Amtrak announced service from San Diego to Irvine will be reduced from five to three daily round trips as crews work to remedy yet another landslide that interrupted service on the busy path.
Beginning Monday, Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner will make what it described as "cost-cutting measures to preserve service during track closure." Those changes include reducing daily roundtrips from San Diego to Orange County to three times, omitting cafe and business classes services, and omitting baggage service.
"To our riders - we understand the inconvenience these adjustments may cause, and thank you for your patience as we navigate through the challenges of these extended track closures," the company said in a statement on social media.
Get San Diego local news, weather forecasts, sports and lifestyle stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC San Diego newsletters.
The move comes just a week after another landslide in San Clemente forced closures from North County to Irvine -- the third time this year.
The tracks used by Metrolink and Amtrak Pacific Surfliner trains were closed last week between San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano as crews inspected 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 wound up abutting the train tracks.
Local
The tracks had been closed for about a month starting in late April due to the unstable hillside. But the tracks reopened on May 27. Casa Romantica was also closed due to damage on its terrace caused by the landslide, but the facility partially reopened on May 25. It was unclear if the latest movement of dirt would again impact operations at the center.
The Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) rail corridor was under construction between September 2022 and Jan. 24 as crews worked to fix tracks near San Clemente. Storms last fall shifted coastal tracks in the area, prompting authorities to suspend service from Oceanside to Irvine. In wake of the emergency work, shuttle bus service was offered in the impacted areas, which will likely be the case again starting this week.
