Coaster to Run Late-Night Trains During SD County Fair

The Coaster will be running special night trains during the San Diego County Fair, testing the demand for late service on the route that links Carlsbad with downtown San Diego.

The new daily trains will depart the Carlsbad Village station southbound at 10:35 p.m. and northbound at 12:39 a.m. from June 8 through July 6. Trains will leave the Poinsettia station southbound at 10:41 p.m. and northbound at 12:32 a.m.

Carlsbad residents returning home from a night out in downtown San Diego can board the northbound train at Santa Fe Depot at 11:45 p.m. A separate train that runs during Padres home games leaves Santa Fe Depot 50 minutes after the end of the game.

Coaster riders going to the Del Mar Fairgrounds exit the train at the Solana Beach station.

“We thought it would make sense to do it during the Del Mar fair season because people want to come and go from the fair both northbound and southbound,” said Deborah Castillo, a spokeswoman for the North County Transit District. “We thought that would be a good test period.”

Transit officials have been hearing from riders about expanding service later into the night.

“Our regular users frequently request late-night service so they can go down to the Gaslamp or other events along the coast,” Castillo said.

Officials will be monitoring ridership levels to determine if more night trains will be added to the schedule.

“This is a pilot, and if it does well then we will look at how to keep it, expand it or bring it back for next summer,” Castillo said.

The Coaster’s timetable is attached to this article in the PDF section.