Train Disruptions In San Clemente Raise Questions Of The Future Of Coastal Rail

A landslide in San Clemente that disrupted Metrolink and Amtrak services on Thursday has once again brought up conversations about the viability of a rail corridor on the hillside in South Orange County.

The train service has been disrupted four times since 2022. Last year, train services were disrupted after a landslide destroyed the terrace of the historical  Casa Romantica Cultural Center.

“The future does not look bright for rail travel if we continue to react to landslides, coastal erosion, sea level rise, and we don't do proactive planning to move the rail,” said Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley, who also sits on the board of directors at the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA).

Metrolink spokesperson Scott Johnson said their service will now only operate as far south as the Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo station and Amtrak services will only go on up to the Irvine stop.

The OCTA, along with Metrolink and San Clemente city officials, are assessing the Mariposa pedestrian bridge, which was damaged by the landslide. Debris from the bridge then fell onto the tracks.

Foley said workers will remove the bridge after they secure the hillside “to know whether or not we're going to see further erosion and further sliding of the hillside as a result of pulling that bridge out of the mountain.”

The replacement of the bridge, Foley added, is dependent on the on the hillside assessment "because it's not really a good idea to invest millions of dollars, which is what it will cost to replace the bridge, if another landslide is predicted to tear it down.”

Future outlook

Foley says long term solutions are needed.

The OCTA has a study in the works that she said will determine solutions for protecting the rail corridor in the short term and will consider if the rail track along the coast is even viable.

A timeline of two years was set to determine the short term solutions, but, she said, “we can't wait two years because in two years, we're going to see more landslides, more coastal erosion, and more impacts.”