Which Station in San Fran to depart from

[Gabbytony]

I see there are about 5 San Fran Amtrak Stations. Which on is the biggest/best to depart from for a trip to the Midwest.

Thank you

Tony

 

[jmbgeg]

I see there are about 5 San Fran Amtrak Stations. Which on is the biggest/best to depart from for a trip to the Midwest.

Thank you

Tony

Most of them are just street side Ambus stops. The trains depart from Emeryville. I usually choose the closest pick up point to the hotel I am staying at.

 

[Bruce-C]

It would be more fun to take the Alameda/Oakland ferry to Jack London Sq. and grab a cab the 5mi. to the Amtrak station in Emeryville. www.eastbayferry.com

 

[Rail Freak]

It would be more fun to take the Alameda/Oakland ferry to Jack London Sq. and grab a cab the 5mi. to the Amtrak station in Emeryville. www.eastbayferry.com

I did that a few months ago. Cabs are more expensive in CA. than I'm used to!!! :giggle:

 

[hello]

We always use the Ferry Building ... SFC ... as it is, I believe, the only manned station where we can check in our luggage ... and also has an indoor seating area to wait for the bus to take us across the bay.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

The whole point of this situation is there is no direct passenger rail from San Francisco proper to Emeryville, Oakland, Richmond, etc. So it has always been a matter of ferry boats or railroad operated buses.

One can travel from SF proper due south to San Jose all on the train.

In the distant past one could board trains in SF proper and go to LA.

 

[Shanghai]

We always use the Ferry Building ... SFC ... as it is, I believe, the only manned station where we can check in our luggage ... and also has an indoor seating area to wait for the bus to take us across the bay.

This is good information for me since I will be arriving and departing from SFC.

On my departure on the Coast Starlight, the bus goes to the Oakland station to

board the CS. Is this a guaranteed connection?

 

[spot1181]

Yes it is a dedicated connection, which is what the bus is for.

 

[Bob Dylan]

We always use the Ferry Building ... SFC ... as it is, I believe, the only manned station where we can check in our luggage ... and also has an indoor seating area to wait for the bus to take us across the bay.

** My 3000th Post on AU!!!**Totally agree this is the way to go! The Building is the old SP (Southern Pacific) Hdqs. Building and is just like an Amtrak Rail Station except no Trains come here! It's next door to the Ferry Building, the Agents work the Counter just like a regular Station, only difference is you walk out to the Street to load the Bus (instead of a Platform for a Train)which goes across the Bay Bridge to Emeryville Station!Nice Amtrak Bus too, not a Dog!!

 

[guest]

The Richmond station (RIC) is nice because it's right at the BART terminal. BART trains go there from downtown SF and from anywhere on the BART system every 10-20 minutes.

 

[Bob Dylan]

The whole point of this situation is there is no direct passenger rail from San Francisco proper to Emeryville, Oakland, Richmond, etc. So it has always been a matter of ferry boats or railroad operated buses.

One can travel from SF proper due south to San Jose all on the train.

In the distant past one could board trains in SF proper and go to LA.

Perhaps a Native can correct me but IINM BART runs from Richmond to San Francisco does it not???

 

[George Harris]

I can call myself a resident, but definitely not a native. Yes, from Richmond you can get BART to anywhere they run, but possibly with a change of trains. The BART train at Richmond goes under the Bay and under Market Street.

As to the original question: We always start our trips at the Ferry Building, even though there are closer bus stops. Coming back, we usually take the bus that lets you off at the Hyatt, because it is easier to get a taxi there. The buses are dedicated to the train, so the connection is guranteed.

 

[LA Resident]

The whole point of this situation is there is no direct passenger rail from San Francisco proper to Emeryville, Oakland, Richmond, etc. So it has always been a matter of ferry boats or railroad operated buses.

One can travel from SF proper due south to San Jose all on the train.

In the distant past one could board trains in SF proper and go to LA.

Perhaps a Native can correct me but IINM BART runs from Richmond to San Francisco does it not???

Yes BART runs between Richmond and San Francisco. There are direct trains most days between Richmond and SF International Airport but on weekends and at night, you need to transfer at one of two downtown Oakland BART stations--platform-to-platform--if going between Richmond and SF.

If your point was to correct the previous poster as to rail service between the SF and Oakland sides, I imagine he meant there is no intercity rail service ala Amtrak, Santa Fe or Southern Pacific type of trains, and was not referencing subway rail. BUT there were rail lines originally on the bottom deck of the Transbay bridge when it opened in the 1939, run by SP and the Key Line system from the Transbay terminal in downtown San Francisco. Those lines disappeared totally by the late 1950s, I believe.

