I arrived in Tucson today from Solana Beach, CA in north San Diego county. The Surfliner had 10 cars instead of the usual 6 due to the horse races at Del Mar. It was packed! I had to walk through about three cars before I could find a single seat to sit down. The train had to "stop twice" at several stations to load/unload all the cars.
Then I transferred to another SOLD OUT Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle. There were no empty seats to be found on this whole train... I think 8-10 cars but didn't get an accurate count. I was kinda hoping the seat next to me would be empty so I could stretch out (I'm 6-6 tall), but no luck. The guy was cool to talk to though.
So I have to ask... is this normal?? My first non-commuter train ride was jam-packed the whole way on both connections! Certainly a good sign for passenger rail, but not sure if its sustainable.
By the way, the ticket was $114. Half the price of airline tickets 1 week in advance, but about the same as an airline fair booked three weeks in advance. The flight is about 1 hour, the whole train trip was 12 hours. Overall, a positive experience.
Then I transferred to another SOLD OUT Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle. There were no empty seats to be found on this whole train... I think 8-10 cars but didn't get an accurate count. I was kinda hoping the seat next to me would be empty so I could stretch out (I'm 6-6 tall), but no luck. The guy was cool to talk to though.
So I have to ask... is this normal?? My first non-commuter train ride was jam-packed the whole way on both connections! Certainly a good sign for passenger rail, but not sure if its sustainable.
By the way, the ticket was $114. Half the price of airline tickets 1 week in advance, but about the same as an airline fair booked three weeks in advance. The flight is about 1 hour, the whole train trip was 12 hours. Overall, a positive experience.