BART & Amtrak in the SF Bay Area

[rmgreenesq]

OK, I've been bitten and I've got the fever real bad. I've got to go to the San Francisco Bay area and I'm looking to include Amtrak in my travel plans.

Does anybody know if Amtrak and Bay Area Rapid Transit share a station anywhere in the SF bay area? I know the CZ ends in Emeryville, CA and does not cross the bay to San Francisco proper. Is there a good place to change between BART and Amtrak?

I will probably pack myself in the tin and contribute to the destruction of the ozone layer (thank you jamesbrownontheroad) on the trip out there. I need speed and reliable timekeeping for the trip out there, so I think an airplane is on order. Also, in the event things went badly on the flight out I imagine it is easier to change an Amtrak ticket to accomodate a late flight or client that wants to keep me an extra day than an trying to change an airline ticket to accomodate for a train that was days late.

I can pick up a rental car at SFO and return it to SFO and then hop BART to the East Bay area to get the train. Is there an easy place to leave BART and get on Amtrak?

One more question/rant: Why does it take four days to cross the country eastbound and only three to go west? The time change is only three hours. Anybody have any ideas on this? Is it the CZ (which takes 52 hours to get from Emeryville to Chicago versus the 42 hours the SWC takes to get to Chicago from LA) and extra padding in anticipation of abuse at the hands of the freight railroads? The terrain the CZ deals with (i.e. the Donner Pass)? What gives?

Rick

 

[George Harris]

Extra day? You have your answer if you are looking at SWC one way and CZ the other. If you take one or the other both ways, it will be the same number of nights in both directions. If you do not count your day of departure westbound and do count your day of return as being on the train because you are a mid day or later return, then yes, it takes an extra day eastbound, and generally always has. A classic old example: In pre Amtrak days, The Crescent left New York about 2:00 pm and arrived New Orleans at about 7:00 pm the following day. Returning it left New Orleans at 11:00 pm and arrived in New York at 8:00 am the second morning. The reason for this extra night: The train was scheduled as a start of the business day arrival (8:00 am) in New York and Atlanta, and everything else worked out from there. Therefore, the northbound had to depart Atlanta at 1:45 pm if I recall correctly, making an early morning departure from New Orleans impossible. This was the original Southern-West Point Route-L&N routing. The Amtrak Crescent is essentially the schedule of Southern Railway's Southerner.

Back to your original question: Yes you can, but not with only one step if you are going to the CZ. The CZ folder does not show a stop between Emeryville and Martinez, and BART does not go to either one.

You can catch BART out of the Airport and go to either the Pennisula Commuter line at Millbrae and catch a train to San Jose and then a Capital Corridor train up to Emeryville. Alternately, you take the BART train in the other direction, and at any station Daly City to West Oakland change to a train bound for Richmond, go to Richmond and there catch a Capital Corridor train either to Martinez or other stop shared with the CZ up to Sacramento, or take a Capital Corridor train in the other direction back to Emeryville.

BART can be found at www.bart.gov If you just want a map, go to www.bart.gov/stations/map/systemMap.asp

These are obviously neither one simple one seat rides, but they are not too difficult unless you are loaded with baggage.

 

[PRR 60]

The easiest way to get from SFO Airport to the California Zephyr is to take BART from SFO to the Embarcadero stop in downtown SF. There you can walk about two blocks east to the Amtrak Ferry Building bus stop (located on the Embarcadero just south of the Ferry Building at Pier 2). The Thruway Bus for the Zephyr leaves from there at 8:20am and will take you directly to Emeryville with a guaranteed connection with the 9:15am departure of train. The Ferry Building stop can handle any ticketing and baggage checking requirements.

 

[George Harris]

PRR 60: That is so much simpler than what I said, I am tempted to withdraw my post. George

 

[rmgreenesq]

Thanks for the Ferry Station Bus tip. I also seem to have a difficult time counting days. In my four day calculation, I was including the day of departure as day one. It should be day zero. Its a three and a half day trip - departing San Francisco at 8:00 am on day zero and arriving in Worcester on day three at 5:00 pm.

Here is where my plan falls apart. I'd like to get on the train on Friday and arrive at my destination on Sunday afternoon and not Monday afternoon. I'd like to spend one working day away from the office and not two. If I take the SWC to LA, I arrive on the morning of day three whereas if I take the CZ to the bay area, I arrive in the afternoon (assuming an on-time performance). I wish my clients were in LA.

Sigh.

Rick

 

[tp49]

You could also take BART to MacArthur Station and transfer to the Emery Go Round shuttle which stops near the Amtrak station. Another alternative is to fly into Oakland and take the AirBart shuttle to Oakland Colisseum station and take a Capitol Corridor train to Emeryville. You could also fly into San Jose and take the VTA shuttle to light rail or to Caltrain and go to Diridon Station and take a Capitol Corridor train to Emeryville. Were you planning on flying into SFO or are you flexible with which airport you use? There are a number of options but the easiest for a flight into SFO is to take the Amtrak bus from the Ferry Building.

 

[gswager]

There is an option with SWC to LA- San Joaquin. It will take you to the Bay area and then take the BART or other public transportation. I know that it takes some time, but it gives you an option.

 

[PSurfliner]

There is an option with SWC to LA- San Joaquin. It will take you to the Bay area and then take the BART or other public transportation. I know that it takes some time, but it gives you an option.

Going through LA to get from Chicago to SF is in fact usually faster because the SWC is almost always on-time and the San Joaquins are speedy. But in short, there is no direct connection between the California Zephyr and BART. I would strongly recommend just taking the Ambus over the bridge to the Ferryt Building and catching BART at the Embarcadero stop in SF.