Amtrak Pacific Surfliner and Orange County Metrolink commuter services north from Oceanside have been halted again over falling hillside debris in San Clemente, rail officials announced Monday, June 5.

North San Diego County Coaster commuter train service is unaffected, according to a North County Transit District update.

The service disruptions come a little more than a week after the city of San Clemente announced a wrap-up of coastal bluff stabilization work at Casa Romantica. The city had announced that the majority of the work was expected to be completed by May 26.

Train services were first disrupted in May after a bluff failure at the Casa Romantica location jeopardized the tracks. Now, Amtrak and Metrolink have announced new delays and cancellations.

“Due to continued falling debris from the Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens hillside just north of Metrolink’s San Clemente Pier Station, tracks are closed between Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo and Oceanside,” Metrolink announced June 5. “Tracks will remain closed until further notice. Metrolink trains will not operate south of the Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo station.”

Affected Metrolink lines are Inland Empire-Orange County and Orange County. Commuters are asked to get further updates by calling or texting 800-371-5465 or visiting metrolinktrains.com/service-update. Attempts to reach the service update page were met with a “timeout” error message as of Monday evening, likely from heavy internet traffic to the site.

Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner is affected between Oceanside and Irvine, the passenger rail service stated in an announcement.

“The tracks will reopen once the debris has been cleared and it is determined safe to operate trains through the area,” Amtrak stated. “We are working with partner agencies to secure buses to transport passengers around the closure.”

Affected Amtrak trains as of June 5:

Northbound
573, 581 and 587 are canceled.
769 will operate from San Juan Capistrano to Goleta. Bus service will be available from Oceanside to Irvine.
Other trains will operate between San Diego and Oceanside, and from San Juan Capistrano to points north. Bus service is available at Oceanside to connect to Irvine.

Southbound
770 is canceled between Los Angeles and San Diego.
562 and 564 will terminate at San Juan Capistrano.
572 and 586 are canceled.
794 will terminate at Los Angeles, with no alternate transportation provided south.
Other trains will operate as far as San Juan Capistrano and between Oceanside to San Diego. Bus service is available at Irvine to connect to Oceanside.

Affected Amtrak trains as of June 6:

572, 573, 586 and 587 are canceled.
562, 765, 769, 770, 774, 777, 784, 785, 790 and 591 will operate with bus service between Irvine and Oceanside.
564, 580, 581 and 595 will originate/terminate at San Juan Capistrano; no alternate service available from stations south.

Amtrak will provide updates on its @PacSurfliners Twitter account. Reservations can be updated online at amtrak.com.

OsideNews is an edition of the North Coast Current.