 (282)	Metrolink: Inland Empire–Orange County Orange County OC Bus, including iShuttle	January 18, 2002[57]
Irvine	Irvine	185.0 (298)	Amtrak: Pacific Surfliner Metrolink: Inland Empire–Orange County Orange County OC Bus, including iShuttle	June 1, 1990
El Toro	El Toro		ATSF services (formerly)	1939 or earlier[53]	1961 or later[58]
Laguna Niguel	Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo	193.5 (311)	Metrolink: Inland Empire–Orange County Orange County OC Bus	April 19, 2002[59]
San Juan Capistrano	San Juan Capistrano	197.2 (317)	Amtrak: Pacific Surfliner Metrolink: Inland Empire–Orange County Orange County OC Bus	October 27, 1894
San Clemente	San Clemente	203.6 (328)	Metrolink: Inland Empire–Orange County Orange County OC Bus	March 6, 1995
	San Clemente Pier	204.8 (330)	Amtrak: Pacific Surfliner (limited service) Metrolink: Inland Empire–Orange County Orange County (weekends only) San Clemente Trolley
	San Onofre		ATSF services (formerly)		1961 or later[58]
Las Flores	Las Flores[53]		ATSF services (formerly)		Before 1948[54]
SCRRA Orange Subdivision ends; NCTD San Diego Subdivision begins
Oceanside	Oceanside	226.4 (364)	Amtrak: Pacific Surfliner Coaster Sprinter Metrolink: Inland Empire–Orange County Orange County NCTD Breeze Greyhound	1984 (oldest station 1886)
Carlsbad	Carlsbad Village	229.2 (369)	Coaster NCTD Breeze: 101, 315, 325	February 27, 1995[60]
	Carlsbad Santa Fe Depot		ATSF services (formerly)	1887[61]	1960[61]
	Carlsbad Poinsettia	233.3 (375)	Coaster NCTD Breeze: 444, 445	February 27, 1995[60]
Encinitas	Encinitas	237.7 (383)	Coaster NCTD Breeze: 101, 304, 309	February 27, 1995[60]
	Encinitas (Santa Fe station)		ATSF services (formerly)		1960s
	Cardiff		ATSF services (formerly)		1953 or later[62]
Solana Beach
	Solana Beach (Santa Fe)		ATSF services (formerly)		1953 or later[62]
	Solana Beach	241.8 (389)	Amtrak: Pacific Surfliner Coaster NCTD Breeze	February 6, 1995[63]
Del Mar
	Del Mar		Formerly: Amtrak: San Diegan (1971-1995) ATSF services (pre-1971)	1910	1995
	Del Mar Fairgrounds		Coaster	2028 (proposed)[64]
San Diego	Sorrento Valley	249.0 (401)	Coaster North County Transit District: COASTER Connection Routes 471, 472, 473, 478, 479[d]	February 27, 1995[60]
	Sorrento (Santa Fe)		ATSF services (formerly)		1953 or later[62]
	Linda Vista		ATSF services (formerly)		1953 or later[62]
	San Diego–Old Town	264.2 (425)	Amtrak: Pacific Surfliner Coaster San Diego Trolley:  Blue Line,  Green Line Metropolitan Transit System San Diego Flyer shuttle University of San Diego shuttle Flixbus
	San Diego	267.5 (430)	Amtrak: Pacific Surfliner Coaster San Diego Trolley:  Blue Line,  Green Line Metropolitan Transit System	March 7, 1915[67]
NCTD San Diego Subdivision ends; BNSF San Diego Subdivision begins
San Diego
	San Diego Convention Center		Coaster	2025 (proposed)[68]
	22nd Street station[69]		ATSF services (formerly)		Between 1913[69] and 1926[70]
National City	National City		ATSF services (formerly)	1882	1930

See also

• The Coast Line, continuing north from Los Angeles to San Francisco. It is owned by the Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA) between Los Angeles and Moorpark, and the Union Pacific Railroad from Moorpark onwards.
• History of rail transportation in California
• Other major rail corridors in the United States with tracks owned by Amtrak:
  • Northeast Corridor
  • Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line
  • New Haven–Springfield Line
  • Chicago–Detroit Line

Notes

1. Amtrak's Fiscal Year (FY) runs from October 1 of the prior year to September 30 of the named year.
2. Though no set timeline or finalization of the portion of Phase 1 of the California High-Speed Rail between Los Angeles and Anaheim, it is possible that two of the four tracks would be used for passenger trains, which would also include Amtrak intercity trains and Metrolink commuter trains, with the two other tracks for BNSF Railway freight trains.
3. While North County Transit District owns the track and right of way in San Diego County, Metrolink only owns the tracks in Orange County, with the right of way owned by the Orange County Transportation Authority^{[citation needed]}
4. Replacing MTS bus routes 972, 973, 978, and 979, also known as the Sorrento Valley Coaster Connection (SVCC), effective June 10, 2024.^[65][66]

References

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2. Duke 1995, p. 50
3. Duke 1995, pp. 53–54
4. Diehl, Phil (February 10, 2024). "'This project will happen.' Del Mar residents remain unhappy with plan for train tunnel". San Diego Union Tribune.
5. Richardson 2005, p. 38
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61. National Park Service (NPS) Digital Asset Management System. "Carlsbad Santa Fe Depot".
62. Santa Fe Railway (1953). "Time Tables - The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway System" (PDF). p. 24. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
63. Eyerly, Alan (February 4, 1994). "Timetable Changes for Amtrak's San Diegan". The Los Angeles Times. p. B3. Retrieved March 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
64. "Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program Sixth Round Selected Projects – Project Detail Summary" (PDF). California State Transportation Agency. April 24, 2023. p. 11. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
65. "COASTER Connection". North County Transit District. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
66. "Service Changes". San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. May 22, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
67. Showley, Roger (March 3, 2015). "Santa Fe Depot at 100: Tiles, tourists and skyscrapers". U-T San Diego. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
68. Diehl, Phil (June 27, 2021). "Transit district to increase Coaster commuter train service this fall". San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on June 27, 2021. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
69. "Time of Trains, Sleeping Car Schedules, and Other Information" (PDF). October 20, 1913. p. 33. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
70. "Santa Fe Railway Timetable" (PDF). August 1926.

Journals

• Duke, Donald (1995). Santa Fe...The Railroad Gateway to the American West. Vol. 1. San Marino, CA: Golden West Books. ISBN 0-8709-5110-6. OCLC 32745686.
• Jordan, Keith (1996). "The Surf Line 1940–1950". The Warbonnet. 2 (2): 4–24.
• Jordan, Keith (1996). "The Surf Line Part II: 1950–1965". The Warbonnet. 2 (4): 11–24.
• Jordan, Keith (August 2004). "Santa Fe Surf Line, 1940" (PDF). Trains. 64 (8): 64–69. ISSN 0041-0934. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 13, 2014. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
• Richardson, Don (June 2005). "The secret borax train" (PDF). Classic Trains. 6 (2): 36–39. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 11, 2016. Retrieved March 27, 2015.

External links

• Photos of Amtrak, Metrolink, and BNSF on the Surf Line
• California Southern Railway History