Pacific Surfliner

Template:Italic title Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox rail service

The Pacific Surfliner is a Template:Convert passenger train service serving the communities on the coast of Southern California between San Diego and San Luis Obispo.

The Pacific Surfliner is Amtrak's third-busiest service (exceeded in ridership only by the Northeast Regional and Acela), and the busiest outside the Northeast Corridor.<ref name="Amtrak-ridership">Template:Cite web</ref>

Like all regional trains in California, the Pacific Surfliner is operated by a joint powers authority. The LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency is governed by a board that includes eleven elected representatives from the six counties the train travels through. LOSSAN contracts with the Orange County Transportation Authority to provide day-to-day management of the service and with contracts with Amtrak to operate the service and maintain the rolling stock (locomotives and passenger cars). Caltrans provides the funding to operate the service and also owns all of the locomotives and some of the rolling stock; with Amtrak owning the rest.

Portions of the line in southern Orange County have been suspended four times between 2022 and 2024 due to coastal erosion.

Operations

The Template:Convert San Luis Obispo–San Diego trip takes approximately 8 hours, 52 minutes at an average speed of Template:Convert;<ref name=2023TT /> maximum track speed is Template:Convert. Much of the Pacific SurflinerTemplate:'s scenic route follows the Pacific coast, with the tracks being less than Template:Convert from the ocean in some locations. Trains travel inland through expansive farmlands in Ventura County and industrial areas in the Los Angeles Basin, San Fernando Valley, and parts of Orange County.

Template:As of, the Pacific Surfliner operates ten daily round trips between Los Angeles and San Diego. Five round trips continue north of Los Angeles: two run all the way to San Luis Obispo, and three run to Goleta (near Santa Barbara), with Amtrak Thruway motorcoach service over the rest of the route to San Luis Obispo.<ref name=2023TT>Template:Cite web</ref> Thruway motorcoach connections are also available to San Pedro; to Palm Springs and Indio; and to San Jose or Oakland (with connections to Capitol Corridor trains) via Paso Robles.

Because the stations at the ends of the line do not have wyes to turn equipment, trains are operated in push-pull mode. The locomotive is at the rear of the train, pushing the train from Goleta, San Luis Obispo or San Diego to Los Angeles. At Los Angeles, the train reverses at the station, and the locomotive pulls the train to San Diego or Goleta/San Luis Obispo, respectively. Run-through tracks are under construction at Union Station in Los Angeles to ease congestion and reduce time spent waiting to enter or depart the station.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=LinkUS>Template:Cite web</ref> The ongoing North Coast Corridor project plans to increase rail capacity on the route of the Surfliner in North San Diego County. Template:Clear left

LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency

Local agencies along with the host railroads formed the Los Angeles–San Diego-San Luis Obispo Rail Corridor Agency (LOSSAN) in 1989.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Pacific Surfliner is operated by Amtrak under the Amtrak California brand with funding provided by Caltrans. Serious discussions were held in 2009 regarding the local agencies administering the service rather than Caltrans.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> California Senate Bill No. 1225, passed in 2014, allowed LOSSAN to amend the joint powers agreement and become the sponsor of state-supported intercity passenger rail service in the corridor.<ref>"Senate Bill No. 1225" California Secretary of State (September 29, 2012)</ref> In mid-2015, LOSSAN assumed oversight for the Surfliner.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> They are also working with Caltrans to assess rail operations from Los Angeles to San Diego to develop better connections, close gaps in the schedule, and optimize the assets of the railroad.<ref>Weikel, Dan (January 27, 2015) "Little-known agency keeps commuter rail network on track" Los Angeles Times</ref>

History

The route is the successor of the San Diegan, a Los Angeles–San Diego service operated since 1938 by the Santa Fe Railway. It had been one of the Santa Fe's premier routes until Amtrak took over operations in 1971. Initially there were three daily trips, but the schedule was expanded to six round trips during the 1970s with funding from the state of California. In 1988 the service was extended to Santa Barbara to provide the Central Coast with an additional train to Los Angeles, followed in 1995 with one trip a day going all the way to San Luis Obispo.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> To better reflect the route's extent, it was renamed the Pacific Surfliner in 2000.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The route is named after the Surf Line, which now comprises the route's busiest section from Los Angeles to San Diego.

