That’s right folks, you read it here first. The Metro Link trains will be sliding south of Oceanside for the very first time ever this weekend to serve the Del Mar horse races, although they’ll technically be stopping in Solana Beach as Del Mar kicked the trains out about 10 years ago… A free shuttle takes people to and from the Solana Beach station and the track. This service will run on weekends through the end of the race season in early September and the fares are a great bargain. Round trip from the L.A. area is $28 and from Oceanside is just $8 inclusive of the shuttle services. Combined with the new Sunday Coaster service, race fans should have some nice options for avoiding the traffic and parking hassles getting to the track.
The future holds great promise for more and better cooperation between AMTRAK, Coaster, and Metro Link services and the plan is that Coaster trains will go all the way to L.A. while Metro Link trains will go all the way to San Diego, and AMTRAK can introduce limited stop higher speed / more rapid service between L.A. and San Diego. All of this should give the commuting and the inter-city travelling public better travel choices.
Enjoy!!