Riding the Trains: RIV-LAX-SLO-LAX-RIV

[marquita]

I have wanted to ride the Coast Starlight (or the Pacifc Surfliner, being that most of the route is the same on both trains.) on its route from Los Angeles to San Luis Obispo,CA since I was a little girl. This weekend, I have cleared my schedule and can fulfill a lifelong dream.

Unfortunately, I have heard that the Coast Starlight is notoriously late! I have been tracking it this evening and it is running about four and a half hours late out of SLO. If this happens this weekend (I am leaving on Friday morning and can care less as to when I return.......as long as I get back into Riverside on Sunday evening.)

I'm taking the trip "just because" and want to see the great seaviews that are along the route. I wouldn't mind taking the Surfliner/Starlight one way and some other combination of trains/buses on the way back.

What are your experiences on the Coast Starlight/Pacific Surfliner between LAX and SLO and what do you recommend me to do if a train is so late as to arrive into LAX at an ungodly hour (If I arrived in Los Angeles at 1am, I don't know what I'll do exactly and I highly doubt that I'd be able to sleep in a chair at the station until I could catch a Metrolink train home in the morning......

I know that my plan sounds chaotic, but if I don't travel this weekend, I won't have another chance for another year and a half......

Can you help with some insight and ideas?

 

[Guest]

I've gotten into Los Angeles at 2:30 am on the Coast Starlight and hung around Union Station until the subway started running after 4. You meet an interesting group of people in an otherwise empty train station in Los Angeles at 3 am.

You could take the Pacific Surfliner that leaves San Luis Obispo at 1:20 pm. It's not a long-distance train, so it shouldn't have horrible delays.

 

[jccollins]

If you are mostly concerned with the scenery/train ride and don't really care to walk around or visit SLO, you might want to consider taking train 799 from LAX to SLO and staying onboard to take train 798 back from SLO to LAX. Train 799 leaves LAX daily at about 7:30am and arrives into SLO at around 12:45p. The same trainset then turns to become train 798, leaving SLO at 1:20pm and gets back into LAX at around 7:30pm. I have taken these "new" trains a few times and they are very nice.

I HIGHLY recommend upgrading to business class both ways - not because the train will be full, but because the business class includes nice 2-1 spacious reclining leather seats with footrests and are much more comfortable then the standard Horizon coach seats on the rest of the train. Biz class with also get you free coffee, juice, beverage (including complimentary wine if you wish), snack pack, and a newspaper. Biz class on this train is well worth every penny of the upgrade.

This schedule would allow you to take a morning Metrolink from Riverside to Los Angeles to board train 799. Unfortunately the return on 798 into LAX at around 7:30p (usually on time) is a bit too late for the last Metrolink out of Union Station. If you are unable to find another transit/bus service than Metrolink that runs out of Union Station around 8pm, you might consider overnighting in SLO and then taking an earlier Surfliner thruway connection from SLO to connect with the Surfliner train at Santa Barbara.

In any event I'd forget about the Starlate. That pig is always so late that it misses all the scenery southbound and the northbound trip is usually overpriced when compared to the Surfliners, not to mention that it can frequently depart Union Station late as well even though it is the train's origin. The Surfliners will provide for a much more enjoyable trip.

 

[jccollins]

One other thing to consider for planning an all-rail trip and not having to deal with buses is the possibility of doing a trip up to SLO starting in San Bernardino instead of Riverside. Morning Metrolink trains from San Bernardino will get you to Union Station before the round trip daily 799/798 Surfliner leaves and Metrolink offers 8:00 and 9:00 Friday evening departures from Union Station back to San Bernardino. It would be a nice, doable day trip and you'd get to see the best of the coast.

 

[Guest]

Marquita,

I did this very same route LAX-SLO, and back to LAX the next day, connecting to the San Bernadino Metrolink. My departure from SLO southbound was so late, I was sure to miss the last Metrolink connection out to San Berdo. Spending all night at LAUS not an option. What I did was board delayed southbound #798 and got off at Ventura. The Ventura Holiday Inn (It's on the beach!) is walking distance from the Amtrak platform, so I booked to Ventura, spent the night in Ventura, (sure beat spending the night at LAUS) then caught the next AM southbound Surfliner to LAX. Moral of the story in rail travel, don't be in a hurry, and be flexable in willing to change your plans in route.

 

[marquita]

Amazingly, I was going to do exactly what the last poster suggested and stay a night in Ventura.......I just made the reservations.

Going to San Bernardino from LAX on Friday night wouldn't have worked for me anyway since Omnitrans #90 doesn't run after a certain time and I would have no ride from the station if I didn't take a bus.

 

[marquita]

I rechecked my reservations and lo and behold, only the last leg (Ventura to LAX) is Business Class. I called Amtrak to see if I could rebook on the same trains with an upgrade, but I was told that Business Class is sold out on trains 799 and 798 tomorrow, Friday and Saturday! This did not make me happy!

Is it possible that if someone cancels or doesn't show up, I might be able to pay the extra for an upgrade either on the train or maybe tomorrow or when I arrive at LAX on Friday morning? Has anyone ever done this?

I really didn't want to ride for five hours in coach and I had my heart set on travelling business class!

I am considering travelling on the CS Northbound as the seats may be more comfortable and I could get a hot sit down meal.......

Your thoughts?

 

[jccollins]

Is it possible that if someone cancels or doesn't show up, I might be able to pay the extra for an upgrade either on the train or maybe tomorrow or when I arrive at LAX on Friday morning? Has anyone ever done this?  I really didn't want to ride for five hours in coach and I had my heart set on travelling business class!

You can try for the upgrade at LAX on Friday morning but don't get your hopes up. Chances are that no seats in biz class will become available since there are only 12 biz class seats on trains 798 and 799, vs. about 60 or so on all the other Surfliner trains. Conductors will NOT upgrade you to biz class once onboard if their manifest says there is no availability.

Biz class is not really worth the upgrade cost on any of the Surfliners except for 798-799 since the seats are exactly the same style in the 2-2 arrangement. The only perks on the other Surfliners biz class in window curtains, SLIGHTLY more legroom, and the complimentary food/beverages. The main point of biz class on trains other than 798-799 is that you are guaranteed a seat. Many of the Surfliners (south of Los Angeles)fill up quickly and people are left standing without seats. You shouldn't have to worry about this issue since you won't be traveling on the heaviest demand part of the route south of LAX.

Regular coach seating on trains 799-798 is still comfortable since it is usually only half (or less) full, even though the premium biz class usually sells out. You will have plenty of room to stretch out and enjoy the ride.