Surf Line

The Surf Line is a railroad line that runs from San Diego north to Orange County along California's Pacific Coast. It was so named because much of the line is near the Pacific Ocean, within less than 100 feet (30 m) in some places. The tracks are now owned by the Southern California Regional Rail Authority and the North County Transit District, and hosts Metrolink's Orange County Line and Inland Empire–Orange County Line, the San Diego Coaster, and Amtrak Pacific Surfliner passenger trains. The BNSF Railway operates freight over the line using trackage rights.

This article is about the railroad line. For the surf forecasting website, see Surfline.

The southbound San Diegan passes through Capistrano Beach, California on the Surf Line in April 1973.

History
San Diegan at Del Mar, c. 1940s

Construction of the Surf Line between Los Angeles and San Diego began on October 12, 1880, with the organization of the California Southern Railroad Company. On January 2, 1882, the California Southern commenced passenger and freight service between National City and Fallbrook Junction, just north of Oceanside.[1] From Oceanside the line turned northeast for a winding route through the Temecula Canyon, and was finished on August 21, 1882.[2]

The line became part of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad's transcontinental rail line in 1885 via an extension of the California Southern from Colton north over the Cajon Pass to Barstow. From 1886 to 1888, the Riverside, Santa Ana and Los Angeles Railway built a branch from Highgrove southwest via Riverside to Santa Ana and from Orange (just north of Santa Ana) northwest to Los Angeles. Also in 1888 the San Bernardino and San Diego Railway completed its line from Oceanside north to Santa Ana, completing what was originally called the Los Angeles–San Diego Short Line. The now-downgraded old route was destroyed by floods in 1891 and the new line, later named the Surf Line, was now the only line to San Diego from the north.

In 1910, the Fullerton and Richfield Railway built a short cutoff of the San Bernardino–Los Angeles route from Atwood west to Fullerton, giving the Surf Line its northern terminus of Fullerton.

For much of the 20th century, the Surf Line (officially, the Fourth District of the Los Angeles Division[3]) was to the Santa Fe what the New York City–Philadelphia corridor was to the Pennsylvania Railroad. Daily traffic could reach a density of ten trains (each way) during the summer months. The route hosted AT&SF San Diegan passenger trains, renamed the Pacific Surfliner by Amtrak in 2000.[4] The Santa Fe installed centralized traffic control in 1943–1944 which increased capacity on the line.[5]

Santa Fe sold the line to local transportation authorities in 1992, with ownership split between the Southern California Regional Rail Authority in Orange County and the San Diego Northern Railway in San Diego County.[6]

Operations

The route is the southerly portion of the 351-mile-long (565 km) LOSSAN Rail Corridor between San Luis Obispo and San Diego. Local agencies along the route formed the Los Angeles–San Diego-San Luis Obispo Rail Corridor Agency (LOSSAN) in 1989.[7] Commuter trains began operating in the 1990s, initially as an outgrowth of existing Amtrak services before assuming the identities of Metrolink and Coaster. Coaster runs within San Diego County, between San Diego and Oceanside, while Metrolink's services operate north of Oceanside. Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner travels throughout the corridor. The San Diego Trolley light rail shares the Surf Line's right of way in San Diego, running adjacent to the heavy rail tracks. For about a mile in Oceanside, the Sprinter service parallels the Surf Line before heading east on the Escondido Subdivision towards Escondido, California.

Sprinter train departing from Oceanside
Coaster train passes through Del Mar
Pacific Surfliner 785 passing through San Onofre State Beach
Metrolink train enters Oceanside station
Southbound BNSF "daygo" freight train near San Diego

Freight traffic includes military vehicles and equipment to Camp Pendleton and the Navy ports in San Diego.[8] Due to passenger trains running on a daily schedule, occasional BNSF manifest freight trains run through the Surf Line often at night, which is dubbed as the "Daygo".

