SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — The unstable slope along the rail line used by Amtrak and Metrolink trains in south Orange County continues to move, but excavation is scheduled to begin today (Friday, Nov. 11) for the installation of ground anchors to stabilize the hillside, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Passenger service on the Surf Line route through San Clemente has been halted since Sept. 30, with Amtrak running a modified schedule and operating a bus bridge around the problem, while Metrolink is not operating to its southernmost stations [see “Pacific Surfliner, Metrolink halt operations …,” Sept. 30, 2022]. The service is expected to be disrupted until sometime in January.
BNSF freight trains still operate through the area, but at reduced speed.
Orange County Transportation Authority spokesman Eric Carpenter told the Union-Tribune that “very slight incremental movement is still being recorded daily” at the site, where 28 inches of movement have been recorded since the issue was discovered in 2001.
