SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — Amtrak Pacific Surfliner and Metrolink commuter rail operation in south Orange County has again been interrupted by a landslide in San Clemente — but not at the same location that shut down the line between Los Angeles and San Diego for months.
A slight landslide occurred north of Metrolink’s San Clemente Pier station Thursday afternoon, April 27, prompting the commuter operator to halt service at 1:11 p.m., Metrolink spokesman Scott Johnson told City News Service. The move was precautionary and the line will be reopened as soon as it is considered safe.
The Metrolink outage affects Orange County Line service to Oceanside and the Inland Empire-Orange County line. Updated passenger information for the Orange County Line is available here and for the Inland Empire-Orange County Line is here. On Thursday, Metrolink was offering Uber vouchers of up to $50 for passengers affected by the outage.
As of Friday morning, Metrolink service remained shut down south of Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo, while, Surfliner service was running a bus bridge between Irvine and Oceanside. Check the Surfliner Twitter feed for the most up-to-date information.
The slide location is about two miles north of the location where the Orange County Transportation Authority is overseeing stabilization measures on a slide-prone hillside. Problems there shut down the line from September until April 17, when full Amtrak and Metrolink service was restored [see “Pacific Surfliner between L.A. and San Diego, Metrolink service to Oceanside to resume,” Trains News Wire, April 11, 2023].
— Updated at 8:20 a.m. CDT with continuing shutdown, Surfliner bus bridge.