 

[zephyr17]

The whole point of this situation is there is no direct passenger rail from San Francisco proper to Emeryville, Oakland, Richmond, etc. So it has always been a matter of ferry boats or railroad operated buses.

One can travel from SF proper due south to San Jose all on the train.

In the distant past one could board trains in SF proper and go to LA.

Perhaps a Native can correct me but IINM BART runs from Richmond to San Francisco does it not???

Yes BART runs between Richmond and San Francisco. There are direct trains most days between Richmond and SF International Airport but on weekends and at night, you need to transfer at one of two downtown Oakland BART stations--platform-to-platform--if going between Richmond and SF.

If your point was to correct the previous poster as to rail service between the SF and Oakland sides, I imagine he meant there is no intercity rail service ala Amtrak, Santa Fe or Southern Pacific type of trains, and was not referencing subway rail. BUT there were rail lines originally on the bottom deck of the Transbay bridge when it opened in the 1939, run by SP and the Key Line system from the Transbay terminal in downtown San Francisco. Those lines disappeared totally by the late 1950s, I believe.

Key System stopped service in 1958 as part of a reconstruction of the bridge so that the lower deck was one way east and upper deck was one way west instead of the lower deck having truck lanes and the Bridge Railway, and cars going both directions on the upper deck.

The Bridge Railway only served electric interurban commuter trains and never hosted long distance trains, ever. The long distance trains terminated in Oakland (SP and WP) or Richmond (Santa Fe). The SP interurban subsidiary, IER (Interurban Electric Railway) and Sacramento Northern used the Bridge Railway only until 1940, just a year or so after the bridge opened, leaving Key System as the only user of the Bridge Railway.

Until 1958, the Ferry Building itself was the main "railroad" terminal in San Francisco for almost all trains except those heading down the coast. Every SP and WP long distance train had connecting, dedicated SP ferry service scheduled with it. The trains pulled right into the Oakland ferry terminal, the "Oakland Mole". If you ever watched "Pal Joey" at the beginning, the Oakland Mole is where Joey (Frank Sinatra) gets off the train. After 1958, they ran dedicated bus service over the Bay Bridge from SP's station at 3rd & Townsend (long since torn down and moved back a block to 4th & King which now serves as the CalTrain station).

So from 1958 on, the train connections to San Francisco were much like they are today...dedicated buses over the Bay Bridge. Before that, it was ferries. Never trains on the bridge.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

The whole point of this situation is there is no direct passenger rail from San Francisco proper to Emeryville, Oakland, Richmond, etc. So it has always been a matter of ferry boats or railroad operated buses.

One can travel from SF proper due south to San Jose all on the train.

In the distant past one could board trains in SF proper and go to LA.

Perhaps a Native can correct me but IINM BART runs from Richmond to San Francisco does it not???

Yes BART runs between Richmond and San Francisco. There are direct trains most days between Richmond and SF International Airport but on weekends and at night, you need to transfer at one of two downtown Oakland BART stations--platform-to-platform--if going between Richmond and SF.

If your point was to correct the previous poster as to rail service between the SF and Oakland sides, I imagine he meant there is no intercity rail service ala Amtrak, Santa Fe or Southern Pacific type of trains, and was not referencing subway rail. BUT there were rail lines originally on the bottom deck of the Transbay bridge when it opened in the 1939, run by SP and the Key Line system from the Transbay terminal in downtown San Francisco. Those lines disappeared totally by the late 1950s, I believe.

Yes, LA Resident you read my mind correctly. I was speaking of normal long distance trains(Amtrak,Santa Fe etc) not being able to originate in SF proper and travel straight across the bay. BART would not be my reference at all.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Thanks for the info on BART, I didn't mean to dis Bills Post re no rail crossing the Bay, just pointing out that one could catch BART to/from Richmond instead of going all the way to Emeryville or Oakland Station! As the poster said, it's a good way to get to the San Francisco Airport from the East Bay, as most residents know Traffic can be pretty bad on the Bridges and Freeways in the Bay Area!

 

[LA Resident]

Thanks for the info on BART, I didn't mean to dis Bills Post re no rail crossing the Bay, just pointing out that one could catch BART to/from Richmond instead of going all the way to Emeryville or Oakland Station! As the poster said, it's a good way to get to the San Francisco Airport from the East Bay, as most residents know Traffic can be pretty bad on the Bridges and Freeways in the Bay Area!

