LOSSAN Corridor To See Schedule Disruptions in Late October
Written by David C. Lester, Editor-in-Chief
Amtrak Pacific Surfliner along the coast of southern California. Photo courtesy of Amtrak.
LOS ANGELES –– The ongoing saga of geologic instability along the Lossan Corridor continues with a line shutdown for the weekend of October 25-26.
Readers of RT&S know that the LOSSAN rail corridor, which is 351 miles long and runs from San Diego to San Luis Obispo has suffered from cycles of geologic instability and repair for many years. The challenge of this line lies essentially in the fact that it runs along the Southern California coast, which has been impacted by flooding and erosion. Those not familiar with the recent evolution of this corridor only need to enter “LOSSAN Corridor” in the search box of this website to link to many stories about the situation written by RT&S editors.
AMTRAK
The LOSSAN Corridor hosts Amtrak Pacific Surfliner, commuter trains, long-distance trains and freight trains both on the line and at certain stations. According to Amtrak, In the short-term, ongoing construction projects keep the infrastructure in top condition and contribute to overall improvements in rail travel along the corridor. Amtrak adds that larger projects require tracks or stations to be closed so crews can perform necessary work, which can temporarily affect train service. The last weekend of October 2025 will be see one of those larger projects. The long-term solution to the LOSSAN challenges is still being debated.
According to an Amtrak travel advisory released on October 9, the following work will be done during the October 25-26 weekend:
San Diego: Del Mar Bluff stabilization, capacity enhancements, and signal work.
Santa Barbara: Track bed and crossing work
Ventura: Track work and switch upgrades
Orange County: Track bed, crossing, and signal work, power pole replacements, as well as construction activities in support of the Orange County Coastal Rail Resiliency improvements.
You can read more from the Amtrak travel advisory.
METROLINK
Metrolink also issued a service advisory which reads as follows: “On Saturday and Sunday, October 25 and 26, Metrolink and the North County Transit District, will complete multiple track projects between San Diego and Ventura counties. These projects will result in a complete service suspension of Metrolink’s Ventura County, Orange County, and Inland Empire-Orange County lines.
“No alternate transportation will be provided in lieu of Metrolink passenger rail service.
“Please be advised that alternate transportation will not be available for these three lines on these two days. As an alternative to train travel, we encourage passengers to check OCTA bus routes serving stations in Orange County, LA Metro bus routes serving Los Angeles County, and VCTC bus routes serving cities in Ventura County.
“Amtrak Pacific Surfliner service will also be affected by the track closure. For details, go to pacificsurfliner.com.
“We apologize that necessary infrastructure enhancements sometimes result in track closures that may be inconvenient for our riders. This work is necessary to ensure the system’s safety and reliability.”
You can read more from the Metrolink travel advisory.
