The number of trains traveling through the Carlsbad is about 50 per day, and that number may double by 2030, so the city is considering its options to increase safety and reduce future noise as more tracks are built.
In an interview with KPBS, Carlsbad City Councilman Mark Packard pointed to a January 2017 feasibility study he said shows that it’s beneficial to put an additional train line in a deep trench.
“When we saw (the second track) coming, we realized that this is our one chance, as the double tracking is being done, to put it down below grade where it ought to be, or leave it at street level and suffer the impacts,” he told KPBS.
The estimated cost to build the tracks more than 20 feet deep in Carlsbad is between $235 million and $350 million, depending on the length of the section, according to the KPBS report.
“When the San Diego Association of Governments, or SANDAG, evaluated various proposed rail-trenching projects in 2015 and ranked them in order of priority, the one through Carlsbad came in 24th,” KPBS reported.
The city will hold a public meeting Saturday, March 18, to get more input.
–Staff
