San Diego honors county's first Black woman locomotive engineer

The San Diego City Council proclaimed Feb. 25 Crystal Trent Day, in recognition of San Diego County’s first Black woman to serve as a locomotive engineer. Trent is a supervisor of operations for the North County Transit District (NCTD) Coaster commuter-rail system.

Trent started her career at NCTD 14 years ago as a Sprinter train operator and later transitioned to the role of a Coaster conductor. In 2020, she became a locomotive engineer and was promoted in 2024 to supervisor of operations for Coaster. She leads her team by example and sets the standard in safety and reliability in operations, NCTD officials said in a press release.

“Crystal is an exemplary employee to NCTD. She takes pride in the work she does on a daily basis. We are proud to have her on the team,” said Patrick Cola, director of rail operations.