Students already riding Sprinter

Northern San Diego County's new commuter train from Oceanside to Escondido gets high marks from students at three schools along the route -- and they were part of the $484 million system's planning.

Students "are willing to try something new," said Tom Kelleher of the North County Transit District, which operates Sprinter, the diesel-powered train that started running in March.

They also need to save money and get to class on time.

"I don't want to spend money on gasoline," said Abby Villanueva, 18, a Palomar College freshman who takes the train from her home in Escondido every day she has classes.

With roomier seats and an air-conditioned cabin, Sprinter beats the bus she used to ride, Villanueva said. A morning ride from Escondido to the Palomar station -- right in front of the 30,000-student community college in San Marcos -- takes 14 minutes. By car, it's 25 minutes in rush hour traffic, she said.

Also on the 22-mile Sprinter line are CSU San Marcos and MiraCosta College in Oceanside. Combined enrollment at the state university and two community colleges is more than 46,000 and expected to hit 70,000 by 2020.

Alberto Carmona, 23, another Palomar student, commutes to school by train -- and to Oceanside for body-boarding breaks between work and classes. He wishes the Sprinter ran later than 9:30 p.m. because his math class sometimes runs that late and he doesn't own a car.

Carmona, who comes from Mexico City, also finds the $4.50 daily pass a bit costly. "I'm used to paying 20 cents (2 pesos) and riding all around the city," he said. That's the rate on Mexico City Metro, the cheapest rail system in the world and the second-largest metro system in the Americas, after the New York subway.

But the Sprinter suits Lyle Chapman, a 60-year-old homeless man. "I think I'll relax for a while," said Chapman, who buys a $16 seniors' monthly pass and sometimes rides San Diego County's train, bus and trolley network for hours at a time.

Sprinter's blue and green cars emit a series of beeps -- as loud as a telephone dial tone -- on approach to intersections and passenger platforms. Some people say the trains are too quiet, Kelleher said.

Conventional diesel locomotives, like the ones pulling the Coaster trains from Oceanside to San Diego, must sound a horn four times louder, equivalent to a power mower.

You can reach Staff Writer Guy Kovner at 521-5457 or guy.kovner@pressdemocrat.com.