SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California’s governor has signed legislation giving the state more authority in managing the LOSSAN Rail Corridor, the route of Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner between San Diego and San Luis Obispo, as well as Metrolink and Coaster commuter trains.
SB 1098, sponsored by state Sen. Catherine Blakespear (D-Encinitas), allows the state’s secretary of transportation to “provide guidance and recommendations to, and coordination between, stakeholders as necessary to ensure the performance of the LOSSAN Rail Corridor.” It requires creation of a working group to address the corridor’s needs and requires the corridor’s four metropolitan planning organizations — the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments, Santa Barbara Association of Governments, Southern California Association of Governments, and San Diego Association of Governmnts — to develop plans to improve rail service and reduce disruptions and present them to the legislature by Feb. 1, 2026.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the legislation last weekend after it passed the state Senate 39-0 and the state Assembly 73-1 in August.
The Orange County Register reports the legislation has grown out of a series of landslides that have disrupted rail service in San Clemente, Calif., the most recent a January slide that halted trains for two months [see “Full passenger service through San Clemente, Calif., to resume …,” Trains News Wire, March 19, 2024]. Blakespear and other legislators have sought increased state involvement to address such situations.
The LOSSAN Corridor saw up to 8.3 million passenger trips in 2019, according to Blakespear’s office, but is currently handling fewer than 4 million trips annually.