On November 4, 2000, a northbound train hit a truck at a private level crossing along California State Route 118 near Moorpark, California and close to Somis, California, derailing the first three cars of the train. The truck driver was killed; the train engineer and 28 passengers were injured.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On November 23, 2001, a northbound train hit a farm tractor at a private crossing near Camarillo, California. The tractor driver was killed and 12 passengers were injured.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

A stop at Old Town Transit Center was added in 2004. Stops at Orange and Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo were added in 2007 but dropped in 2012. On October 7, 2013, stops were added at Coaster stations at Carlsbad Village, Carlsbad Poinsettia, Encinitas and Sorrento Valley.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> The Carlsbad Poinsettia and Encinitas stops were dropped on October 9, 2017, due to low ridership.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Carlsbad Village and Sorrento Valley stops were dropped on October 8, 2018, due to changes with the cross-ticketing arrangement with Coaster.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> A 13th daily round trip was added on October 14, 2019.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>

On September 30, 2022, all rail service between Template:Amtk and Template:Amtk was suspended due to coastal erosion under the track in San Clemente.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Emergency repairs were expected to take at least 90 days.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Full Pacific Surfliner service resumed on April 17, 2023.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Service south of Irvine was again suspended on April 27 due to further erosion at Casa Romantica.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Service resumed on May 27, 2023.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Service was suspended again on June 5 due to continued erosion at Casa Romantica and resumed on July 19.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Service was suspended on January 25, 2024, due to a landslide at San Clemente.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The state declared an emergency on February 1, allowing the Orange County Transportation Authority to access emergency funding.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> Limited service through the landslide area resumed on March 6, 2024, followed by full service on March 25.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref><ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>

In January 2025, LOSSAN was awarded a $27 million federal grant to fund restoration of the 11th, 12th, and 13th daily round trips, resuming pre-pandemic frequency.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The 11th round trip resumed on March 31, 2025, followed by the 12th on June 16.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> The 13th round trip is expected to resume in November 2025.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Template:Clear left

Route

The Pacific Surfliner runs on track owned by several private railroads and public agencies:

Union Pacific Railroad (Coast Line): San Luis Obispo – Moorpark
Southern California Regional Rail Authority: Moorpark – Los Angeles
BNSF Railway: Los Angeles – Fullerton
Southern California Regional Rail Authority: Fullerton – Orange County/San Diego County line
North County Transit District: Orange County/San Diego County line – San Diego

Template:Clear

Stations

Entire route is located in the U.S. state of California. Template:Sticky header

Station	Municipality	mi (km)	Connections
Template:Amtk	San Luis Obispo	Template:Convert	Template:Unbulleted list
Template:Amtk	Grover Beach	Template:Convert	Template:Unbulleted list
Template:Amtk	Guadalupe	Template:Convert	Template:Bus icon Guadalupe Flyer
Template:Stn	Surf	Template:Convert
Template:Amtk	Goleta	Template:Convert	Template:Bus icon MTD Santa Barbara
Template:Amtk	Santa Barbara	Template:Convert	Template:Unbulleted list
Template:Amtk	Carpinteria	Template:Convert	Template:Unbulleted list
Template:Amtk	Ventura	Template:Convert	Template:Unbulleted list
Template:Amtk	Oxnard	Template:Convert	Template:Unbulleted list
Template:Amtk	Camarillo	Template:Convert	Template:Unbulleted list
Template:Amtk	Moorpark	Template:Convert	Template:Unbulleted list
Template:Amtk	Simi Valley	Template:Convert	Template:Unbulleted list
Template:Amtk	Los Angeles (Chatsworth)	Template:Convert	Template:Unbulleted list
Template:Scax	Los Angeles (Northridge)		Template:Unbulleted list
Template:Amtk	Los Angeles (Van Nuys)	Template:Convert	Template:Unbulleted list
Template:Amtk	Burbank	Template:Convert	Template:Unbulleted list
Template:Scax	Burbank		Template:Unbulleted list
Template:Amtk	Glendale	Template:Convert	Template:Unbulleted list
Template:Amtk	Los Angeles (Downtown)	Template:Convert	Template:Unbulleted list
Template:Amtk	Fullerton	Template:Convert	Template:Unbulleted list
Template:Amtk	Anaheim	Template:Convert	Template:Unbulleted list
Template:Amtk	Santa Ana	Template:Convert	Template:Unbulleted list
Template:Amtk	Irvine	Template:Convert	Template:Unbulleted list
Template:Amtk	San Juan Capistrano	Template:Convert	Template:Unbulleted list
Template:Amtk	San Clemente	Template:Convert	Template:Unbulleted list
Template:Amtk	Oceanside	Template:Convert	Template:Unbulleted list
Template:Amtk	Solana Beach	Template:Convert	Template:Unbulleted list
Template:Amtk	San Diego	Template:Convert	Template:Unbulleted list
Template:Amtk	San Diego	Template:Convert	Template:Unbulleted list

