SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — The California Coastal Commission has approved an emergency permit allowing Orange County’s transit agency to undertake some stabilization measures along the rail line connecting Orange County and San Diego.
The Orange County Transportation Authority board, at a Monday, April 14, meeting, authorized the OCTA to address four areas along the Surf Line in the San Clemente area considered to be at risk because of landslides and beach erosion. That followed the April 10 issuance of the emergency Coast Development Permit to stabilize the rail corridor.
The work will require suspension of passenger operations by Amtrak and Metrolink, but the date the work will begin and the duration of the service outage have not yet been determined.
“This action enables OCTA to act quickly and decisively to protect our coastal rail line,” OCTA Chair Doug Chaffee said in a press release. “By advancing this emergency work, we are helping to preserve a critical transportation link for Southern California, the region and beyond.”
However, the permit did not approve all of the measures sought by the OCTA. The agency said its staff and legal counsel are reviewing the permit to determine the best path forward.
“Our priority remains clear: to move quickly, make the most of the state and federal funding we’ve already secured, and deliver as much of the needed work as possible, as soon as possible,” said OCTA CEO Darrell Johnson. “We appreciate the Coastal Commission affirming what we have long recognized — that an emergency exists along this corridor.”
The Coastal Commission’s permit approved the work in Areas 1 and 2 (shown below) and part of the work in Area 3. Commission staff asked for further explanation why the situation in Area 4 constitutes an emergency.
The OCTA submitted the permit request on March 31 [see “Transit agency requests emergency permit …,” Trains News Wire, April 1, 2025]. The San Clemente area has been the site of slides dating to 2021, with an almost continuous series of disruptions between September 2022 and July 2023. More problems led to suspensions between January and March of 2024.
All they have to do is shut down service, install a couple pillings, build a retaining wall, and inject cement into the road bad to stabilize it. They need to get this done or we will lose that slope.