00:03Severe weather has taken a toll on one of Southern California's key transportation links,
00:08the Pacific Surfliner. Weather is right now extreme. We've got a combination of high tides,
00:15the Kelvin wave, hurricanes that are impacting our area, the waves crashing onto the railroad tracks.
00:23Katrina Foley serves on the Orange County Transportation Authority Board,
00:27which oversees this coastal rail corridor connecting San Diego to San Luis Obispo.
00:35It's a vital link for commuters, tourists, freight, and nearby military operations.
00:40The powerful waves, flooding, and coastal erosion are threatening these tracks,
00:45and officials say service disruptions are happening more often.
00:50From 1890 until 91, we only had two times where the trains stopped.
00:56Since 2021, it's been seven times.
00:59In San Clemente, the tracks are squeezed between coastal bluffs and the ocean,
01:04leaving them vulnerable to erosion from both sides.
01:07You got bluff failure on one side and beach erosion on the other side,
01:11so to keep that train running, really important that you're protecting what's coming down off these cliffs,
01:17but also protecting the beach.
01:19San Clemente lifeguard Sean Stottenbauer says retaining walls and other projects are helping protect the rail line,
01:24but the coastline remains at risk.
01:26Anytime after a big rain, you can just see different areas that have failed over the years,
01:32where one day it may seem like everything's fine,
01:36and one big storm or a little slope failure, it just brings down a big chunk of land.
01:43And as Southern California prepares for a possible El Nino,
01:47local leaders are looking for solutions to keep these tracks open through the winter,
01:51as severe weather continues to threaten this coastline.
01:54I'm Kai Beach with AccuWeather.
