El Nio threatens the beloved Pacific Surfliner. Can the iconic train survive the winter?

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Set us as preferred For years, Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner has been portrayed as the civilized way to travel to and from San Diego.No gridlock on Interstate 5.Glorious views of the Pacific Ocean.

Even the chance to grab a drink and relax.But the iconic rail line connecting Orange County to San Diego is under threat thanks to coastal erosion — and officials say the situation could get much worse if predictions of an intense El Niño winter come to pass.

Heavy waves and erosion closed the rail line for days this summer.Last year, the line was closed for a month for repairs designed to protect against landslides.“It’s been a pain in the butt with the delays,” said Shirley Moreno, a SeaWorld San Diego employee in her 30s who takes the Surfliner five times a month to visit family in Los Angeles.

“Sometimes they close it down when I need to come out here.” What makes the Surfliner so appealing — a picturesque view as the train rides right along the water — is also what makes it so perilous.For years, seas have been slowly rising as a result of human-caused climate change, leading to coastal erosion.It’s led to extreme weather events and the conditions brewing this summer in the Pacific are no exception.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center said that there’s a 97% chance of a “strong” or “very strong” El Niño over a three-month period ending in December.“There’s a race with Mother Nature in terms of trying to protect the line,” said Derrell Johnson, chief executive of the Orange County Transportation Authority, which manages the land under part of the Surfliner’s route.

“The rail line has been there since the 1880s but in the last five years, there’s been no other time in history where we’ve had this much impact.”The challenges the line ha...