Metrolink from Union Station to Del Mar

[MaryS]

http://www.dmtc.com/blasts/view.php?id=57

[MaryS]

More details:

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/sdcou ... 992a8.html

REGION: Metrolink 'race train' to start this weekend

BY PAUL SISSON psisson@nctimes.com | Posted: Saturday, July 23, 2011 5:00 am | No Comments Posted

A Metrolink and Coaster commuter train make their arrival at the Oceanside Transit Center in Oceanside on Tuesday. Metrolink commuter trains will soon be making their commute farther south to Del Mar Fairgrounds for the races. MISAEL VIRGEN | mvirgen@nctimes.com

The lyrics "take a plane, take a train, take a car" will have new meaning beginning this weekend, when special Metrolink passenger trains start traveling farther south to serve passengers headed for the Del Mar racetrack.

For the rest of the thoroughbred racing season, the Metrolink will run special "race trains" that make two trips each weekend to the Solana Beach rail station ---- the one closest to the racetrack ---- under an agreement with the North County Transit District.

The trains could carry up to 800 passengers from as far away as Union Station in Los Angeles.

Alex Wiggins, a spokesman for NCTD, said the round-trip fare will be $28, far less than the $58 charged by Amtrak.

To ride the new train, riders will have to buy a special round-trip ticket. Weekend and monthly passes will not be valid.

"We believe it's definitely the first time that Metrolink has come this far south, and we think it will be a very good deal for race fans," Wiggins said.

The new service is due to start Saturday.

The race trains will leave Union Station at 10:40 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays, arriving at Solana Beach Station at 12:47 p.m.

Double-decker buses will meet the trains and ferry passengers to the fairgrounds.

The buses will make return trips to Solana Beach Station 15 minutes after each race, and the Metrolink train will head north at 6:45 p.m., arriving at Union Station at 8:53 p.m.

The race trains will make stops in Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs, Buena Park, Fullerton, Anaheim, Orange Santa Ana, Tustin Irvine, Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo, San Juan Capistrano and Oceanside.

Passengers who board at the Oceanside station will pay $8.

Regularly scheduled Coaster and Amtrak trains will continue to follow their weekend schedules.

Wiggins said the deal between Metrolink and NCTD was created in only one month after the executive directors of the two agencies discussed it at a meeting of the Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo Rail Corridor Agency.

That group works to coordinate long-haul rail activity in Southern California.

Visit http://www.metrolinktrains.com/spevents/?id=80.[/quote]

Read more: http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/sdcou ... z1SwIpFMxa

[Syncopate]

This makes Del Mar very interesting............

[Scorequick]

thanks for the info

[Scorequick]

looks like i could buy the metrolink weekend pass for $10.
then just get the oceanside to solana beach pass for $8 round trip.

whole trip $18 round trip.

can get shlt faced and dont have to drive....priceless.

[Rosethorn2]

spoken like a true degenerate...

[Scorequick]

spoken like a true degenerate...<img src="/images/chat/lol.gif">

i try lol.

[So.cal.fan]

This is a great deal! Thanks for the information.
Compared to prices we pay for most sporting events....this is really nice.

[Syncopate]

I went down yesterday for the SD Hcp & to meet up with Lucky Duck & PatHagan. Maybe this will catch on, but right now it's an unpublicized gem. Hardly any one is using it as they're still conditioned to Amtrak, most of the time I had the top area of the car to myself.

The only drawback was that while the schedule says it arrives at the Solana Beach Station at 12:47, there may be delays due to other trains with right of way. So we didn't get down there until 1:30, & by the time I walked through the gates Trevor was already calling the horses approaching the gate for the first race.

But coming back was easy, no lack of speed & we arrived back at Union Station at the scheduled time.

[Finalfurlong]

First trip on the train was glorious. A bit rowdy, but glorious. I had been looking up a few different modes of transportation, but decided to take the train after reading some really positive reviews online. Sometimes it is hard to gauge that information, but the ride was exactly what I wanted and expected after doing my research. Do you guys ever use angies list, they do online reviews for pretty much everything.