North County Transit District officials, who run the Coasters, decided to make the changes yesterday in order to run fewer trains daily on tracks damaged by a freight-train derailment Thursday night.

All Amtrak trains except one will operate 14 to 32 minutes later than the Coasters. The 6:05 p.m. northbound Amtrak from San Diego will run at the same time as the Coaster's schedule.

Amtrak trains usually stop only at Oceanside, Solana Beach and San Diego. During the emergency they will stop at all Coaster stations, including Carlsbad Village, Carlsbad Poinsettia, Encinitas, Sorrento Valley and Old Town San Diego.

Transit district spokesman Tom Kelleher said Amtrak will honor Coaster tickets and passes.

Schedule information is available by phone at (800) COMMUTE or on the Internet at www.SDCommute.com or www.GONCTD.com

Yesterday, the backup of trains rolling slowly over the damaged tracks caused cancellation of the 7:45 a.m. Coaster because the 6:30 a.m. Coaster already was running late and their schedules would have clashed, Kelleher said.

Trains resumed use of the repaired rails Sunday, Kelleher said, but since then they have been taking it easy up the Miramar hill.

Freight trains ran much of yesterday so they could get their products to market, he said.

Kelleher said he wasn't sure when normal train operations could resume, because it depends on when switching equipment can be replaced. He said the Friday night service will be canceled this week, though it will run next week for New Year's Eve.

Kelleher said an investigation is continuing into the cause of the derailment. It appeared that one freight car jumped the tracks where two rail lines merge, then took five other cars with it, he said.