Emergency declaration issued, barrier wall planned for latest San Clemente landslide

A barrier wall will be constructed to secure a landslide site in San Clemente that has limited train service between Orange County and San Diego for more than a week, officials announced on Friday.

The state on Thursday issued an official emergency declaration for the landslide threatening a regional rail line where it passes through San Clemente, following a slope failure Jan. 24 that also destroyed a popular pedestrian bridge along the neighboring coastal trail.

Orange County Transportation Authority CEO Darrell E. Johnson sent a letter to Caltrans Director Tony Tavares, asking for the declaration that will allow OCTA to access up to $10 million in emergency funding to help with protecting the track and restoring passenger service as soon as possible, according to an announcement.

“I’m grateful for the state’s partnership and for recognizing what an important issue this is for regional mobility,” Johnson said in a statement.

The 351-mile Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo Rail Corridor, or LOSSAN, runs beachfront through parts of San Clemente. The OCTA owns the train tracks in Orange County and they are managed by Metrolink, which along with Amtrak has not been able to offer passenger service further south than San Juan Capistrano since last week’s landslide.

Freight trains have been able to resume use of the rail line at very reduced speeds at night and in the early-morning hours.

“Though minimal, hillside movement continues to be recorded and, with the ongoing heavy rain, there is still no definitive timetable for passenger rail service to resume at this point,” OCTA officials said. Limited passenger service could be restored during construction of the wall, officials said.

“I’m tremendously appreciative to all of our partnering rail agencies and, of course, to the state, for the partnership and working together to deal with the emergency and pursue a solution to restore service,” Johnson said. “We all know how vital this rail line is for Orange County and for the region.”

Plastic tarp has been set out on the slope and storm-water mitigation measures were been put in place as storms batter the region this week.

Over the past three years, San Clemente’s eroding bluffs have repeatedly forced the closure of the rail line, which had “operated largely uninterrupted for more than 125 years,” according to OCTA.

The latest barrier wall will be the third built to secure San Clemente’s slipping slopes and protect the tracks from sliding land.

Costs are mounting for the continued slope failures. 

Already, OCTA and the state have spent $27.7 million responding to landslides in San Clemente since 2022. The city has also spent an estimated $8.5 million to secure the slope at the historic Casa Romantica following a landslide last year.