San Dieguito Double Track and Platform

Despite spawning notorious congestion, there is currently no public transportation route serving the Del Mar Fairgrounds, the sprawling complex that hosts the San Diego County Fair and the Del Mar Horse Races.

A new SANDAG project finally plans to fix that. While the LOSSAN (Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo) rail corridor, the second-busiest intercity passenger corridor in the nation, runs adjacent to the Fairgrounds, it does not have a station. SANDAG is planning to replace a century-old bridge – the oldest along the COASTER route – with a new one and construct a special events station. COASTER trains would stop at the Fairgrounds on event days.

Fans at the Del Mar Races on July 23rd, 2026, with the LOSSAN railroad trackage visible in the background. Until the station is completed, both the Fair and races offer a shuttle to the nearby Solana Beach station. (Samuel Sharp / BuildSD)

Currently, the tracks sit relatively low and are prone to flooding. This new bridge would raise the tracks higher, exceeding the 100 year floodplain (area prone to a recurrent flood every so often). The project will also finally fill a gap in double track between Solana Beach and Del Mar. The future LOSSAN Rail Realignment project – also known as the Del Mar Tunnel – will finish the double track in this segment. These projects, alongside some others, should bring San Diego County’s portion of the LOSSAN corridor to 100% double-track by 2035. There are also other double-track projects currently under construction, however, several sizable gaps in double-tracking will not be addressed for some time longer.

Graphic courtesy of SANDAG

Funding for the full $350 million construction has finally been secured, with construction planned to begin next year and wrap up in 2031.