The North County Transit District will spend more than $2.8 million to keep freight moving on the Oceanside-Escondido rail line during construction of Sprinter passenger-train service.

District directors voted 7-1 yesterday to approve the agreement.

San Marcos Councilman Mike Preston, a staunch Sprinter opponent, cast the dissenting vote. Del Mar Councilman David Druker was absent.

The agreement means Sprinter construction crews, not expected to work weekends, will have the tracks available for freight use on Friday and Sunday nights.

NCTD will pay for track improvements and a locomotive at the Escondido end of the line to help freight operations.

It also will pay for construction of improvements to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe facilities in Miramar. That will allow freight to be taken off trains and loaded onto trucks for delivery.

NCTD also will spend up to $400,000 to help Vitagold, an Escondido grain shipper, accommodate deliveries by truck instead of train.

NCTD's attorney, Michael Cowett, said after the meeting that the expense of keeping the freight service operational was built into the construction contract for the $351.5 million Sprinter.

Besides setting terms of freight movement during Sprinter construction, Cowett said, the agreement outlines the hours of operation of freights after passenger service begins, restricting them to a six-hour segment of the nighttime.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe runs three or four trains a week on the Oceanside-Escondido line, said spokeswoman Lena Kent.

Kent said she could not comment on the agreement because that is the purview of officials at railway headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas, gone for the day by the time the NCTD board meeting concluded here.

Cowett said Burlington Northern Santa Fe agreed to the pact Wednesday.

Vitagold also has agreed, he said, and negotiations are continuing with the other two major freight shippers: Pine Tree Lumber of Escondido and Roberts Irrigation Products of San Marcos.

Vitagold and Pine Tree representatives could not be reached for comment yesterday.

John Roberts, president and owner of Roberts Irrigation Products in San Marcos, said he and other freight customers have been assured they will receive their shipments, but he has not seen the agreement.

"We've been told verbally, but until I've received confirmation in writing and we have our own agreement in place, I'm going to reserve judgment," he said.

Roberts said the transit district has assured freight customers they will pay the same costs during the three years of construction as they would otherwise.

He said he has not been shown the new freight schedule and is concerned over how he will get his shipments