Amtrak's second-busiest route will have a full shutdown next weekend—here's what train travelers need to know

Planning a beach weekend by train? You might want to rethink the timing. Amtrak has announced that The Pacific Surfliner will completely stop running between San Diego and San Luis Obispo on September 12 and 13, thanks to a coordinated round of track closures along the LOSSAN corridor.

There will be no Pacific Surfliner trains operating between San Diego and San Luis Obispo that weekend, and—perhaps most importantly—there will be no bus bridges replacing the canceled train service. So if you were counting on the Surfliner to get you from Los Angeles to Orange County, San Diego or the Central Coast, you'll need to make alternate travel plans.

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The shutdown is the result of simultaneous work by Union Pacific, Metrolink and North County Transit District on sections of track both north and south of Los Angeles. Rather than repeatedly disrupting service for individual projects, the rail agencies are tackling several infrastructure jobs at once, so potential travelers can be extremely annoyed for two days rather than mildly irritated multiple times.

Crews will be working on the Orange Subdivision just south of Irvine Station, where the work will help extend Marine Way beneath the tracks and provide additional access to Orange County's Great Park. In the San Clemente area, crews will also reconfigure work zones for ongoing slope stabilization and trail reconstruction.

North of Los Angeles, the Ventura Subdivision will see work inside Tunnel 26 north of Chatsworth, including ballast cleaning and water-pump maintenance intended to protect the railroad tracks from deterioration. Additional general track maintenance and rehabilitation will happen at various locations along the Ventura Subdivision.

And if you're planning to travel on Friday, September 11, there's another disruption to watch. Metrolink's repair work will affect two evening trains: Train 794 will terminate in Los Angeles, with passengers accommodated by bus, while Train 595 will be canceled and passengers will be accommodated by bus.

Amtrak connection buses will continue to operate during the weekend closure, but don't assume that means your normal train-to-bus itinerary will work. Regularly scheduled train connections to those buses will not be available.

So if you're heading from L.A. to San Diego, Irvine, San Clemente, Ventura or San Luis Obispo that weekend, make alternate plans because for once, the Surfliner won't be there.