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7/12/2023
Metrolink and Amtrak passenger-rail service will resume July 17 in San Clemente, California, following emergency work on the tracks.
Crews completed building a temporary barrier to protect coastal track from a sliding hillside that pushed debris onto the tracks, Orange County Transportation Authority officials said in a press release. OCTA owns the tracks on which Metrolink and Amtrak Pacific Surfliner trains operate.
The new barrier — located below the Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens — is 250 feet long and 12 feet high with piles set 32 feet beneath the ground. Crews are nearing completion of another track stabilization project 2 miles south near homes in the Cyprus Shore Homeowners Association, where the work is not affecting rail service.
The Casa Romantica hillside slid multiple times in April and June. Additionally, the railroads discovered slope movement of as much as 28 inches underneath the coastline-adjacent track between September 2021 and September 2022. Emergency work on that track shift was completed in April.