North County Transit District

The North County Transit - San Diego Railroad (NCTD) is the agency responsible for public transportation in Northern San Diego County, California. The agency manages the COASTER commuter rail service between Oceanside and San Diego, the SPRINTER hybrid rail service between Escondido and Oceanside, the BREEZE transit bus service, LIFT paratransit service, FLEX and NCTD+ on-demand services..

NCTD owns 62 miles (100 km) of mainline railroad track (the Surf Line) from the Orange County/San Diego County line to Santa Fe Depot (used by COASTER, Metrolink, and Pacific Surfliner passenger trains along with BNSF Railway freight trains) along with the 22-mile (35 km) Escondido Subdivision (used by the SPRINTER and BNSF freight trains).

NCTD works closely with the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), which operates public transit services in Southern San Diego County, and the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), which plans, develops, and constructs transit projects for both NCTD and MTS. NCTD’s rail services are directly operated by the agency, while bus services are operated under contract by MV Transportation.

As of 2024, NCTD provides 8,126,200 passenger trips per year, or about 25,600 per weekday as of the first quarter of 2025. NCTD's geographic area is approximately 1,020 square miles (2,600 km²) with an approximate population of 842,000 people.