Bombardier Transportation has signed a contract with the North County Transit District (NCTD) for the delivery of 11 new BiLevel commuter rail cars.

New trains will operate on the COASTER service.

The NCTD will be able to increase the peak period frequency of service to 30min headways with the purchase of the rail cars.

It will also be able to commence the state of good repair replacement the existing coaches and future cars.

The $43m base order includes the delivery of eight coaches and two cab cars to aid the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) 2050 Revenue Constrained Regional Plan for improved service levels, along with an additional cab car.

The contract also includes the option to buy 27 additional cars to aid its current state of good repair needs.

The NCTD currently runs a fleet of 28 BOMBARDIER BiLevel cars and seven locomotives on the San Diego Subdivision to aid the operations of COASTER from Oceanside to downtown San Diego.

Bombardier’s Canada-based Thunder Bay manufacturing site will build the cars, the deliveries of which are expected to commence in late 2022.

NCTD board chair Tony Kranz said: “As we look to the future, NCTD will be in a position to continue moving forward, offering customers an outstanding riding experience and providing increased service along the rail line.

“With these two additional train sets in the fleet, commuters will have a number of train runs throughout the day to meet their needs; and that really makes the decision to try transit an easy one.”

SANDAG chair and Poway Mayor Steve Vaus said: “SANDAG and NCTD are committed to improving the Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) Rail Corridor, which supports goods movement, commuters and our nation’s military.

“Just last year, the SANDAG board of directors approved $58.8m in funding for additional train sets to meet our goals of increased capacity, speed and safety.”

In May, Bombardier Transportation secured two contracts worth $108m for the delivery of 28 Bombardier BiLevel commuter rail cars.