Truth matters. Community matters. Your support makes both possible. LAist is one of the few places where news remains independent and free from political and corporate influence. Stand up for truth and for LAist. Make your year-end tax-deductible gift now.
Amtrak Surfliner Resumes Service On Troubled San Clemente Tracks
Piling riprap along the tracks south of San Clemente State Beach is an ongoing effort to keep the waves at bay since the beach here has eroded almost entirely in recent years.
(
Jill Replogle
/
LAist
)
Topline:
Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner will resume service this weekend along the tracks in San Clemente that were shut down in September out of safety concerns.
Good to know if you’re traveling: Weekday Surfliner passengers will still have to take a shuttle bus between Irvine and Oceanside. Metrolink will continue to operate weekend passenger rail service but only as far south as the San Clemente Pier Station. Regular service to and from Oceanside won't resume until repairs are finished, which is expected by the end of March.
The backstory: Last fall, authorities shut down passenger service on the rail line, used by Amtrak, Metrolink and freight companies, because a section of tracks near Cottons Point in San Clemente was shifting dangerously toward the ocean.
Workers drilled long stakes into the bedrock to shore up the tracks, an effort the Orange County Transportation Authority says was successful.
Long-term solution still TBD: Local leaders admit that the estimated $12 million project consisting of drilling anchors into the bedrock and piling riprap along the tracks are short-term solutions to continual erosion. Potential longer-term fixes include replenishing the sand on local beaches to buffer the tracks and even moving the tracks away from the coast.
Go deeper: A Reckoning With Mother Nature In South OC As Coastal Train Travel Is Suspended
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
