The North County Transit District official overseeing the effort to move train tracks off Del Mar's eroding coastal bluffs has been named one of the transit industry's top young leaders.
Mary Dover, deputy chief operating officer of NCTD's San Diego Railroad division, was selected for Mass Transit magazine's 2026 40 Under 40 list, the agency announced Tuesday, Aug. 18. The recognition highlights Dover's role securing grant funding and advancing the Del Mar Bluffs realignment, the largest capital project in the corridor's history.
NCTD describes the realignment as an approximately $5 billion project, though SANDAG estimates range from $5 billion to $9 billion depending on which of five alignment options is ultimately chosen.
What the project means for Del Mar
The realignment would relocate a stretch of track that has sat atop the city's bluffs since 1910, when the Santa Fe Railway blasted and steam-shoveled the cliffs to build a level railroad bed one block from the ocean. More than a century later, ongoing erosion threatens both the tracks and the bluffs below homes and parkland.
Five alignment options are under study, three involving tunnel sections. SANDAG released an updated Notice of Preparation for a Draft Environmental Impact Report in May 2025 and began technical studies, including engineering field surveys and noise measurements, in September 2025. As of July 23, crews were conducting fieldwork at various locations in Del Mar and San Diego, according to SANDAG's project page.
No construction start date has been set. The project remains in environmental review.
Funding already in motion
Dover's work has helped bring significant state dollars to the corridor. In 2023, NCTD and SANDAG secured a $100 million grant from California's Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program to replace a 107-year-old bridge in Del Mar, add 0.9 miles of double track and build a special events platform at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. It was the largest award from that TIRCP funding cycle.
"In 2023, I helped our team secure a $100 million grant to build a major infrastructure project on the second busiest intercity rail corridor in the country," Dover said in her 40 Under 40 profile.
In October 2024, the state awarded an additional $11.6 million for the Del Mar Bluffs Stabilization Phase 5 Continuation, which will install up to 128 soldier piles to shore up the bluffs while the long-term realignment advances, according to the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency.
In 2022, then-Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins secured $300 million in the state budget to move the realignment through environmental clearance and final design.
Dover's background
A San Diego State University alumna, Dover previously worked for former U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, managing the transportation portfolio for the San Diego region. She said she rode the COASTER commuter rail to work for years before joining NCTD.
The LOSSAN corridor, which runs through Del Mar, is the second-busiest intercity rail corridor in the nation, carrying COASTER commuter trains, Amtrak Pacific Surfliner service and BNSF freight.
Residents can follow the realignment's progress at SANDAG's project page or contact the team at [email protected].
