Cristobal
Lead Service Attendant
I'm posting this as a continuation of the thread I started in the general discussion forum.
I started thinking about the trip I took yesterday a few weeks ago after I learned that one could earn up to 400 AGR points/day by riding 4 different segments. I was also aware of the upcoming expiration of the 'Winter Frees' promotion which made yesterday the last Sunday to pick up 1000 bonus points.
So, the challenge was to put together a multi-city trip that made at least some sense AND cost at least $50.
I actually live only a few miles away from the Santa Clara-Great America (GAC) station which also has free parking (up to 72 hours) so that is my starting point.
The first train (#723) was GAC to San Jose Diridon (SJC) which is about a 20 min ride ($6.75 for 100 points. cha-ching...
).
Once in San Jose I had about an hour to kill so I went on a little walk-about (there is a very nice park across the street from the HP Pavilion) and came back to the station to get some coffee and a muffin. There was a sizable crowd of people building up there waiting for the s/b Coast Starlight. There was also an Amtrak thruway bus collecting pax for a trip to San Luis Obispo to catch the Surfliner. We got the call to begin boarding the e/b Capitol Corridor (#728) about 10 min before scheduled departure. The 728 was the same train and crew that had brought me to SJC. This time I elected to go to the other end of the train which turned out to be a 'quiet car'. It was my first time in one of those and I must say that I enjoyed the peace and quiet. The assistant conductor was a good sized black woman with long dreadlocks down her back and she made it perfectly clear that the 'quiet car' rules were "non-negotiable".
We pulled out right on time and within minutes I saw the CS going by us into SJC which meant it was about 10 min early.
I took the 728 to Suisun City-Fairfield (SUI) where there was supposed to be a 45 minute wait for the 737 to start me back in the other direction. However, due to UP track repair going on at Emeryville and just past Richmond we were delayed a bit making us about 15 minutes late into SUI. That was fine by me as it simply shortened up my wait for the 737. It also made me glad that I hadn't stayed on until Davis as I likely would have missed the 737 there and would have had to wait 2 hours for the next train. SUI is a nice stop with a quaint little manned station and some retail shops nearby. There is also a little plaza across the street from the station with a fountain and some benches (one of which I choose to sit on and sun myself while waiting for my train).
The 737 rolled in right on time and I noticed that it was a longer consist than I was used to seeing (5 cars instead of 4). I'm guessing that is because one of the cars was a cafe car with limited seating and the other CC trains that I had been on used an old Superliner (with the std Amtrak colors instead of the CC colors) and the Superliner has a small cafe downstairs and coach seating upstairs. As I said in my OP in the general forum, I was really impressed with the 'real' cafe car. I took the opportunity to enjoy a beer while sitting in one of the swivel chairs as we made our way along the marshlands, over the Benicia bridge and into Martinez.
One of the nice things about the CC route is that it rims the bay between Richmond and Martinez and, this being a Sunday, there were plenty of people to see along the way fishing and otherwise enjoying the wonderful weather.
I got off the 737 at Jack London Square (OKJ) where I knew that I had 2 hours to kill before catching my final train back to GAC. I had myself a leisurely lunch and then went for another walk-about amongst the various street vendors and such right there at Jack London Square.
The 741 rolled into OKJ a few minutes late (remember the track maintenance east of OKJ) and I stepped on board for the final leg of my journey.
This day on the trains lasted from about 8:25 AM to 5:10 PM and about 6 hours of that was travel time. Total rail fare was $51.75. AGR points earned should be 1400. Relaxing on the train, priceless...
Chris
I started thinking about the trip I took yesterday a few weeks ago after I learned that one could earn up to 400 AGR points/day by riding 4 different segments. I was also aware of the upcoming expiration of the 'Winter Frees' promotion which made yesterday the last Sunday to pick up 1000 bonus points.
So, the challenge was to put together a multi-city trip that made at least some sense AND cost at least $50.
I actually live only a few miles away from the Santa Clara-Great America (GAC) station which also has free parking (up to 72 hours) so that is my starting point.
The first train (#723) was GAC to San Jose Diridon (SJC) which is about a 20 min ride ($6.75 for 100 points. cha-ching...
).Once in San Jose I had about an hour to kill so I went on a little walk-about (there is a very nice park across the street from the HP Pavilion) and came back to the station to get some coffee and a muffin. There was a sizable crowd of people building up there waiting for the s/b Coast Starlight. There was also an Amtrak thruway bus collecting pax for a trip to San Luis Obispo to catch the Surfliner. We got the call to begin boarding the e/b Capitol Corridor (#728) about 10 min before scheduled departure. The 728 was the same train and crew that had brought me to SJC. This time I elected to go to the other end of the train which turned out to be a 'quiet car'. It was my first time in one of those and I must say that I enjoyed the peace and quiet. The assistant conductor was a good sized black woman with long dreadlocks down her back and she made it perfectly clear that the 'quiet car' rules were "non-negotiable".
We pulled out right on time and within minutes I saw the CS going by us into SJC which meant it was about 10 min early.
I took the 728 to Suisun City-Fairfield (SUI) where there was supposed to be a 45 minute wait for the 737 to start me back in the other direction. However, due to UP track repair going on at Emeryville and just past Richmond we were delayed a bit making us about 15 minutes late into SUI. That was fine by me as it simply shortened up my wait for the 737. It also made me glad that I hadn't stayed on until Davis as I likely would have missed the 737 there and would have had to wait 2 hours for the next train. SUI is a nice stop with a quaint little manned station and some retail shops nearby. There is also a little plaza across the street from the station with a fountain and some benches (one of which I choose to sit on and sun myself while waiting for my train).
The 737 rolled in right on time and I noticed that it was a longer consist than I was used to seeing (5 cars instead of 4). I'm guessing that is because one of the cars was a cafe car with limited seating and the other CC trains that I had been on used an old Superliner (with the std Amtrak colors instead of the CC colors) and the Superliner has a small cafe downstairs and coach seating upstairs. As I said in my OP in the general forum, I was really impressed with the 'real' cafe car. I took the opportunity to enjoy a beer while sitting in one of the swivel chairs as we made our way along the marshlands, over the Benicia bridge and into Martinez.
One of the nice things about the CC route is that it rims the bay between Richmond and Martinez and, this being a Sunday, there were plenty of people to see along the way fishing and otherwise enjoying the wonderful weather.
I got off the 737 at Jack London Square (OKJ) where I knew that I had 2 hours to kill before catching my final train back to GAC. I had myself a leisurely lunch and then went for another walk-about amongst the various street vendors and such right there at Jack London Square.
The 741 rolled into OKJ a few minutes late (remember the track maintenance east of OKJ) and I stepped on board for the final leg of my journey.
This day on the trains lasted from about 8:25 AM to 5:10 PM and about 6 hours of that was travel time. Total rail fare was $51.75. AGR points earned should be 1400. Relaxing on the train, priceless...
Chris
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