SAC station after dark- how safe now?

We will be doing the CZ-CS layover in SAC later this month. I'm concerned about whether the station has AC, how secure the waiting area would be for a 10-hour stay, and if there is a lot of dust inside from the inside renovation work. If you've done this layover or been in the station lately, we'd be grateful for any advance info. We're a bit concerned about our safety in a big, spooky station after dark

We've discussed this many times on this Forum, and unless you are planning to visit the California Rail Museum ( it is Stated owned so closes @ 5pm!!),you would be much better off to buy a Round-trip Coach ticket to Davis, spend your layover in this great little College town and then catch the Starlight there instead of the unairconditioned, under repair,uncomfortable SAC Station with it's very long walk through the tunnel to the platform!

Nothing much to write home about around the Amtrak Station @ night,this part of Sacramento is dead @ night.

You should be able to stay in your room in both directions between SAC and Davis,ask the SCA since chances are your rooms won't be occupied for the EMY-SAC portion of the trip.

Google up the threads here on AU about SAC and DAV, lots of good info!

Bob Dylan said:

It's very long walk through the tunnel to the platform!

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According to forum lore it takes nearly five hours to walk from the tracks to the station in Sacramento, so by the time you did one round trip the next train will have arrived and you're ready to go. Interesting fact: In the American version of The Hobbit the length of the entire journey only reaches one hundred feet away from the Shire. American audiences still had extreme difficulty believing such a journey was possible on foot.

Devil's Advocate said:

Bob Dylan said:

It's very long walk through the tunnel to the platform!

Click to expand...

According to forum lore it takes nearly five hours to walk from the tracks to the station in Sacramento, so by the time you did one round trip the next train will have arrived and you're ready to go. Interesting fact: In the American version of The Hobbit the length of the entire journey only reaches one hundred feet away from the Shire. American audiences still had extreme difficulty believing such a journey was possible on foot.

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:giggle:

I endured that SAC layover about 6 years ago. It was quite uncomfortable, but I felt safe. I, together with a couple of other passengers, walked over to the Rail Museum and stayed there until it closed. Others opted for a high end dinner and I opted to walk around Old Sacramento and the area until dark. After dark, a group of about 15 of us that were connecting to the CZ hung out in the station and complained about the heat and wait. A couple of folks took naps on the hard benches and they were sorry they did. I told myself that next time I would do something different (get a hotel room, connect in a different city).

This was prior to the time when one would need to take the long walk mentioned above (that would have taken up a portion of the layover).

As a resident of Sacramento, I feel compelled to offer a few words in defense of the Sacramento Amtrak station.

Construction is still underway, but is getting close to completion. It is less spooky than before, since all the scaffolding in the main waiting room has been removed. The new ticketing/baggage area is now complete and looks very nice. While it's true that it is not yet air conditioned, it will be when the remodeling is complete.

There is a Starbucks located in the building next door, and it is open until 8:00pm. There is a security guard on the premises at all times. Construction dust is NOT a problem. Rubber tired shuttle service is available to the train platforms for those who have difficulty walking that far.

It's safe. The heat might be a problem, especially if the weather gods decide to give us another heat wave like we had last week.

Sactobob's is on the money regarding the Starbucks and the security, etc. As others have said it'll be safe but boring.

Now if it were me, what I might consider doing especially if it's going to be over 100 degrees is do the transfer down in the Bay Area where there would be cooler temperatures. Davis is a nice town but if it's 105 in Sacramento it'll be pretty much the same in Davis and since much of the charm of the place is walking around town outside, that part wouldn't be air conditioned either.

tp49 said:

The heat might be a problem, especially if the weather gods decide to give us another heat wave like we had last week.

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Maybe if we spend our time praying to the weather gods it will suddenly cool off again.

Devil's Advocate said:

Bob Dylan said:

It's very long walk through the tunnel to the platform!

Click to expand...

According to forum lore it takes nearly five hours to walk from the tracks to the station in Sacramento, so by the time you did one round trip the next train will have arrived and you're ready to go. Interesting fact: In the American version of The Hobbit the length of the entire journey only reaches one hundred feet away from the Shire. American audiences still had extreme difficulty believing such a journey was possible on foot.

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"It's dangerous business, Frodo, going out the door of the train. You step onto the platform, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you'll be swept off to."

