Amtrak Surfliner vs Metrolink Double Price Well Worth It

[seat38a]

I had a client to meet in LA so I took the Metrolink to LA Union Station for Orange County. The price for round trip was half the cost of Amtrak's for the same route. I have not taken the Metrolink forever so in a way, you can say this was my first time on it. The last time I was on it, was over 10 years ago. Anyways, the extra 20+ min that Metrolink takes to get to LA was unbearable. The seats are narrow, no cushion and no legroom which makes coach on the Surfliner seem like First Class. 20 to 30 min extra travel time does not seem like much to save some money but boy, your body knows the difference especially on the return trip after a long day of meeting clients. My lower back was acting up and my tailbone was not happy sitting in the Metrolink seats. God forbid it was full train and someone sat next to be.

I can see why someone would pay lots of money to save few extra min of travel time. Acela vs Regional, twice the price but only about 45 min savings in time. Next time, I think I'll stick to Amtrak as well.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

Plus you get your AGR Points on the Surfliner!

 

[TinCan782]

Plus you get your AGR Points on the Surfliner!

Metrolink is a "commuter" train, not "regional" like the Surfliner. I take Metrolink everyday to work and the 45 minutes each way is fine in those seats. For other than commuter travel, I take the Surfliner and usually Business Class (and earn some AGR points).

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

The California Cars on the San Joaquin are not very comfortable at all, they don't recline and feel like commuter seats. Riding that for 3 hours wasn't great, riding for 6 hours would be worse.

Acela vs NER I don't really see the difference, because the comfort should be about the same.

But if anyone says you guys set standards too high, they mean riding from Beijing to Urumqi in this: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tedtarg/1237376110.

Or this: https://www.flickr.com/photos/4st4roth/7878564846.

Remember, those seats don't recline, and they face each other, while the cushions are back-to-back! https://www.flickr.com/photos/tedtarg/1236511829/in/photostream/.

 

[Dan O]

I only take Metrolink once in a while but it sure beats Amtrak on price, on time performance and has many more options. I usually go from San Bernardino to LAX so would only be able to go on the Southwest Chief. Return time isn't bad (615PM) but the going to LA time is early and the train could be an hour or more late and still be on time to LAX so not really a good option. I could take the Sunset Limited but their times are even worse (2 AM in Palm Springs) and late night departure from LAX.

Dan

 

[seat38a]

I only take Metrolink once in a while but it sure beats Amtrak on price, on time performance and has many more options. I usually go from San Bernardino to LAX so would only be able to go on the Southwest Chief. Return time isn't bad (615PM) but the going to LA time is early and the train could be an hour or more late and still be on time to LAX so not really a good option. I could take the Sunset Limited but their times are even worse (2 AM in Palm Springs) and late night departure from LAX.

Dan

Well those LD trains are a complete different story. I should have been more clear, that I'm comparing the hourly Amtrak Surfliner service vs Metrolink. Surfliner's run pretty much on time and can't be compared to the LD trains that easily run 8+ hours late and stop at god awful times at many stations.

 

[seat38a]

The California Cars on the San Joaquin are not very comfortable at all, they don't recline and feel like commuter seats. Riding that for 3 hours wasn't great, riding for 6 hours would be worse.

Acela vs NER I don't really see the difference, because the comfort should be about the same.

But if anyone says you guys set standards too high, they mean riding from Beijing to Urumqi in this: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tedtarg/1237376110.

Or this: https://www.flickr.com/photos/4st4roth/7878564846.

Remember, those seats don't recline, and they face each other, while the cushions are back-to-back! https://www.flickr.com/photos/tedtarg/1236511829/in/photostream/.

They don't recline but they have plenty of leg room and also are wide with somewhat good padding. Now take all that away, and now you got a Metrolink seat. For trips under an hour, I can see it being ok. But 1 hour + and it becomes miserable. The extra 20 min really does take a toll on the body. At least that was the case for me.

 

[rickycourtney]

The California Cars on the San Joaquin are not very comfortable at all, they don't recline and feel like commuter seats. Riding that for 3 hours wasn't great, riding for 6 hours would be worse.

