The essence of the article in today's SF Chronicle (
www.sfgate.com) is that railroad service in California is still a mess due to the mudslides, sinkholes and erosion caused by the recent winter storms. The Zepher and Starlight runs (the major north-south and east-west routes) are basically shut down. In Southern California, the Pacific Surfliner and Metrolink services are only operating on a limited basis.
Clearly the design of Rustic Canyon was not the only factor in the storm damage it sufffered.