No way was your post interpreted as a diss (or a datt for that matter!

Yes, whenever I catch a Cap Corridor or San Joaquin out of San Francisco, I take BART to Richmond and connect there to the train. It's so much easier than the bus-rail transfer, even as nice as those Emeryville buses are compared to some other Amtrak offerings (e.g. see Salinas-Monterey.) The Amtrak platform is one flight up from the BART tracks at Richmond, and you never have to worry about missing your stop because Richmond is the terminus!!!

Also, the CZ now stops at Richmond, but for those with a lot of bags, I imagine the checked-bag offering at the Amtrak Ferry Building bus stop/station is probably still a nice alternative.

 

[tp49]

Yes BART runs between Richmond and San Francisco. There are direct trains most days between Richmond and SF International Airport but on weekends and at night, you need to transfer at one of two downtown Oakland BART stations--platform-to-platform--if going between Richmond and SF.

The only trains that go to SFO are on the Pittsburg/Bay Point line. Richmond trains terminate either at Daly City (during hours of service to SF) or Milbrae (Mon-Fri before 7PM). Richmond trains do serve the stations in San Francisco they just don't go to the airport.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Thanks for the info on BART, I didn't mean to dis Bills Post re no rail crossing the Bay, just pointing out that one could catch BART to/from Richmond instead of going all the way to Emeryville or Oakland Station! As the poster said, it's a good way to get to the San Francisco Airport from the East Bay, as most residents know Traffic can be pretty bad on the Bridges and Freeways in the Bay Area!

All is well on the home front, Jim. My sister lived in SF for 30 years so I got some of the rides of my life time with all the different routes one could take from Chattanooga and Chicago to West Coast Points.

With the Western Pacific, Southern Pacific and Santa Fe I got to experience several terminals,bus connections etc..I always preferred to take the guaranteed bus all the way into SF proper.

But those were the golden days of experiencing the Super Chief, the City of Los Angeles, the original CZ for which domes were a novelty, the EB in its original orange and green paint, etc trains much like today's Canadian. I remember riding in a reserved parlor seat in a parlor lounge rounded observation car on the Coast Daylight, straight out of SF proper on to San Jose en route to LA.

I recall one trip in which I went Chattanooga to Chicago, Chicago to Seattle, Seattle to Porland, Portland to SF, SF to LA, LA to San Diego and back, LA to CHI, CHI to Chattanooga. The trip lasted three weeks and when I came back I had gained 15 pounds, most of it temporarily.

 

[PRR 60]

...The Building is the old SP (Southern Pacific) Hdqs. Building and is just like an Amtrak Rail Station except no Trains come here! It's next door to the Ferry Building, the Agents work the Counter just like a regular Station, only difference is you walk out to the Street to load the Bus (instead of a Platform for a Train)which goes across the Bay Bridge to Emeryville Station!Nice Amtrak Bus too, not a Dog!!

The Amtrak Ferry Building station is in what is called the Ferry Building Annex. It is just south of the actual Ferry Building near Sinbads restaurant and the dock for the Oakland ferry. This was not the Southern Pacific building. The former Southern Pacific Headquarters building is at the foot of Market Street at Steuart Street, across the street from the Hyatt Regency Hotel. It is now the location of the One Market restaurant.

 

[Bob Dylan]

...The Building is the old SP (Southern Pacific) Hdqs. Building and is just like an Amtrak Rail Station except no Trains come here! It's next door to the Ferry Building, the Agents work the Counter just like a regular Station, only difference is you walk out to the Street to load the Bus (instead of a Platform for a Train)which goes across the Bay Bridge to Emeryville Station!Nice Amtrak Bus too, not a Dog!!

The Amtrak Ferry Building station is in what is called the Ferry Building Annex. It is just south of the actual Ferry Building near Sinbads restaurant and the dock for the Oakland ferry. This was not the Southern Pacific building. The former Southern Pacific Headquarters building is at the foot of Market Street at Steuart Street, across the street from the Hyatt Regency Hotel. It is now the location of the One Market restaurant.

Sorry about the Misinformation! The agent working this "Station" told me that this was the old SP Building last time I caught the Am BUS to cross the Bay to Emeryville! Thanks for the Correct info! :hi: Jim

 

[user 3575]

It's actually the former Ferry Station Post Office, a 1915 structure that was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

 

[nferr]

Like somebody said just pick the one closest to your hotel. You pretty much end up on the same bus anyway.