Home
»
Trains Magazine
»
Forums
»
Passenger
»
The Coast Starlight and Pacific Surfliner Trains

Edit topic

Updated your discussion topic below.

Subject
Enter a subject for your topic. Maximum 150 characters.
Post Body
Enter your post below.
      Last week I took the Coast Starlight from Los Angeles to San Francisco.  The train, food, scenery, and on-board service were great.  Amtrak has a pretty good description of the train’s features under the route tab on its home page, so I won’t attempt to duplicate it.<o:p></o:p> I booked a roomette for the trip so that I could sample the Pacific Parlor car that several folks have raved about.  And I opted for the alternative lunch meal in the Parlor car.  I had a spinach salad that was as good as anything that I have had in an up-marked restaurant.  For supper I ate in the dinner. Again, the food was very good. When I have ordered ice cream for desert on the Eagle, they bring Haagan Dazs in the cup that reminds me of a dixie cup. On the Coast Starlight they take it out of the cup and put it into a real bowl, as in real china.  One could choose vanilla, peanut butter chocolate, or raspberry sorbet.  I chose peanut butter chocolate, although I like vanilla also.  But count me out when it comes to sorbet.  My roomette had distinctive head covers or whatever they are called on the seats.  They have a Starlight picture emblazoned on them.  On boarding I received a nice convenience package similar to what I get when flying to Australia, and the car attendant explained to each passenger the features of the car as well as the services that she would be providing. In the afternoon first class passengers were treated to a wine and cheese tasting party in the parlor car.  It was similar to the same party that I had on the Empire Builder several years ago.  Also, in the afternoon, as well as the evening, there was a movie in the theater, which is located in the lower level of the car. The Pacific Parlor car is a former Santa Fe El Capitan car.  It brought back fond memories.  My first eastbound cross-country trip by train was on the El Capitan from Los Angeles to Chicago in 1960. I remember being fascinated by the high level cars, which were unlike anything that I had seen riding the PRR from and to Altoona. The service on the Starlight was excellent. The personnel seemed to have a much better attitude than many of Amtrak’s employees that I have met on the Texas Eagle. In addition to the professional service in the parlor car and dinner, my car attendant was pleasant, helpful, and efficient.  She was on top of her game.  I had an opportunity to talk with her at various points throughout my trip.  It was obvious that she was proud to be a part of the Starlight crew. The Starlight had three locos up front, a baggage car, four sleepers, the parlor car, a dinner, a lounge car, and four coaches.  While in southern California I rode the Pacific Surfliner from Anaheim to San Diego and back twice.  On Sunday, which was Mother’s Day, I figured the train would be crowded, so I booked business class in both directions.  I had anticipated correctly. Every business class seat was taken until Oceanside.  Likewise, on the return trip business class was heavily patronized.  On my second trip to San Diego I booked coach class.  I was just as comfortable in coach as I had been in business class, although there is a bit more room between the seats in business class, and business class passengers get free coffee, snacks, and wine.  Well, of course, they are not free; they are priced into the business class premium fare.  The load factor during the week was considerably lower than on Mother’s Day, which is what I have experienced on previous trips between LAX and San Diego on Amtrak California. The California cars were comfortable.  The seats are easy on the backside, the temperature was just right, and the ride was smooth.  The only drawback that I experienced when departing Anaheim for LAX to connect with the Starlight was lugging my bag up stairs.  As far as I could tell, there is no luggage space on the lower level.  Or if there is no one told me about it.  In San Diego I noticed that a large number of passengers were checking or had checked their bags, which suggests there is inadequate luggage space on the surf line cars or people don’t want to lug their bags upstairs.  The Pacific surf line is a good example of where passenger trains make sense. It is 102 miles from LAX to San Diego. The area is heavily populated, and traffic congestion is a problem.  North of LAX it is 103 miles from LAX to Santa Barbara and 222 miles from LAX to San Luis Obispo. This portion of the corridor does not appear to be as densely populated as the southern portion, but it too is a good example of where passenger trains make sense.  Given the demographics of these corridors, Amtrak California is able to schedule numerous trains in both directions, making for frequent and convenient service, which is necessary for a sustainable operation.
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag
E-mail Subscribe
Check the box below if you want to receive e-mail notifications when replies are made to this thread.

Receive notifications