The Del Mar Train Tracks Won’t Be Moving Underground Anytime Soon

It’s been a few years since Voice of San Diego started reporting about the ambitious plan to move a portion of the train tracks that run along Del Mar’s fragile bluffs into an underground tunnel. Since then, the only thing moving has been the eroding cliffs. 

A little dark humor for your morning. But in all seriousness, officials at the San Diego Association of Governments, the region’s transportation agency better known as SANDAG, have always been upfront about the complex nature of the plan and the slow, painstaking process it will take to complete it. 

The goal is to move about 1.7 miles of the train tracks that run along the edge of the Del Mar bluffs into an underground tunnel. It’s called the LOSSAN Rail Realignment project, and it likely won’t be completed until around 2035. 

Right now, the project has an estimated price tag of about $4 billion, and that’s only a small piece of the transportation agency’s larger 40-year, $160-billion regional transportation plan. Measure G, a countywide sales tax measure proposed as a citizen’s initiative, was supposed to help fund SANDAG’s projects, including the tunnel, but it failed. 

Most elected officials in the region agree that the tracks need to be moved. The bluffs recede at a rate of  6 inches annually, and in some spots in Del Mar the tracks are just a few feet from the eroding cliff. In the meantime, the agency, along with the North County Transit District, have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to stabilize the bluffs and keep the rail line secure. 

Still, as the project chugs along, disagreements over where exactly the tunnel will go, as well as the challenge of securing full funding mean it’s going to be a long process. 

The Contentious Tunnel Routes 

In June, SANDAG officials released three route alternatives for the tunnel, narrowing the choices down from more than a dozen options. And let’s just say, not everyone was pleased with every option. 

Del Mar officials, and most residents, favored one option (Alternative A) over the others because they wanted to protect residents’ homes from potentially being impacted. But Del Mar’s first option ended up being Solana Beach’s last option because it would extend into Solana Beach. 

Solana Beach officials said they were shocked to see their city being seriously considered for part of the train tunnel. They urged residents to speak up to SANDAG and “shut down” this route option. 

And then there’s the Del Mar Fairgrounds, which also didn’t like Alternative A, Del Mar’s favorite option. That’s because it would run underneath the Fairgrounds property and, according to Fairgrounds officials, would significantly impact its operations. 

Fairgrounds officials said that if Alternative A is chosen, it could derail plans for an affordable housing project that the city of Del Mar is planning to build on the Fairgrounds property. A Fairgrounds representative told Voice in June that it wouldn’t be feasible to have two massive construction projects happening on their property at the same time. 

And so, three key players in the train tunnel game were at a stalemate. 

Eventually, Del Mar, Solana Beach and the Fairgrounds issued a joint resolution to SANDAG calling for a “mutually agreed upon” route option. The three entities, along with a few other cities and agencies have since been participating in a value analysis technical study to identify more route options that everyone can agree on. 

Findings from the study are expected to be released early next year, said SANDAG CEO Mario Orso at the Dec. 6 board meeting. 

About That Funding 

In 2022, SANDAG received a $300 million grant from the state to put toward the tunnel. That money is funding some of the environmental and engineering work. But that was only a starting point for the roughly $4-billion project. 

For a second there, it looked like a proposed countywide half-cent sales tax increase called Measure G might have been the perfect funding source for many of SANDAG’s planned projects. 

Revenue from the tax would’ve funded transit projects like the train tunnel, as well as road and highway repairs and transportation maintenance. It was projected to generate about $350 million annually. 

But voters ended up rejecting the measure by a slim margin. 

At SANDAG’s board meeting earlier this month, though, Orso said SANDAG’s projects are still on track, regardless of Measure G failing. 

“Multi-year capital budgets have been set up without considering any measures or anything like that that did not exist,” Orso said. “So, we are only considering the funds that we have seen and are tangible right now.” 

In other words, SANDAG was never reliant on Measure G. The agency already had plans for their future budgets in place before the proposed sales tax measure came and went, and the only funds they’re considering going after are ones that are tangible and already exist. 

He added that SANDAG has budgeted $2.7 billion from federal, state, local and Transnet revenue between now and fiscal year 2030. But that all depends on those funds “continuing to flow,” he said. 

So, if all goes according to plan, SANDAG will continue to slowly obtain funding for the tunnel and its other projects from different funding sources, like that $300-million state grant it received in 2022. 

“We’re really confident that the new federal administration will continue funding infrastructure,” Orso said. “And I think the message we want to send is, we’ll continue working, we have a plan, and we’ll continue delivering the projects.”