Amtrak’s San Diegan Will Resume Commuter Service Today

Amtrak’s San Diegan, shut down for two weeks after a massive landslide blocked railroad tracks in Dana Point, was scheduled to resume its commuter runs this morning, Santa Fe Railway officials said Monday.

Freight train traffic heading south to San Diego was to resume late Monday night, officials said.

The good news for Amtrak commuters and for freight shippers transporting everything from lumber to poultry feed came less than a week after work crews began clearing tons of landslide debris from the Los Angeles to San Diego line. An estimated 2,000 cubic yards of dirt and rocks--about 18 feet deep in some sections--have been cleared since work started last Wednesday, officials said.

Most of the effort has involved building a 300-foot-long retaining wall along the slide area between the tracks and Pacific Coast Highway to prevent debris from sliding onto the rails. The wall is about 20 feet high and includes about 44 steel girders sunk into the ground at depths of up to 40 feet.

“The weather has been cooperative, and crews have been working around the clock,” said Mike Martin, a spokesman for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway. “We haven’t had any problems.”

Since the landslide destroyed five ocean-bluff homes in San Clemente and sent tons of debris onto Coast Highway and the tracks below, Amtrak commuter services have been disrupted and freight shipments have been unable to reach San Diego County by rail.

“It’s safe to say this is the longest time that main line has been closed down since it was opened in 1888,” Martin said.

Amtrak provides service for more than 5,000 riders on 18 daily runs between San Diego and Los Angeles. Ridership has dropped between 50% and 75% as commuters in San Diego and Orange counties had to use shuttle buses to reach the Irvine Transportation Center, Amtrak spokesman Bruce Heard said.