Template:Stl, Template:Stl, Template:Stl and Template:Stl stations were previously served under the "Rail 2 Rail" reciprocal pass program with Coaster, while Template:Scax and Template:Scax were served under a similar program with Metrolink.

Rolling stock

The Pacific Surfliner uses push-pull trainsets with a diesel locomotive at one end and a cab car at the other. The COVID-19 pandemic saw a reduction in service from ten trainsets operating 27 daily trains to seven trainsets operating 20 daily trains.<ref name="Business Plan" />

Trainsets used for regular service are composed from a fleet of 52 bi-level Surfliner coaches (39 owned by Amtrak and 13 by Caltrans), plus nine leased Amtrak Superliner long-distance coaches modified for push-pull operation. These Superliners are called flex cars, as they can be used for additional business class or coach seating, depending on the demand.<ref name="Business Plan">Template:Cite web</ref>

A typical six-car set has a business class car; one Superliner car; two coach cars; a coach/café car with food sales on the lower level; and a coach/baggage/cab car equipped with coach seating, a checked baggage space on the lower level, and engineer's operating cab.<ref name=consist>Template:Cite book</ref>

LOSSAN has expressed interest in acquiring bi-level cars from a variety of sources, such as purchasing Surfliner and Superliner cars from Amtrak, as well as receiving bi-level cars from other Amtrak California services.<ref name="Business Plan" /><ref name=consist /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Surfliner cars were introduced in 2000–02, and were designed specifically to handle the demands of the nation's third-busiest rail line.<ref name="Alstom Fact Sheet">Template:Cite web</ref> They replaced the California Cars which had been introduced on the San Diegan in 1996, and had been fraught with problems in the latter part of the 1990s.<ref name="AP Problems">Template:Cite news</ref>

A dedicated fleet of 16 Caltrans-owned Siemens Charger locomotives began entering service in late 2018.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Chargers replaced a fleet of 15 Amtrak-owned EMD F59PHI locomotives, which were sold to Metra in 2019.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=consist /><ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>

The Surfliner cars and Charger locomotives (and previously the F59PHI locomotives) are painted in a blue and silver livery that is unique to the Pacific Surfliner.<ref name="official">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=solomon>Template:Solomon-Amtrak</ref>

Additional Amtrak-owned cars are added (up to 12-car consists) during periods of high demand, including San Diego Comic-Con, the San Diego County Fair, events at the Del Mar Racetrack, and after the 2018 Southern California mudflows closed Highway 101.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Additionally, in June 2024, seven Caltrans-owned Comet IB coaches, alongside two Non-Powered Control Units (former EMD F40PH locomotives rebuilt into cab-baggage cars) leased from Amtrak, entered service on the Pacific Surfliner. The Comets and the NPCUs were previously used on the San Joaquins until being displaced by Siemens Venture coaches. One NPCU was soon returned to the San Joaquins to allow an additional Venture trainset to enter service. However, the other NPCU and the Comets continue to serve the Pacific Surfliner, hauled by a GE P42DC or B32-8WH locomotive.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Clear left