Passenger rail service through San Clemente will be suspended for six weeks beginning Monday, as crews begin emergency efforts to stabilize sections of track threatened by landslides and coastal erosion.
The closure will affect both Southern California passenger rail systems that traverse the Los Angeles, San Diego, San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) rail corridor, Metrolink and Amtrak.
The emergency repair work is being led by the Orange County Transportation Authority.
“This temporary closure allows our teams to safely carry out urgent reinforcement work to protect rail passengers, freight operations and public safety,” said Doug Chaffee, Chair of both OCTA and Metrolink.
The emergency construction will focus on repairing and reinforcing areas identified as “high risk,” including near Mariposa Point where previous landslides have already damaged infrastructure.
Work will include:
- Placement of 8,150 tons of riprap and up to 540,000 cubic yards of sand to stabilize bluffs and restore beaches
- Construction of a 1,400-foot debris catchment wall
- Removal of a damaged pedestrian bridge
- Restoration of coastal trail access
Metrolink will continue weekday service to Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo and weekend service to San Juan Capistrano. Metrolink service updates can be found here.
Amtrak will run modified Pacific Surfliner service with bus connections between Irvine and Oceanside. Riders can check Amtrak alerts here.
Coastal Orange County, particularly near San Clemente, has been the site of all-too-frequent landslides and erosion in recent years. In January 2024, all rail service, passenger and freight, was suspended for several weeks due to a pedestrian bridge collapsing onto the tracks below.
Freight trains were eventually allowed to travel through the corridor during overnight hours, but passenger service remained suspended for additional days.
Orange County officials, including elected officials and members of the OCTA board, have blamed climate change and a lack of preventive action for the frequent landslides and economy-affecting closures.
As part of a Coastal Rail Resiliency Study, OCTA completed an Initial Assessment that identified four areas requiring immediate action to ensure safe and uninterrupted rail operations through San Clemente.
These emergency projects are moving forward independently from the broader study and are expected to begin construction as early as April, officials said.
Each effort will proceed on its own timeline based on complexity and availability of contractors and materials.
For ongoing updates and recent actions, visit www.octa.net/RailEmergency.