About two-thirds of the 60-mile (97 km) segment from the Orange County line to the Santa Fe Depot in downtown San Diego has been double-tracked. As one of the nation's busiest corridors, local transportation and planning agencies want to complete the entire section.[9] A 2.6-mile (4.2 km) section of double track between Elvira (SR 52) and Morena (Balboa Avenue) was completed in July 2020. The $192 million project, which began in August 2015, completed 14.6 miles (23.5 km) of double track from San Diego northward.[10]

The segment of the LOSSAN Corridor within San Diego County achieved full implementation of positive train control in December of 2018, for all passenger and freight trains operating on this segment.[11]

Track issues
See also: North Coast Corridor

Due to its location along the beaches of Southern California, the line faces persistent issues due to sea level rise and coastal erosion, exacerbated by climate change. The tracks are adjacent to coastal bluffs some 40 feet (12 m) above the beach for 1.7 miles (2.7 km) in Del Mar.[12] Another segment along the San Clemente coast on a low-lying section of track crosses an ancient, recurring landslide. Aggravated by storms and high tides, waves sometimes crash across these rails at high tide that are close to the surf on the narrow beach.[13]

An Israel Railways IC3 being tested on the San Diegan, passing over the Del Mar Bluffs in July 1996

Coastal erosion eats away at the Del Mar bluff each year and the rate has accelerated due to sea level rise due to climate change. The bluff has had to be shored up to safely run current operations.[14] Steel beams were driven into the beach at the base of the bluff in September 2020 to stabilize the face of the bluff for 20 or 30 years.[15] In August, the California Coastal Commission had emphasized the need to move the railroad tracks inland as they reviewed the emergency permits for the stabilization work. The San Diego Association of Governments(SANDAG) is conducting a $3 million study on relocating the rail line.[15] A tunnel under Del Mar, which would cost more than $3 billion, is being considered.[16] In 2022, $300 million was included in the state budget for the SANDAG so that the project can compete for federal matching funds.[17] Local leaders, including SANDAG’s executive director, showed Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg the coastal erosion at the bluffs in October 2022.[18]

On September 15, 2021, waves crashing over the rails damaged the tracks in San Clemente. The segment had to be shut down through October 3.[19][20][16] An extended closure occurred the next year when the segment was closed to passenger traffic on September 29, 2022 due to soil movement; freight traffic continued at lowered speed.[21][22] Additional rock was added after each incident.[13] The passenger rail traffic stop continued as anchors were being placed into bedrock.[23] The line fully reopened in April 2023 but rail service was halted again two miles to the north.[24][25] Falling debris did not damage the tracks but ground movement continued from a landslide involving Casa Romantica on the bluff above.[26] Full service resumed in late May[27] but was halted indefinitely again in early June.[28] During the work closures, freight trains are able to resume at a speed of 10 miles per hour (16 km/h) as officials are on site to clear them when it is safe to proceed.[29][30] Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), which owns the section of track,[31] declared an emergency on June 12 to speed up construction of temporary barrier wall at the bottom of the slope.[32] The 250-foot long (76 m) barrier is 12 feet (3.7 m) high with the piles set roughly 32 feet (9.8 m) into the ground.[33] Service resumed on July 19, 2023.[34] OCTA says $7 million is needed to study realignment and other possible solutions to protect 7 miles (11 km) of the line along the shore.[35][36] The first study, that start in August, will identify the issues that impact the rail corridor, offer solutions to protect it, and develop the cost of the necessary improvements.[37]

Historic station stops

These are not all the stations that currently operate. Many of these stations no longer exist (i.e. Linda Vista) and new ones have opened (i.e. Sorrento Valley). For a list of stations that currently operate, see the articles for Metrolink's Orange County Line and the Coaster or the templates to the right.

