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].
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