Metrolink passenger trains are set to resume full service through San Clemente starting Monday, March 25, as work to build a 200-foot-long wall aimed at keeping landslide debris off the tracks nears completion.

The announcement comes following a nearly two-month halt in service due to a hillside that collapsed onto the popular pedestrian bridge at Mariposa Point along the beach town’s coastal path in late January. The bridge was damaged and dirt landed on the train tracks.

The emergency work to build the containment wall, which stands at about 20 feet tall, is expected to be finished this week, according to the Orange County Transportation Authority, which owns the track through San Clemente.

Amtrak Pacific Surfliner already started limited service in the area in the morning and evening hours earlier this month, and will also resume full service on Monday.

A train makes its way north along the coast at North Beach in San Clemente. Metrolink and Pacific Surfliner will resume service on July 17, 2023, following closures due to landslides. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Freight trains have continued through the area most evenings, with occasional disruptions when storms threatened to dump debris back onto tracks.

Full passenger service is being restored ahead of the initial schedule because of expedited work made possible with “strong cooperation between the transportation agencies and the state, including the California State Transportation Agency,” according to the announcement.

While the wall is about complete, work continues to create a more comprehensive drainage system and trenching along the rail right-of-way, as well as working with the city of San Clemente to adjust a sewer access point. Additional tie replacement and track resurfacing is expected to finish this week, officials said.

There continues to be some minimal movement in parts of the hillside, but it has slowed to less than an inch daily, according to Scott Johnson, spokesman for Metrolink, which manages the right-of-way.

There’s no word yet on how long it will take to get the full length of the coastal trail fixed, San Clemente Mayor Victor Cabral said. The middle section of the pedestrian bridge was removed following the landslide.

“It’s going to take awhile to get the pedestrian trial up and running,” he said. “Whenever it rains, the dirt is moving. It’s still a little bit unstable.”

The northern section of the beach path, from North Beach to the base of the Mariposa Bridge near El Portal, should be open following the completion of the track work, though a date had yet to be determined, he said.

Cost to the OCTA and that state to secure the rail line since 2021 is about $37 million in emergency repairs following multiple landslides – first on the south end of town, then last year at the city’s historic Casa Romantica and the latest landslide at the Mariposa bridge.

OCTA leaders have said recently they expect to need to do more preventative work ahead on next winter, including likely constructing an additional half-mile-long wall in the same area as well as using more rocks and boulders at several locations along the beachside – projects that could cost an estimated $200 million.

The four trouble spots in need of immediate attention run along a 7-mile stretch of coast through Dana Point and San Clemente, much of which sits 200 feet or less from the ocean, OCTA staff told the agencies Board of Directors.

If approved by the board and funding is secure, work could start as early as summer.

The railway is part of the 351-mile Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo Rail Corridor, or LOSSAN, and is used by both passenger and freight trains.

The OCTA and its rail partners will “continue to work with local, state and federal stakeholders on both near-term and long-term solutions for protecting rail movement along this critical corridor,” the OCTA announcement read.

Work is already under way on the first of two studies to address the future of the rail line, with several listening sessions with stakeholder groups being held – including one this week – for the OCTA-led Orange County Coastal Rail Resiliency Study, which aims to protect the rail line in place for the next 10 to 30 years, officials said.

A meeting for the general public to discuss concepts will be held virtually on April 11 and in person on May 30, though a location has not yet been determined.

Last week, Congressman Mike Levin announced  $4 million in federal funding has been secured for the Coastal Rail Corridor Relocation Study, which will support the study of long-term solutions, including potentially relocating the rail line in South Orange County.

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