Santa Fe Los Angeles Division — Fourth District

See also

Notes
  1. Duke 1995, p. 50
  2. Duke 1995, pp. 53–54
  3. Richardson 2005, p. 38
  4. Gabbard, Dana (September 24, 2012). "History of the Surfliner, LOSSAN and a Look at Pending Legislation". StreetsBlog LA. OpenPlans. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  5. Jordan 2004, p. 69
  6. Stein, Mark A.; Perlman, Jeffrey A. (June 19, 1992). "Santa Fe, Transit Officials Reach Rail Deal : Commuting: The $500-million agreement for 336 miles of track means expanded O.C. passenger service". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 21, 2014.
  7. "LOSSAN Corridorwide Strategic Implementation Plan, Final Report (April 2012)" (PDF). San Luis Obispo Council of Governments. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  8. Diehl, Phil (November 29, 2022). "Freight traffic temporarily suspended at San Clemente railroad repair site as hillside continues to move". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  9. Diehl, Phil (August 19, 2019). "Coastal Commission frowns on trenching idea for rail tracks atop oceanfront bluffs". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
  10. "SANDAG Completes Major Railway Project Connecting more than 14 Miles of Continuous Double Tracking". Claremont Times. July 15, 2020.
  11. "Positive Train Control (PTC) Fact Sheet" (PDF). NCTD. July 2, 2019.
  12. "Del Mar Bluffs Stabilization Project". SANDAG : San Diego's Regional Planning Agency. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  13. Diehl, Phil (September 30, 2022). "Metrolink, Amtrak suspend train service to Oceanside because of unstable slope". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  14. Diehl, Phil (October 25, 2020). "California opposes district's bid to control Del Mar bluffs, erect chain-link fence". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  15. Little, Joe (September 22, 2020). "Steel Beams Installed to Reinforce Del Mar Beach Bluffs". NBC 7 San Diego. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  16. Diehl, Phil (August 16, 2020). "State Coastal Commission says Del Mar train tracks need to move inland". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  17. "California to provide $300 million for relocation of rail line off Del Mar Bluffs". Trains. July 5, 2022. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  18. Fleming, Omari (October 25, 2022). "Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg Tours San Diego's Bluff Erosion by Train". NBC 7 San Diego. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  19. "Beach-bluff homes, lot cracking near damaged train track in San Clemente". Orange County Register. September 21, 2021. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  20. Diehl, Phil (September 16, 2021). "Metrolink suspends rail service to Oceanside to make emergency repairs". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  21. "Service Update". Metrolink. September 29, 2022. Archived from the original on September 30, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  22. "Unstable slope stops coastal train service for up to 60 days". KPBS. September 30, 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  23. Diehl, Phil (November 11, 2022). "Bluff continues to move at San Clemente rail site where repairs shut down service to San Diego". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  24. Diehl, Phil (April 28, 2023). "New landslide closes railroad tracks at San Clemente, again halting link to San Diego". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  25. Diehl, Phil (April 10, 2023). "Metrolink, Amtrak to resume full service from Orange County to San Diego County next week". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  26. "California landslide halts rail service, homes evacuated". KPBS Public Media. April 28, 2023. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  27. Lester, David C. (May 30, 2023). "Rail Service, Including Metrolink, Pacific Surfliner, Cleared to Resume Through San Clemente". Railway Track and Structures. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  28. "Rail service halted again because of landslides on coastal tracks between San Diego and Los Angeles". AP News. June 5, 2023. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  29. San Román, Gabriel (May 16, 2023). "After landslide, an Orange County beach town finds itself between a bluff and a hard place". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  30. González, David (June 10, 2023). "Rail service slowly getting back on track after landslide in San Clemente". ABC7 Los Angeles. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  31. "Train service through San Clemente will remain shut down through February as rail line repairs begin". ABC7 Los Angeles. November 20, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  32. Schlepp, Travis (June 12, 2023). "Orange County Transportation Authority declares emergency over threatened railroad track". KTLA. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  33. Dawson, Danielle (July 11, 2023). "Amtrak, Metrolink service to resume after second landslide". FOX 5 San Diego. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  34. Diehl, Phil (July 11, 2023). "Passenger trains to resume Monday between San Diego and Orange counties". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  35. Diehl, Phil (February 28, 2023). "Agency wants to study railroad relocation to protect endangered tracks in southern Orange County". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  36. Connelly, Laylan (March 10, 2023). "As coastal train track is repaired, OCTA hopes $5 million study will help find longer term fixes". Orange County Register. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  37. Ireland, Elizabeth (August 15, 2023). "OCTA Launches Engineering Study on Threats to Rail Service to San Diego". Times of San Diego. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  38. Schmidt, Brian (November 30, 2022). "Amtrak San Diego service through the years". Trains. Retrieved December 4, 2022.

References
  • Duke, Donald (1995). Santa Fe...The Railroad Gateway to the American West. Vol. 1. San Marino, CA: Golden West Books. ISBN 0-8709-5110-6. OCLC 32745686.
  • Jordan, Keith (1996). "The Surf Line 1940–1950". The Warbonnet. 2 (2): 4–24.
  • Jordan, Keith (1996). "The Surf Line Part II: 1950–1965". The Warbonnet. 2 (4): 11–24.
  • Jordan, Keith (August 2004). "Santa Fe Surf Line, 1940" (PDF). Trains. 64 (8): 64–69. ISSN 0041-0934. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 13, 2014. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
  • Richardson, Don (June 2005). "The secret borax train" (PDF). Classic Trains. 6 (2): 36–39. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 11, 2016. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
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