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10/3/2022
The Los Angeles - San Diego - San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) Rail Corridor Agency, which operates the Pacific Surfliner route on behalf of Amtrak, last week temporarily suspended service south of Irvine, California, due to emergency track repairs.
Consultations with geologists, geotechnical engineers and surveyors revealed a potential safety concern along an oceanside portion of track in the San Clemente area requiring service to stop immediately, LOSSAN Agency officials said in a press release.
During the closure, San Clemente Pier and San Juan Capistrano stations will remain closed while the Orange County Transportation Authority, which owns that portion of track, conducts emergency maintenance to stabilize the right-of-way, LOSSAN Agency officials said.
Erosion concerns, with the tracks located very close to the coast, sparked the suspension, Skift reported. The Pacific Surfliner is the second-busiest route in the Amtrak network behind the Northeast Corridor. Eleven daily trains between Los Angeles and San Diego are impacted by the closure.
Metrolink also suspended Orange County and Inland Empire-Orange County line service south of Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo station until further notice because those lines share the same portion of track, Metrolink officials said in a service update.
Service will not resume for any passenger-rail operation on the track until "we have confirmation from the experts the slope movement has stopped," Metrolink officials said.