A $124.4 million federal grant will eliminate a single-track rail bottleneck in Oceanside that has long caused delays for Coaster and Amtrak Pacific Surfliner riders traveling through Encinitas.

The Federal Railroad Administration awarded the money to the San Diego Association of Governments for the Eastbrook to Shell Double Track Project, North County Pipeline reported Sunday, Aug. 23. The project will create 10.3 miles of continuous double track from Camp Pendleton south to Buena Vista Lagoon on the Carlsbad/Encinitas border.

"We're ecstatic," SANDAG principal engineer Omar Atayee said. "This funding that we received gets us across the line in terms of being able to construct the project. This will fill a gap … where we'll have two tracks instead of one."

What gets built

The project adds one mile of second mainline track between Harbor Drive and Pier View Way in Oceanside and replaces the nearly 100-year-old San Luis Rey River rail bridge with a new structure carrying 0.6 miles of double track. Two new crossovers between Surfrider and Pier View ways will let trains switch tracks approaching the Oceanside Transit Center, and signal upgrades are included.

The total cost is approximately $143 million. SANDAG is contributing the 20% local match, with the FRA grant covering the rest. The North County Transit District owns the track segment; SANDAG is managing the bridge replacement and other large-scale elements.

Why Encinitas commuters benefit

Single-track sections force trains heading in opposite directions to wait for each other to pass. The Oceanside bottleneck sits upstream of every southbound Coaster and Surfliner run into Encinitas. Removing it is expected to improve reliability and support future service expansion along the 60-mile San Diego County segment of the LOSSAN corridor, which carries the Coaster, Amtrak Pacific Surfliner, Metrolink and BNSF freight trains.

The grant is the second North County award in the same FRA funding cycle. Encinitas received up to $33.6 million for three projects of its own: a pedestrian tunnel at Verdi Avenue in Cardiff, two at-grade crossings at Grandview and Phoebe streets in Leucadia, and a citywide quiet zone stretching from E Street to Leucadia Boulevard.

What's left

The harder work lies ahead.

Atayee said the remaining 15 miles of single track on the San Diego segment include trenching in Carlsbad Village, much of Encinitas, parts of Solana Beach, the Del Mar bluffs realignment and the Miramar Curve. SANDAG began technical studies for the Del Mar realignment in September 2025, according to the agency's project page.

Timeline

The Oceanside project has completed final design and is in the permitting stage. Construction is targeted to begin in 2028, with completion in 2031. Encinitas riders will still contend with single-track segments within city limits until those separate projects advance through environmental review and funding.