Zephyr to Coast Starlight connection

[dk82]

I'm taking the westbound Zephyr next week and connecting to the northbound Coast Starlight to Portland. I scheduled the connection via Emeryville so as not to board the Starlight so late in Sacramento. It looks like this may have been a mistake since the westbound is often too late for that connection.

In case I make the change in Sacramento, can anyone tell me what the station facilities are like (i.e. any way to leave a bag if I'm waiting 6+ hours for the connection)? Would they give my accomodations to someone else if I'm ticketed from Emeryville but get on in Sacramento?

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[AlanB]

DK,

I can't answer your question about the station in Sacramento, but I suspect there are others here who can.

With regard to your accomodations, yes there is a real risk of them being sold out from under you, if you board in SAC while being booked out of EMY. I would certainly try to call Amtrak in that case and have the station agent try to call Emeryville to warn the conductor.

However if at all possible, I'd probably try to change my reservation now before you leave to Sacramento.

 

[dk82]

Thanks Alan. Per your recommendation, I called Amtrak to see if I could just change the reservation via Sacramento. I was told that's a frequent connection and that the conductor would know if the Zephyr was running late and to expect the change. Hope they're right, or that we're just less than 5 hours late!

 

[tp49]

In case I make the change in Sacramento, can anyone tell me what the station facilities are like (i.e. any way to leave a bag if I'm waiting 6+ hours for the connection)? Would they give my accomodations to someone else if I'm ticketed from Emeryville but get on in Sacramento?

To be honest , I'm not too sure about the ability to leave a bag at SAC between the arrival time of #5 and #14. The checked baggage room normally opens I would guess around 9-10 PM for the departure of 14. There are no lockers at SAC for bag storage either.

As for amenities, they are fairly spartan, some vending machines (snacks and newspaper) and numerous wooden benches for waiting.

Within a short walk of the depot are Old Sacramento and the Downtown Plaza shopping center which have numerous food choices ranging from fast-food to fine dining. Old Sacramento is designed to give visitors an idea as to how the city looked during the Gold Rush, and also contains the California State Railroad Museum which closes around 4PM.

Downtown Plaza contains numerous shops and also has a movie theater (a great way to avoid the triple digit heat this week) where some time could be killed waiting for the connection.

Hope this helps some.

 

[Trogdor]

Here's a suggestion. If you're worried about them selling your space, call Amtrak reservations, and ask them to leave a note in the manifest that says you might be boarding in Sacramento (this works for other situations as well, such as when you're making a connection with two separate reservation numbers, for example). This way they won't sell the room.