Passenger rail services through San Clemente will resume almost six weeks after it stopped on Saturday morning due to threats from landslides and coastal erosion.
The Orange County Transportation Department has announced that Metrolink and Amtrak Pacific Safliner trains will be open again through South Orange County starting Saturday.
Emergency construction began on April 28th to stabilize trucks near Mariposa Point. Since then, crews have protected the truck from additional damage, including roughly 5,900 tons of rock, known as Liplap, along the bluffs in high-risk areas.
The effort included resurfacement of over 3,600 feet of trucks and the installation of 400 feet of concrete barriers on the inland side of the rail corridor.
That work is now closing, but Octa says there are more still to be planned.
Updated images from Octa show the progress of the San Clemente Emergency Railway Repair Project, which began on April 28, 2025.
The agency received approval last month to build the 1,400-foot-long wall behind these barriers. It will be built over the next few months to prevent future landslide debris from reaching the tracks.
The construction of the wall is not expected to disrupt passenger services.
The complete urgent effort involved adding sand to the beach between North Beach and Mariposa Point. In total, approximately 240,000 cubic yards of sand are expected to be placed in the area as part of the reinforcement project.
The San Clemente Railroad Corridor serves as the only coastal rail connection between Orange and San Diego counties. Since 2021, repeated bluff failures have forced several closures.
Aerial view shows a slump hillside with the pedestrian bridge slacking at San Clemente on January 24, 2024, sending wreckage to the train tracks below.
Octa and its partners say this phase of the project will make significant progress towards corridor stabilization, ensuring future services can be continued without interruption.
Pedestrians are urged to move away from the track and only cross at marked intersections. The train will resume running on a full schedule starting on Saturday mornings.
Riders are encouraged to check updated schedules at PacificSurfliner.com/Alerts and Metrolinktrains.com/Service-Updates.
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