Posted by In UP piece number two about our San Diego adventure a few weeks ago, let’s talk about their rail system, specifically the trains you can catch from the historic Santa Fe Depot.
Starting with the depot structure itself, what a magnificent place, and not because it stands alongside the timeless refinement and awe-inspiring institutions like Grand Central Station in NYC, Union Station in Chicago, or even the marble columns of the historic Utica Station. The appeal of Santa Fe Depot is in it’s exemplification of Spanish-inspired architecture and West Coast simplicity. The look of this station doesn’t inspire so much as it makes you feel comfortable while still projecting a sense of excellence.
Stepping outside onto the station platform, the transit options are beautifully organized from local to regional by three sets of two tracks. The tracks closest to the station serve the Green and Blue lines of the San Diego Trolley, a clean and attractive local train set that serves dozens of stops from University of California San Diego to the north and the US/Mexican border to the south.
The next tracks over serve as the southern terminus for The Coaster, a northern suburban-serving metro rail line that skirts beaches and stops at neighborhoods for commuters from San Diego to Oceanside, about an hour’s trip north.
The two tracks furthest from the station are home to the Amtrak Surfliner, which connects San Diego to Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, and many stops in between.
One night, we took the green line trolley from Little Italy (where we stayed) through Santa Fe Depot to our final destination at Convention Center Station to access the historic Gaslamp District, which is full of urban nightlife.
It was here where we understood why this district was so popular, as we watched scores of banking professionals walking from the nearby convention center area to the nightlife hotspots.
On a different day, we took the aforementioned Coaster train to Oceanside. And while it was a rainy day, the train provided great views of people surfing the Pacific, different kinds of West Coast landscapes, and a diverse set of neighborhoods.
We never got to take the Amtrak Surfliner, but that will likely be a blog for the future. That being said, I captured plenty of footage 😉
All three lines cut straight through downtown San Diego near the waterfront, causing backups at street-grade crossings every few minutes it seemed. Unlike other fast-paced cities, drivers and pedestrians didn’t seem to mind the frequent delays.
There is a lot of San Diego that is not served by the train network, but nearly every station is thoughtfully connected with bus service.
While other cities have major train terminals that are underground and often difficult to navigate, the local, metro and regional rail was outdoors and super simple at Santa Fe Depot. Clear signage with live arrival and departure times were plentiful. And service on all lines was frequent and without delay. And clean… really really clean. I was thoroughly impressed, and I can’t wait to get back and ride even more.
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