Interruptions of rail service have plagued the coastal rail line between San Diego and Orange County for the past few years.
Landslides and bluff failures interrupted service between the two counties for months at a time.
"It is simply not an option to accept regular shut downs of rail service in this section of the corridor as the status quo," said Toks Omishakin, the Secretary of California’s state transportation agency.
He says securing the Los Angeles — San Diego — San Luis Obispo Rail Corridor (LOSSAN) is one of his top priorities. "We can't normalize the fact that this quarter routinely shuts down and has to consistently fight every winter season, or every rainy season, to try to get it back open. We cannot normalize that," he said.
On Thursday, he presented $125 million in state funding to the Orange County Transportation Authority.
The grants were awarded as part of the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program.
The money will secure a seven-mile section of the rail line near San Clemente for the next 20 to 30 years.
"The project that was funded today shores up the track that's in place. So what it does is it continues to support where the track is right now. And we need that for the short term, as we figure out what's going to happen for the long term," said State Senator, Catherine Blakespear.
She says San Clemente is similar to Del Mar, where the rail line will at some point need to be relocated.
"But it will be much less expensive for us to make those long term improvements and get going on that, than it will to continue to fight nature," she said.
Blakespeare added that interruptions to service, interrupt more than just passenger travel.
"There are $1 billion dollars of freight goods that travel every year along this line. It's also for military readiness. And there are millions of passenger trips every year," she said. "So there are multiple goals that are really important that we support, and maintain and grow."
The state is also awarding $38 million to North County Transit District.
The funding will be used to double-track the century-old San Luis Rey River bridge in Oceanside, and continue the bluff stabilization in Del Mar.
"It really helps us out with our service. We'll be able to better manage trains through the corridor, both from a freight perspective and also passenger rail. So it's going to be a really great investment for us," said Shawn Donaghy, the CEO of North County Transit District.
Work is expected to start in the coming months and be completed by 2027.
