Sprinter (North County Transit District)

Sprinter
Overview
Type	DMU light rail
System	North County Transit District
Status	Operational
Locale	North San Diego County, California, United States
Termini	Oceanside Transit Center Escondido Transit Center
Stations	15
Daily ridership	7,800 each weekday
Website	NCTD SPRINTER
Operation
Opened	March 9, 2008; 8 years ago (2008-03-09);
Operator(s)	Bombardier Transportation
Rolling stock	12 married pairs of Siemens VT642 Desiro DMUs
Technical
Line length	22 mi (35 km)
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Route map Metrolink Amtrak to Los Angeles Oceanside Transit Center Coaster Amtrak to San Diego Coast Highway I-5 Crouch Street El Camino Real Rancho Del Oro College Boulevard Melrose Drive Vista Transit Center Civic Center-Vista Buena Creek Palomar College Transit Center San Marcos Civic Center SR 78 Cal State San Marcos Nordahl Road I-15 (Storage and Maintenance Yard) Escondido Transit Center

The Sprinter (styled in caps as SPRINTER) is a DMU-operated light rail line operating between Oceanside and Escondido, California, United States. The service uses the pre-existing 22 miles (35 km) Escondido Branch trackage of the San Diego Northern Railroad. Station platforms were constructed for the line’s fifteen stations serving the cities of Oceanside (western terminus), Vista, San Marcos, and Escondido (eastern terminus). The line provides service to Palomar College and California State University, San Marcos. Sprinter service operates every 30 minutes and is targeted towards commuters.

The Sprinter is operated by the North County Transit District of Oceanside, the area's public transit agency. The agency also operates the Coaster commuter rail line and the BREEZE Bus routes. Sprinter service is operated with Desiro-class diesel multiple units (DMU) manufactured by Siemens in Germany, where they are widely used by main-line regional railways. Twelve married pairs of Siemens VT642 Desiro DMUs were delivered to the Escondido Transit Center in August 2006. The vehicles were in acceptance testing in California during the early part of 2007. At Oceanside Transit Center, the Sprinter connects to three commuter rail lines (the Coaster, the Metrolink Orange County Line, and the Metrolink Inland Empire-Orange County Line), as well as to Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner regional rail line.

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Wikipedia