SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — Amtrak Pacific Surfliner and Metrolink commuter rail service has once again been suspended in the San Clemente area because of landslide concerns, a long-running issue in the area over the last two years.
The advisory page on the Surfliner website says tracks have been closed near the San Clemente Pier “until further notice” because of debris falling from a nearby slope, with bus connections being offered between Irvine and Oceanside. According to an Amtrak advisory issued late Wednesday, four trains —Nos. 572, 573, 586, and 587 — have been cancelled completely for today (Thursday, Jan. 25), while 10 others are seeing cancellations for part of their route, and six will offer the bus bridge between Irvine and Oceanside.
The Metrolink Alerts page reports that debris was reported Wednesday at 4:26 p.m., and that service on Metrolink’s Orange County and Inland Empire-Orange County lines has been halted south of the Laguna Niguel-Mission Viejo station until further notice.
The latest debris fall comes after rain in the area, some significant, Jan. 19-21.
Slides at two different locations in the San Clemente area led to a series of disruptions for Surfliner and Metrolink service between Sept. 30, 2022, and July 16, 2023; during that period, trains operated on normal schedules just 41 days. Surfliner use took a major hit as a result of the earlier slide issues [see “Slide disruptions hurting Pacific Surfliner ridership …,” Trains News Wire, May 17, 2023], leading to some service reductions for what had previously been one of Amtrak’s most successful state-supported operations [see “Slide disruptions lead to cuts …,” News Wire, June 10, 2023].
In my teen and early 20’s (1970’s) I used to visit my cousin when she lived a few miles away. Went back to visit the area just before the pandemic. Things really changed. Didn’t have much out that way 50 years ago but now everything built up along the ocean side. Wondering if everything constructed along this area combined with more rainwater runoff has destabilized the ground to the extent that slides will happen even if they get a little rain. At the rate the slides are happening, in a couple of years some of the pretty buildings and homes in the picture will be sliding on to the tracks and into the ocean.
If the NIMBYS don’t like any of the solutions or ideas proposed then they should leave and move away from the area. Nobody asked them to come there and they should stay in their swanky condos or live elsewhere. Nimbys are all over the place and the world and we can’t stop progress or things from moving forward because of spoiled people. The trains must keep rolling and serve the general public.
Joseph C. Markfelder
I had a chance to ride the Surf Line for a short stretch from Santa Barbara to Oxnard while visiting family and spending time with them at Christmas and you cant beat the ride for gret scenic views of the Pacific Ocean and the beach but with global warming and climate change affecting operations of this line with the frequent landslides and closures, serious steps must be taken to rebuild and relocate this line inland and away from the shore and ocean. It don’t do any good for ridership of business every time the Surf Line gets shut down or only partial service is put in place such as a bus bridge connection. Potential riders and other folks are simply give up on the train and either hop in their cars or use ride share services or use the bus for the entire trip with no interruptions or time consuming and annoying transfers from train to bus to train or vie-versa. Peoiple like to travel in comfort and with direct point to point service and with no transfers or connections. Eventually it will come to total abandonment of the Surf Line with buses replacing the trains on a permnanet basis and using the highway instead. For the money that is being spent on building the California High Speed Train line which is going nowhere and billions being wasted on this project and more money to be wasted, why not take that money and use it to either improve or shore up the Surf Line or rebuild it inland away from the coasr and it will cut down or eliminate costly delays and shutdowns and the real possibility of driving away cuttent riders and any potential future ridership. Mankind is not going to win against Mother Nature who wins out each time as history has told us time and time again through the ages that we as humans can’t contro; or gain the upper hand against weather and nature. Something has to be done to correct this problem before a real tragedy occurs with loss of human life such as a train being buried in a landslide or sliding into the ocean The time to act is now and if there is money or public funds to be used or spend, to put them to use on something that is already here and build and in operation and used by people and not on some fantasy or pipe dream that will never amount to anything and just be sinkhole for money to be tossed awat such as Cal HSR.
Joseph C. Markfelder
Between Santa Barbara and Oxnard is NOT the Surf Line, that is the old SP Coast Line between Los Angeles and the SF Bay Area. The Surf Line is only the ex-ATSF/BNSF line that runs between Los Angeles and San Diego. Though they now have run-through trains that go between it is not called the Surf Line all the way through, only once you get passed Los Angeles going towards San Diego. Unless you’re from California you wouldn’t understand the reason why we keep fighting nature and will keep fighting nature, even if it does cost us billions and billions of dollars.
This is clearly an ongoing problem and will remain one. If the Engineering Community does not have a solution, the line must be relocated inland or RR service replaced with boats or busses on the public highway. [run the trains in the median of the Interstate?]
There are solutions, the problem is with the California Coastal Commission, local leadership and NIMBY’s…they don’t like any of the solutions that would inhibit their access to the beaches.