Amtrak and transit officials reported multiple delays of Pacific Surfliner and Metrolink trains Sunday, citing various causes.
They included “unforeseen track closures,” signal issues and initially unspecified police activity in San Diego, which hit the services at one of the worst times, during the busy Labor Day holiday weekend.
“Lengthy delays are expected,” the Pacific Surfliner account tweeted just before 4 p.m. due to the police activity.
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department later said in a news release that a man died after a northbound Coaster train struck him at 3:25 p.m. near Pacific Highway and West Washington Street.
The Sheriff’s Transit Enforcement Unit investigates incidents along the routes of the North County Transit District. San Diego police called in the unit to conduct the investigation.
A number of train changes followed. One train, No. 774, had to complete its journey at the Old Town station, Amtrak announced late Sunday afternoon on social media, and another, No. 785, was to begin its trip there.
Two other trains, No. 581 and No. 586, had to be canceled.
The Pacific Surfliner typically runs from the Santa Fe Depot downtown to Los Angeles, with some trains moving on to Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo.
Meanwhile, shortly before 1 p.m., Amtrak said services between Oceanside and the San Clemente Pier “may experience a delay due to ongoing signal issues in the area.”
About 90 minutes later, officials said all Pacific Surfliner trains would “provide mutual aid for ticketed Metrolink customers” and vice versa.
The signal issues apparently dogged Surfliner service throughout the day, with the first instance reported on social media before 9 a.m., causing a 40-minute delay for a train’s arrival in Goleta.
Orange County Metrolink officials began noting delays for service in and out of Oceanside on X, or Twitter, at 12:25 p.m. They affected trains traveling both north and south.
Updated 9:05 p.m. Sept. 3, 2023
