U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta announced Wednesday the signing of a Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) for $351 million to the North San Diego County Transit Development Board for the Oceanside-Escondido Rail Corrdior project. The North County Transit District is proposing to convert an existing 22-mile freight rail corridor into a diesel multiple unit transit system. The system will run east from the coast city of Oceanside through the cities of Vista, San Marcos and portions of San Diego County, to the city of Escondido. The alignment will include a 1.7-mile loop of new right-of-way to serve the campus of California State University-San Marcos. The proposed project also includes the construction of 15 stations, four of which are at existing transit centers. Average daily ridership for the system in 2020 will total 19,000 passengers. Total project costs under the current proposed FFGA is $351.52 million, with a federal share of $152.10 million.