SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — Amtrak and Metrolink service through San Clemente will resume on Saturday, June 7, the Orange County Transportation Authority announced today (Thursday, May 29).
The Surf Line route through San Clemente — an area where landslides have frequently disrupted train traffic in recent years — has been closed since April 28 to allow for repairs to address erosion [see “Emergency repairs to halt Amtrak, Metrolink …,” Trains News Wire, April 25, 2025]. The reopening will come slightly ahead of the work’s original six-week timeline.
The OCTA, which owns the portion of the coastal route including San Clemente, has led the repairs in conjunction with Metrolink. Work has included placement of approximately 5,900 tons of large rock, or riprap; some 240,000 cubic yards of sand will also added along the coast to protect against erosion. During the shutdown, temporary concrete barriers have also been placed in one area to create a protected workspace for crews to build a planned 1,400-foot catchment wall along the inland bluff. More details on the recent work are available here.
During the closure in San Clemente, Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliners have begun or terminated in either Irvine or San Juan Capistrano, with a bus bridge to a limited Amtrak shuttle schedule between Oceanside and San Diego. As of June 7, the regular schedule will be in effect.
During the final stages of the current closure, operations in south Orange County will be modified slightly, with some additional trains using Irvine as an end point on June 2, and all trains starting or ending in Irvine on June 3-4. The bus bridge and San Diego County shuttles will not be affected. Details are available on the Surfliner website.
Trains on Metrolink’s Orange County and Inland Empire-Orange County lines, which normally operate as far south as Oceanside, have originated or terminated at the Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo station during the repair work. Those routes will also return to their normal schedule as of June 7.
Write the contract provision with hard completion dates is always needed. Look at the construction delays of CA HSR and the north River Gateway bores.