Santa’s COASTER Express runs

North County Times – Escondido,CA,USA
… south, Santa’s COASTER Express will operate at reduced
speeds and will pick up passengers at the Carlsbad Village, Carlsbad
Poinsettia, Encinitas and Solana …

To celebrate the holiday season, North County Transit District will run a very special train called “Santa’s COASTER Express” featuring an appearance by Santa and Mrs. Claus. NCTD is offerings rides on this very special train free of charge, but in the spirit of the holidays, asking passengers to bring a nonperishable food item to be donated to North County’s Interfaith Community Services.

Santa’s COASTER Express will run for approximately one and a half hours and will feature decorated train cars, the jolly man himself, Mrs. Claus and other goodies for children who made it on Santa’s “nice list” this year. Santa will make the rounds and interact with the children, while a photographer will be onboard to snap photos, which will then be available for purchase online. Holiday music will accompany the train, which offers an opportunity to see the beautiful coastal scenes in North County. This event is recommended for families with children between the ages of 3 and 10.

The special Santa train is meant to be a leisurely-paced, abbreviated round-trip experience rather than a destination train. It will begin at the Oceanside Transit Center at 2 p.m. on Dec. 16. As it heads south, Santa’s COASTER Express will operate at reduced speeds and will pick up passengers at the Carlsbad Village, Carlsbad Poinsettia, Encinitas and Solana Beach stations. The train will travel to Sorrento Valley (train will not stop at this station to let passengers on or off), where it will change directions and head north, returning to the five northern COASTER stations to drop off passengers.

Below is the schedule for Santa’s COASTER Express on Dec. 16:

Southbound pick-up:

- Oceanside, 2 p.m.

- Carlsbad Village, 2:07 p.m.

- Carlsbad Poinsettia, 2:14 p.m.

- Encinitas, 2:21 p.m.

Solana Beach, 2:28 p.m.

Northbound drop-off:

- Solana Beach, 3:04 p.m.

- Encinitas, 3:11 p.m.

- Carlsbad Poinsettia, 3:18 p.m.

- Carlsbad Village, 3:25 p.m.

- Oceanside, 3:32 p.m.

It is recommended that passengers arrive at their station at least ten minutes prior to train pick-up times to secure parking. Due to limited space onboard, please do not bring strollers or bicycles aboard Santa’s COASTER Express. This special train will run, rain or shine.

Passengers will be able to drop off their food donation inside the train when they board. The food will be donated to Interfaith Community Services, a nonprofit social service agency that meets emergency needs in North County and provides opportunities for individuals to overcome chronic conditions and return to independence. For more information about Interfaith Community Services, visit www.interfaithservices.org.