If you don't like the seating on the California Cars... you'd hate the seating on Metrolink.

Metrolink's seats are just a step up from seating on a transit bus.

Compare that to your picture of a California Car:

 

[MikefromCrete]

Metrolink is a commuter train. What kind of seating do you expect? At least it's not 3-2.

 

[neroden]

I don't like Metrolink's seating, but that's because my tastes are idiosyncratic. I'd prefer plain hard bench seating; I specifically dislike those sort of curved chairs.

Wood benches, that's the way to go. Call me old-fashioned...

 

[seat38a]

Metrolink is a commuter train. What kind of seating do you expect? At least it's not 3-2.

Thats why I said, I would gladly pay for Amtrak which cost twice the price and run the same route pretty much hourly.

 

[seat38a]

I don't like Metrolink's seating, but that's because my tastes are idiosyncratic. I'd prefer plain hard bench seating; I specifically dislike those sort of curved chairs.

Wood benches, that's the way to go. Call me old-fashioned...

LOL it would be more comfortable. Also, most of the people sitting in the seats with the table, the table seemed to be cutting into everyones tummy's The seat pitch is not made for the tall and people with a spare tire.

 

[rickycourtney]

Metrolink is a commuter train. What kind of seating do you expect? At least it's not 3-2.

Thats why I said, I would gladly pay for Amtrak which cost twice the price and run the same route pretty much hourly.

That would be nice. Heck I'd settle for better coordination between the agencies in the LOSSAN corridor.
The problem is that commuters would have a very low tolerance for Amtrak's delays... Metrolink's station stops are usually less than a minute long and the agency pledges a monthly average on-time performance of at least 80%. If they fail to achieve that, all monthly pass holders get a nice discount the next month. Amtrak's 12 month OTP average on the Pacific Surfliner is 78.9% (although they blame commuter train interference).

 

[seat38a]

Metrolink is a commuter train. What kind of seating do you expect? At least it's not 3-2.

Thats why I said, I would gladly pay for Amtrak which cost twice the price and run the same route pretty much hourly.

That would be nice. Heck I'd settle for better coordination between the agencies in the LOSSAN corridor.
The problem is that commuters would have a very low tolerance for Amtrak's delays... Metrolink's station stops are usually less than a minute long and the agency pledges a monthly average on-time performance of at least 80%. If they fail to achieve that, all monthly pass holders get a nice discount the next month. Amtrak's 12 month OTP average on the Pacific Surfliner is 78.9% (although they blame commuter train interference).

Currently Metrolink is operated by Amtrak. How to they handle a situation like this where they got their own train to operate and then also operating commuter service for a client like Metrolink. Who gets priority on the tracks?

 

[rickycourtney]

Currently Metrolink is operated by Amtrak. How to they handle a situation like this where they got their own train to operate and then also operating commuter service for a client like Metrolink. Who gets priority on the tracks?

Amtrak provides T&E crews under contract to Metrolink.Metrolink (not Amtrak) employees are responsible for dispatching trains over the tracks it controls.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

I personally find a good old BOE chair the most comfortable. Although I have built office chairs out of Volvo 240 seats- those are incomparable.

 

[aewanabe]

When I travel the west coast, I find Metrolink to be positively luxurious compared to NJT/Metro North/MBTA. It's all perspective I guess...

Sent from my iPhone using Amtrak Forum

 

[seat38a]

When I travel the west coast, I find Metrolink to be positively luxurious compared to NJT/Metro North/MBTA. It's all perspective I guess...

Sent from my iPhone using Amtrak Forum

Then if you jump on the Pacific Surfliner in coach, its going to feel like a luxiourious suit.

 

[sechs]

When I travel the west coast, I find Metrolink to be positively luxurious compared to NJT/Metro North/MBTA. It's all perspective I guess...

The Bombardier cars pack people in compared to the gallery cars I've ridden on Caltrain and Metra, but, yes, it's still wide-open spaces compared to what I've experienced on MBTA.