The Amtrak Pacific Surfliner resumed service Monday from Orange County to and from San Diego, just in time for Comic-Con International San Diego and the start of the Del Mar summer racing season.
Service had been halted since early June due to debris and dirt falling on the tracks from an unstable hillside above. The resumption follows the completion of a railroad protection project near the San Clemente Pier.
Metrolink and Amtrak Pacific Surfliner trains are again able to travel through the area thanks to emergency construction of a temporary barrier wall protecting the tracks from debris.
“It really was for extraordinary efforts from both Metrolink and OCTA (Orange County Transit Authority) that this barrier wall was able to be constructed in just over a week,” Metrolink Communication Director Scott Johnson said.
He said the wall's construction cost roughly $1.5 to $2 million. In all, the rail service disruption cost the OCTA and Metrolink close to $5 million.
Orange County officials have been working for months to stabilize the hillside above the tracks near Casa Romantica Culture Center and Gardens, which have also been affected by the sliding hill.
The first mudslide near Casa Romantica happened April 27. Rail service was shut down, but resumed May 27. But another mudslide on June 5 compelled another closure.
The temporary barrier wall is 250 feet long and 12 feet high, with pilings dug 32 feet into the ground, according to transit officials.
Oceanside resident Felicia O'Sullivan, a self-proclaimed train enthusiast, said she hopes a permanent solution can be found so that services won't be interrupted again.
"We're lucky we have a train that goes by the coast, and I'm fearful they might not be able to keep the train by the coast," she said.
Metrolink said the barrier wall is only a temporary fix. The city of San Clemente needs to come up with a permanent solution. San Clemente Mayor Chris Duncan said the city council will take up the issue at its meeting Tuesday night.
"This is a temporary wall at the bottom to ensure that if there is another slide, it doesn't encroach on the tracks again like it did a few months ago," he said. "Up above, it's more about stabilizing Casa Romantica — stabilizing that whole hillside and making sure that the erosion doesn't happen in the first place.”
For now, transit officials said to accommodate the expected increase in travelers for Comic-Con and the X Games, three additional trains will be added to the Pacific Surfliner schedule from Friday, July 21, through Sunday, July 23.
— Train 568 will depart Los Angeles at 9:10 a.m. and arrive in San Diego at 12:07 p.m., making all stops in between;
— Train 799 will depart San Diego at 1:25 p.m. and arrive in Santa Barbara at 7:44 p.m., making all stops in between. It provides an evening return for X Games attendees traveling north, departing Ventura at 7:09 p.m.; and
— Train 798 will depart Santa Barbara at 8:50 p.m. and arrive in Los Angeles at 11:48 p.m., making all stops in between. It provides a late-night return for X Games attendees traveling south, departing Ventura at 9:43 p.m.
