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Metrolink rail service being reduced, some rail travel will be cut for several weeks to avoid widespread delays

March 20, 2026

Metrolink service throughout Southern California is being reduced, and in some cases stopped, next week to avoid widespread delays, last-minute cancellations and unreliable service, officials with the transit provider announced on Thursday, March 19.

Metrolink, which has 164 train trips serving Southern California on each weekday, is facing a backlog of locomotive and railcar repairs due to mechanical issues and problems replacing needed parts, its officials said. In February, trains were canceled 21 times, and so far in March, there have been 43 cancellations. Last week, Metrolink averaged 21,426 boardings each weekday.

“Yesterday, we had to cancel quite a few trains because we didn’t have the equipment to provide the service; that was a big eye-opener,” said Meredith Yeoman, spokesperson for Metrolink. “You don’t want to have people rely on a train that’s not coming because your equipment isn’t able to deliver that service.”

“That’s kinda of where we’re at with the number of locomotives that we have that are service ready,” she said. “It takes 36 locomotives to operate at our current service level, and when you don’t have those available, you’re not going to be able to deliver on that promise. So, we don’t want people planning their day around which trains they’ll take and then have something happen midday or a cancellation come in. We’d rather get ahead of it, so people can plan for it.”

Train service will be reduced starting Monday, March 23, and, as a result, select Metrolink trains will not run at all on some lesser-used routes and passengers will see reductions in schedules among the more popular routes, Yeoman said.

The reductions will affect all lines except the Riverside Line and Arrow service. Some trips will be shortened or adjusted, and overall, passengers should expect fewer trip options throughout the day. The reductions are expected to last seven weeks.

“There are at least two trains in Orange County that typically go all the way to Oceanside, but will instead begin and end at the Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo station,” Yeoman said. “There are a couple of situations like that where the whole train isn’t suspended, but it won’t be running the full distance it would under the current schedule.”

Yeoman said the backlog and maintenance will affect about 20% of the rail provider’s weekday service. None of the 60 weekend train trips that Metrolink runs will be affected, she said.

Many of Metrolink’s engines run on a diesel system that is environmentally friendly, reducing fuel consumption by up to 8% compared to older engines, Yeoman said, but there have been recent issues getting parts for repairs. Some of the parts have been taking five months or longer to get and then the repairs aren’t just a quick two-hour turnaround, she added.

“To replace a part, it can take up to three weeks,” Yeomen said. “The delays have backed up and that’s where these seven weeks are coming in. It takes time to put these fixes in, and they’re longer-term fixes.”

Yeomen said that since enough locomotives have been affected, the current service level can’t be maintained. The fleet typically carries 54 engines.

Metrolink engineers and maintainers have had to reach into their arsenal of older engines and put some of those back to work. They have not met the requirement of 36 locomotives operating for a couple of weeks, Yeomen said.

Key to the decision to halt and condense train schedules, Yeomen said, is the agency’s concern for its customers’ experience, especially as many have been held up in their commutes over the past year.

“It’s the combination of understanding what equipment is available and then seeing the trend of the cancellations,” she said, “and wanting to make sure we’re delivering a service that is of the quality of what people expect from us and we expect of ourselves.”

Metrolink train service has been affected along the Los Angeles–San Luis Obispo–San Diego corridor multiple times the last few years because of landslides in San Clemente where the tracks run beachfront. More than $40 million has been spent on emergency repairs to restore service, and there is a $310 million price tag for a series of catchment walls, reventments and sand replacement projects that are planned.

There have been some recent service stoppages on weekends for that work and erosion repair work in northern San Diego County.

In San Juan Capistrano, an Orange County community that now won’t see Metrolink trains for the next couple of months, Mayor John Campbell said the town gets a lot of tourism dollars from visitors. The train stop is near its historic downtown and the Mission San Juan Capistrano.

Though he regrets the impact the service change will have on commuters, he said, “I’m happy they’re making the tough decision and focusing on safety. But, I also want to encourage people to pay attention to the Amtrak, which is still running, and explore their schedule.”

Alyssa Dowdalls, spokesperson for Amtrak Pacific Surfliner, said no changes are expected to its service schedules.

Service changes

The following temporary service changes will go into effect on Monday, Metrolink officials announced:

San Bernardino Line: Trains 302, 307, 310, 318, 319, 326, 327, 335, 338, 343, 355, and 356 are temporarily suspended. This includes trains operating between Los Angeles and San Bernardino, and between Los Angeles and Montclair.
Orange County Line: Trains 623, 628, 631, and 634 are temporarily suspended. Train 605 temporarily starts in Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo instead of Oceanside and Train 618 temporarily ends in Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo.
Antelope Valley Line: Trains 210, 213, 218, 231, 233, and 236 are temporarily suspended. Train 201 temporarily ends in Vista Canyon instead of Lancaster and Train 206 temporarily starts in Vista Canyon.
Ventura County Line: Trains 100, 114, 116, 117, 119, and 139 are temporarily suspended.
91/Perris Valley Line: Trains 723 and 744 are temporarily suspended. Train 707 temporarily starts in Riverside-Downtown instead of Perris-South. Train 720 temporarily ends in Riverside-Downtown.
Inland Empire–Orange County Line: Trains 811 and 812 are temporarily suspended. Train 803 temporarily ends in Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo instead of Oceanside. Train 824 temporarily starts in Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo.

For more information: metrolinktrains.com

Orange County Register

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