OCTA Board Advances Coastal Rail Resiliency Planning in South Orange County

Draft feasibility report identifies strategies to protect coastal rail line for up to 30 years as OCTA continues near-term stabilization and sand placement efforts

ORANGE - The Orange County Transportation Authority Board of Directors on Monday reviewed the Draft Coastal Rail Resiliency Feasibility Report and directed staff to continue coordinating with stakeholders, regulatory agencies and the public before the study is finalized later this year.

The report marks the latest step in OCTA's Coastal Rail Resiliency Study, launched in late 2023 to evaluate potential strategies for protecting approximately 7 miles of the Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) Rail Corridor through Dana Point and San Clemente to the Orange County-San Diego County line.

The study focuses on identifying feasible approaches to help protect the existing rail line and maintain safe and reliable passenger and freight rail operations for up to the next 30 years, while a separate, state-led effort will examine longer-term solutions for the corridor beyond that timeframe.

"This is an important step toward identifying practical solutions that can help protect this critical rail corridor while continuing to incorporate input from residents, regulatory agencies and other stakeholders," said OCTA Chair Jamey M. Federico, also a Dana Point council member. "The work ahead will require continued coordination among local, state and federal agencies, and we remain committed to advancing solutions that support safe and reliable rail service while continuing to be a partner in broader coastal resiliency planning efforts."

The Draft Feasibility Report does not identify a single preferred project or propose one solution for the entire 7-mile corridor. Instead, it provides a more detailed technical foundation for future project development and identifies a toolbox of potentially feasible rail, bluffside and beachside concepts that could be applied selectively based on conditions at specific locations.

The study initially evaluated 23 concepts, including rail-foundation improvements, alternative railroad materials, catchment walls, bluff-stabilization measures and a range of beachside protection approaches. Following technical analysis, public input and feedback from the OCTA Board and regulatory agencies, the refined beachside concepts carried forward in the study all include sand placement and, depending on location, could also include repairing or restoring existing reinforcement boulders known as riprap, engineered revetments, seawalls or combinations of those approaches.

Any future project would require additional engineering and alternatives analysis, environmental review under applicable state and federal requirements, continued public engagement, permits and approvals from regulatory agencies, and identified funding before construction could proceed.

Ongoing Coastal Rail Challenges

Since 2021, coastal erosion, bluff movement, landslides, high tides, storms and powerful ocean swells have contributed to repeated rail service disruptions in San Clemente totaling nearly a full year. OCTA has responded with emergency stabilization work at several priority locations while advancing the Coastal Rail Resiliency Study, which is intended to move from repeatedly responding to emergencies toward a more coordinated, proactive approach.

More than $300 million in state, federal and local funding has been secured for those priority rail protection efforts. Sand placement is also a significant component of this effort.

OCTA is advancing plans to place up to approximately 540,000 cubic yards of sand along the San Clemente coastline to help support protection of the rail corridor. That effort follows an initial placement of approximately 2,500 cubic yards of sand at North Beach in 2025 and is being coordinated with other planned sand-placement projects in South Orange County. The CRRS will pursue additional sand-placement efforts as one of the rail protection strategies.

The Draft Feasibility Report concludes that the coastal rail corridor continues to face long-term vulnerabilities and that short-term stabilization measures alone will not eliminate risks to rail operations. It also identifies the need for significant interagency coordination, environmental review, engineering and capital investment to maintain reliable rail service over the coming decades.

OCTA staff will continue incorporating feedback received during the study process and will return to the Board as additional project-development milestones are reached.

The LOSSAN Corridor is one of the nation's busiest passenger and freight rail corridors, serving Metrolink, Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner, freight rail operations and military transportation. OCTA's ongoing work is intended to help protect this vital transportation link and maintain safe and reliable rail service while longer-term solutions for the corridor continue to be evaluated.

For additional information about the Coastal Rail Resiliency Study, visit octa.net/CRRS.

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