Community Corner
Wall To Guard Tracks In South OC After Landslide Halts Train Service
The wall would protect the railroad tracks from future landslides and prevent future train closures, OC transportation officials said.
SAN CLEMENTE, CA — A stretch of railway in south Orange County threatened by landslides will likely get a protective wall sometime in the future after landslides prompted train closures on June 5, the Orange County Transportation Authority reported.
The announcement comes after the OCTA Board of Directors voted to declare a rail emergency in response to reports of moving land on the San Clemente coast, just below the Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens, that has prompted railway officials to halt train service several times in the last year.
The declaration of rail emergency allows OCTA to take protective measures in ensuring that the railroad is safe for future travel, including designing and constructing a temporary barrier wall at the bottom of the slope, officials said.
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According to an OCTA statement, the purpose of the temporary wall would be to keep any additional debris from falling from the hillside onto the track.
While there was no released timeline to resume rail service, transportation officials said that over the next couple of weeks, Metrolink is expected to hire a contractor to design and build the wall. The details of the project are yet to be determined.
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Transportation officials said a timeline to resume rail service would be released after OCTA and Metrolink jointly determine the railroad is safe again for travel.
The emergency work comes after another landslide in the San Clemente forced a renewed halt in train service through south Orange County Monday, June 5.
The tracks — used by Metrolink and Amtrak Pacific Surfliner trains — were closed Monday morning between San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano as crews assessed what appeared to be another significant movement of dirt on the hillside overlooking the tracks, just below the Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens.
Some of the mud and rocks littered the train tracks Monday morning, officials said.
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