MOORPARK, Calif. — Pacific Surfliner service will be restored north of Los Angeles today, while Metrolink operations north of Moorpark will resume this afternoon, following the suspensions as a result of Wednesday’s derailment of the Coast Starlight.
The Surfliner Twitter feed says track work in Moorpark has been complete, and that while slow orders may be in effect, no major delays are expected.
Metrolink says on its Twitter account for the Ventura County Line that this morning’s trains are originating in Moorpark, but afternoon trains will run to points north of Moorpark beginning with train No. 117, the 4:29 p.m. departure from LA Union Station.
The restoration comes in time for the launch of expanded Metrolink weekend service on the Ventura County Line, set to begin Saturday, July 1 [see “LA’s Metrolink expands weekend service …,” Trains News Wire,” June 28, 2023].
The Starlight trainset has reportedly been cleared from the location of Wednesday’s crash with a water truck [see “Coast Starlight derails …,” News Wire, June 28, 2023] and moved to the Union Pacific yard adjacent to the Amtrak station in Oxnard pending further disposition.
Despite the reopening of the Coast Line, today’s departures of the northbound and southbound Starlights are shown as cancelled on the “Train Status” section of the Amtrak website. The Saturday, July 1, northbound departure is also currently listed as cancelled.
Considering the possibility of such bad surprises in the future, there are numerous benefits for Amtrak to learn functioning with enough redundancy in terms of rolling stock, like major European rail operators.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
The crash is currently under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
Great no deaths or serious injuries. But if I understand what I read elsewhere, did this happen because some public works employees thought it was a good idea to park their water tank truck on active train tracks while they worked nearby? Kudos to those who helped after the derailment, and who cleaned up, but I’d like to know what happens to those who caused it? And how bad is the equipment damage?
With all the wrecks they’ve had lately, expect Amtrak to have to start shrinking consists. They have no spare capacity left.
Are the bus connections at Santa Barbara operating?
Crews worked hard throughout the night and into Thursday morning to clear the vital Coast Line. Good job done!
Dr. Güntürk Üstün