The train service linking the counties of Orange and San Diego has been suspended again for an estimated six weeks as it seeks to strengthen a particularly unstable section of the San Clemente coastline, which has put important rail lines at risk for years.
With the closure that began Monday, the railway routes for Metrolink’s Orange County and Inland Imperial Orange County will temporarily begin and end at Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo station. No buses or detours are provided.
Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner line will also be destroyed by construction work, but a bypass bus will run between Irvine and Oceanside, allowing for a complete trip.
The temporary disruption comes just weeks after transport authorities sought emergency repairs “to stabilize the four areas most vulnerable to breakdowns on the railroad via San Clemente,” according to the Orange County Transportation Department.
“Emergency action is needed to address the urgent threat from slope and beach erosion and to protect the operations of communities, rail passengers and the entire railroad,” Octa said in the update. The San Clemente project “focuses on construction aimed at protecting railroads from coastal erosion and landslide activities,” Metrolink officials said in an update on the closure.
This section of the Oceanside Railway in San Clemente and its continued closure in recent years as coastal erosion, landslides and rocks continue to affect the stability and safety of the truck.
Railway officials are under pressure to find a long-term solution for important railways that provide both public transport and key freight services. Supporters and lawmakers are increasingly worried about the Losun Rail Corridor, short for Los Angeles and San Diego San Luis Obispo, as climate change and declining ridership threaten the future of the line. However, there is little movement to find or fund permanent fixes to the hallway.
Amtrak’s rail service through San Diego County is also frequently changing schedules due to similar construction projects aimed at stabilizing the bluff in Delmar.
Construction in San Clemente over the next few weeks is the first phase of a large emergency project that Octa authorities expect to take a year to complete. The first work will restore rock reinforcements known as Riprap along tracks that have deteriorated due to wave damage and beach erosion, the agency said. The crew is also expected to place 240,000 cubic yards of sand in the area to “stabilise the slopes and protect the tracks.”
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