NCTD Conducting COASTER Safety Tests With Shorter Train: Advisory

OCEANSIDE, CA — North County Transit District customers who see a short COASTER train with a two-passenger car set versus the typical five-passenger car set pass through or stop at rail stations in Oceanside, Carlsbad, Encinitas, Solana Beach and San Diego should note that it is for safety testing — not for passengers to ride.

The train consisting of an NCTD locomotive and two empty passenger cars is part of the Positive Train Control — or PTC — safety system, NCTD officials stated Monday in a news release.

"We have had instances of people trying to get on this test train when we ran it during the day," said Eric Roe, deputy chief of rail operations for NCTD. "Future testing will mostly be at night, but we want customers to know what it is in case they see it again at a station."

NCTD is in the process of implementing PTC to enhance the safety of its train operations along the coastal corridor. The system helps prevent accidents caused by human error, officials said; when a potential hazard is identified it has the capability of stopping a train if an engineer fails to do so.

The current testing of PTC on the shorter train is part of the "rigorous process of ensuring proper functionality of the technology and is a necessary step for full implementation on the coastal rail corridor," officials said.

NCTD began implementing PTC in 2008 and expects it to be completed in 2018.

(Photo courtesy of North County Transit District)