Also, I stayed in Davis instead of Sacramento this summer on my CZ-CS trip, and I also highly recommend it. Sacramento is fun, and I never had troubles after dark there, but Davis was even better. I stayed at the Hallmark Inn which was about as long of a walk from the station as the actual Sacramento station is from the train platform! :lol: There are also about seven thousand restaurants within walking distance of the station. I recommend Woodstock Pizza.

Bottom line. Sacramento is fine. Davis is better.

If you're stuck with staying in SAC I'd suggest getting a room at the Vagabond Inn across the street. It's not the nicest hotel in the world, but if you advance-book you can get a room for somewhere in the $80 price range...which isn't bad if split across 2-3 people.

10 hours at the Sacramento station, it would be about the same as being in the holding tank at the city jail. Don't even consider it. Get a room at the vagabond.

I endured a long layover there in October. The sleeper class lounge was partitioned off in the back of the station and the baggage-check person refused to turn on the fan because it "might" interfere with the electricity being used by the workers re-doing the station. It was hot, miserable, and stuffy. I had several long layovers on that trip, so can't recall if this was the one where the connecting train was late, but IIRC, it was around midnight before it arrived.

I did walk around Old Town and visited the RR Museum, but it was very hot that day, with the museum being the only reprieve from the heat.

Take the advice of the others and connect somewhere else.

Thanks so much to all respondents to my question. I now know to avoid SAC if at all possible while the renovation is under way. I've called AGR and booked SAC-Davis. How nice there's such a variety of eateries adjacent the Davis station, AND no endless tunnel to walk through at midnight. I was hoping the AU crowd would steer us straight and you all came through for us. Many thanks to all. There seems to be a problem with buying a SAC-to-Davis ticket by itself, so I'll try a little "finesse" while on the CZ.

It is so sad many today consider a walk of about 2 tenths of a mile (1050 ft) a "very long walk".

It's about the same distance to walk to the Perko's restaurant for dinner.

I did the CZ to CS layover in Early April of 2015 when the ceiling supports were still in place.

Though there was no air conditioning they had fans going and it didn't get uncomfortable in the waiting area.

If you have sleeper accommodations on either train the day of your layover you will be able to use the sleeper passenger waiting area in the SAC station.

http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?/topic/66354-sacramento-station-renovations/

Though I'm old and decrepit, I successfully made the trek from the SAC platform to the station - and back when it was time to go out to catch the CS northbound.

I had to stop a couple of times to gather my physical resources during the trek each way, but for me that's just standard operating procedure these days and I don't think of it as me being put out.

That's no different than here at home, in that I walk at least a mile a day, but when I walk anywhere I have to stop often to 'gather my resources'.

I don't know if the Red Caps are still around at just before midnight when the CS is scheduled to arrive/depart.

On my return trip and was making the CS to CZ connection I used the Red Cap service and got a ride out to the platform along with several other passengers.


http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/transportation/article18451520.html

Another significant thing I've noticed is that not only does the northbound CS rarely arrive in SAC on time, it seems that it leaves the station twice as late as when it got there. Is it a delay caused by the long walk through the tunnel, no redcaps available at that hour, a crew change that wasn't allowed for?

The extra delay (per ASMAD) isn't our problem any more since we're now boarding at Davis, but it is for sure very noticeable for those waiting for this train after midnight. The on-time stats aren't much to brag about.

DennisInGeorgia said:

Another significant thing I've noticed is that not only does the northbound CS rarely arrive in SAC on time, it seems that it leaves the station twice as late as when it got there. Is it a delay caused by the long walk through the tunnel, no redcaps available at that hour, a crew change that wasn't allowed for?

The extra delay (per ASMAD) isn't our problem any more since we're now boarding at Davis, but it is for sure very noticeable for those waiting for this train after midnight. The on-time stats aren't much to brag about.

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I think the main reason for the typically late departures of train 14 out of Sacramento is the overly optimistic scheduled departure time of 11:59pm. I suspect that time was chosen to hopefully reduce confusion regarding the day of departure. Sacramento is a servicing stop, and it usually takes at least 20 minutes to service the train. The lateness is frequently gone by the next stop up the line.

Also it is a timed transfer from the northbound San Joaquin. That is scheduled to get there at 11:35 pm and is sometimes late.