Rail service disrupted in southern OC due to landslide

Rail service remained unavailable in southern Orange County Friday thanks to a landslide that damaged the historic Casa Romantica Cultural Center in San Clemente and sent dirt and debris cascading down a hillside toward coastal railroad tracks.

Metrolink service was halted Thursday afternoon and remained unavailable Friday south of the Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo Station. That left no service available to San Juan Capistrano, San Clemente or Oceanside.

Metrolink officials said weekend trains on the Orange County Line will operate as far south of San Juan Capistrano, but there won’t be any alternate transportation, such as temporary bus service, to shuttle passengers farther south.

Inland Empire-Orange County Line trains on Friday will originate and end at the Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo Station, but will extend to San Juan Capistrano over the weekend, according to Metrolink.

Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner, which uses the same tracks, suspended service between Irvine and San Diego due to the landslide, although Amtrak officials said some limited service would be available as far as San Juan Capistrano.

The landslide occurred around 1 p.m. Thursday, roughly two weeks after officials at Casa Romantica first reported ground movement that caused some cracks on the property’s concrete terrace facing the ocean.

While slight movement had been continuing over the past two weeks, the ground collapsed by about 10 feet on Thursday afternoon, damaging the Casa Romatica terrace, part of which tumbled down the hillside.

The San Clemente City Council earlier this week approved a $75,000 contract with a geologic contractor to study the ground movement and develop a plan for shoring up the hillside. The contractor was working at the site this week when the slide occurred.

Casa Romantica was red-tagged, or deemed unsuitable for occupation, along with some condominium units in a residential building farther down the hillside. It was unclear exactly how many residents were displaced.

The slide occurred about two miles north of where the Orange County Transportation Authority is finishing up construction to shore up a hillslide slope near the Cyprus Shore Homeowners Association in San Clemente, officials said. Work in that area led to an extended disruption of rail service between Orange County and San Diego earlier this year. Service in the area was restored earlier this month.

Rep. Mike Levin, D-Dana Point, said the landslide was a reminder of the urgency to address climate change.

“The recurrent landslides in our district are a constant reminder that we must continue to take the climate crisis seriously and invest in support systems to ensure residents are safe and our infrastructure is sound,” Levin said in a statement.. “I’m in communication with local authorities to assess what is needed in the short-term, and I am fighting to bring federal resources to our district in the long-term to protect residents and our infrastructure against future landslides.

“I secured $9.3 million in federal funds for the Army Corps to bring sand to our beaches to protect against erosion, and last month I brought Federal Railroad Administrator (Amit) Bose to see our transportation challenges and push for the relocation of the railroad tracks on the LOSSAN corridor. I have requested $4 million to support the Orange County Transportation Authority to study this. This is a priority for me, and I’ll continue to work with our local, state, and federal partners to make this a reality for our region.”

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