SOLANA BEACH, Calif. — For more than three weeks now, the passenger rail service between San Diego and Orange County has remained shut down after a landslide in San Clemente.
It's one of a number of service disruptions that one local lawmaker calls unacceptable and who has a new plan to get rail service in Southern California back on track.
Local rail passengers trying to travel to or through San Clemente have had to endure five extended service shutdowns during the past three years. This new legislation aims to address that, having the state step in to try to make rail service as reliable as possible.
Encinitas resident Michael Bell said he used to use the train monthly to head from North County up to LAX to catch flights for work.
"And now, this is no longer an option for me," he told CBS 8. "I'm either Uber-ing or staying overnight at a hotel at LAX so I can catch an early morning flight."
It is no longer an option, he says, because of the near-constant service shutdowns in train service. It's required passengers to take a bus between Oceanside and Irvine, including this current shutdown caused by a landslide on January 24.
"It's a hassle for me and I refuse to do it, so I'll Uber all the way up or have my wife drop me off."
Bell is not alone.
At its peak in 2019, more than 8,000,000 passengers rode along some portion of the 351-mile Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo rail corridor.
Last year, though, fewer than 4,000,000 trips were taken, according to State Senator Catherine Blakespear, who represents Encinitas. She's now proposing new legislation to turn that around.
"This is about aligning action for the benefit of passengers," Blakespear said at a recent press conference.
Senate Bill 1098 would direct the state's transportation agency to oversee the rail corridor. It would also require our four regional planning agencies, including SANDAG, to come up with local plans to improve rail service.
It would also have California's transportation secretary manage all of these stakeholders within the rail corridor.
"These challenges are simply too large for one local agency to solve on its own," said State Senator Josh Newman.
As for the current rail shutdown in San Clemente because of the landslide more than three weeks ago, there is still no definitive word on when service will resume.
For his part, Michael Bell is skeptical as to whether this proposal to have the state take the lead in coordinating local efforts will get our rail service back on track.
"I don't know. How often doe the state step in and and make something more reliable?" he asked. "I'm not sure that that is actually an option. If there's a plan that works, then maybe I'll be all for it."
There are also a number of planned track closures next month, specifically during the weekends.
Planned track closures will be in effect for the first four weekends of March 2024.
- March 2-3: Tracks will be closed between Irvine and San Diego for scheduled Metrolink and North County Transit District (NCTD) track work.
- March 16-17: Tracks will be closed between Los Angeles and Glendale for scheduled Metrolink track work.
- March 23-24: Tracks will be closed between Oceanside and San Diego for scheduled NCTD track work.
WATCH RELATED: San Clemente to Oceanside rail services suspended due to landslide debris, damage