DEL MAR, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) — The Del Mar train tracks were in the federal spotlight Saturday after national and local leaders toured the area amid the bluffs stabilization project. This comes amid the ongoing talks of moving the train tracks off the coast.
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) was among those in Del Mar, marking his first visit to San Diego since being sworn into the Senate.
“Having a chance to ride along the bluffs and see just how close this track is to the edge really helps to conceptualize the problem,” Sen. Schiff stated.
The senator rode on the second most used railway in the country amid the ongoing projects to stabilize the Del Mar bluffs by directing stormwater runoff.
“This is a must-do kind of project; this is not a would be nice to do, Sen. Schiff continued. “We’re not going to have the train falling into the sea, so we got to get it done and we also need to be thinking about the longer term.”
Discussions on the long-term project to move the train tracks off the coast of Del Mar is still ongoing. Just one day before Sen. Schiff’s visit, the San Diego Association of Governments, also known as SANDAG, took the next step by approving five train realignment project options to go into the environmental review process.
San Diego City Council President Joe LaCava said, “Ultimately, the federal government will need to step in on this project that could cost anywhere from 1.5 to $5 billion.”
Sen. Schiff also discussed the project’s future because of President Donald Trump’s federal funding freeze.
“I am gravely concerned about the temporary halt or freeze or imperiling of this project and many others,” he stated. “We’re going to continue to push hard to make sure that we get all the resources we need. As you all are aware we are a donor state in California, we send a lot more money back to Washington, D.C. than we get back, and so it’s important that we fight to make sure there’s fair treatment for the Golden State.”
