New Orleans or Houston to Palm Springs

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Rizla Ronnie

Rizla Ronnie

Train Attendant
Joined
Jun 23, 2022
Messages
42
Location
UK
We have the option of doing either of these journeys next April and wondered if there was anything to be said , scenically, for starting from New Orleans instead of Houston to Palm Springs.
We have been to NO previously and have no real desire to go back but wonder if we'd be missing out by joining the Sunset in Houston instead ( we're flying in from the UK ).
And anything else to be taken into consideration ?
Thanks in advance.
 
Not answering your initial question, but offering some advice for your destination. I have spent several vacations (including via Amtrak) in the Palm Springs area. If that is your final destination consider continuing one stop further to Ontario, CA. The Palm Springs "station" is a platform in an open area adjacent to a major highway. The train arrives in the middle of the night (if on-time) and it is an inhospitable place to wait for a taxi or Uber - if one is even available at the time. The unpredictability of arrival time makes scheduling ground transportation difficult - unless someone is picking you up (e.g. friend or hotel?). Unfortunately Amtrak discontinued the stop prior to PSP (Indio, CA), which had better options. Ontario station is in close proximity to the ONT airport, with its services including car rental. It is then less than an hour drive back east to Palm Springs and surrounding area.
 
It will take more time but it'd be a more comfortable trip & easier to arrange last-mile transportation if you took the Sunset Limited into Los Angeles and then the Pacific Surfliner to Fullerton and the connecting Amtrak bus to a downtown Palm Springs stop (PSS or PSP). Less issues than taking the train direct to Palm Springs station (PSN), for reasons noted above.

Note that the PSN station being closed is often not officially announced ahead of time, and Amtrak will instead allow you to buy the ticket and then tell you later that they won't stop.
 
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Rizla Ronnie said:
We have the option of doing either of these journeys next April and wondered if there was anything to be said , scenically, for starting from New Orleans instead of Houston to Palm Springs.
We have been to NO previously and have no real desire to go back but wonder if we'd be missing out by joining the Sunset in Houston instead ( we're flying in from the UK ).
And anything else to be taken into consideration ?
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Let me answer your original question first.

I would definitely start in New Orleans.

• New Orleans has a much larger and nicer station than Houston.
• The scenery between New Orleans and Houston is not overly impressive, but it’s nice enough you probably won’t regret it.
• The New Orleans departure time is 9am, the Houston departure time is 7pm. If you left from Houston after staying for a night you would be hotel-less for 7 hours.
• You get at least two (possibly three) extra meals if you leave from New Orleans.

Now onto the Palm Springs scenario.

I’m speaking as someone who has taken Amtrak to/from Palm Springs,

Here’s the situation:

• The Palm Springs Amtrak station consists of a platform, an open air shelter, and a parking lot. There is no waiting room, there is no staff, there are no amenities except some benches and a wheelchair lift.

• The Palm Springs station is located 6 miles north of Palm Springs, in the middle of a desert. In this desert there are tons of wind turbines, because it is really windy. The Palm Springs station is notorious for having issues with sand piling on the track and platform, causing several shutdowns. The Palm Springs station has been “temporarily closed” for the past year (with an exception for a couple of weeks). When this happens, passengers ticketed to Palm Springs are let off at the next stop, (depending on direction of travel, either Ontario or Yuma).

• The westbound Sunset Limited is scheduled to arrive in Palm Springs at 2:02am (keep in mind Amtrak is often late. When I took the train to Palm Springs, I arrived at 4:30am).

• The station is frequented by people of questionable character. Not necessarily a safe place.

• I had no problem ordering an Uber at 4:30am in Palm Springs on my trip. Palm Springs is pretty big and there will almost certainly be Ubers at 2am or 5am, whenever your train arrives.

Based on this, I would not recommend going to the Palm Springs station if you can avoid it.

If you have the ability, I would get off at the next stop, Ontario CA. Ontario is a nice city in the expanding suburbs of LA. The station is not much better than Palm Springs, but is much safer (speaking from experience). The westbound Sunset Limited gets to Ontario at 3:54 am (if on time, or if they are not early). I would then recommend getting an Uber to the nearby Ontario airport, renting a car and driving back to Palm Springs (or spending time near Ontario).

If you do not have the ability to rent a car, however, I would be prepared for the possibility that the train will not stop in Palm Springs, and have backup plans ready in/near Ontario.

Some more information can be found about the Palm Springs station below 👇
https://www.railpac.org/2023/08/11/...s-station-wind-blown-sand-resiliency-project/

Happy to answer any questions
relating to the Palm Springs or Ontario stations, or New Orleans or Houston,
-Peter
 
Cal said:
Really? I find this surprising. Genuinely who is going to go out to the station in the middle of nowhere just to hang out? People are weird.
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Especially if there is no real shelter and no facilities. No food, no heat or A/C, no restrooms, probably not even a drinking fountain.

Is it a slow spot where people can hop freight trains? Do people still do that?
 
Thank you for all the replies particularly Peter's in-depth response and all the details about the sketchy area around Palm Springs station. I had no idea. Based on that we'll rejig our plans to probably go from NO all the way to LA and hire a car. It would certainly make sense as that is most likely our return destination for crossing the pond. We're retired and in no particular rush. We're building the trip around Palm Springs as we have a Home Exchange in the area and we're tying it into a music festival there so a rental car and plenty of driving is fine for us. Once again thanks to all.
 
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MarkInAustin said:
The food is awful until San Antonio so I would consider beginning the trip there.
Click to expand...

Why would the food be awful between New Orleans or Houston and San Antonio? It is the same Traditional Dining that you get between San Antonio and Los Angeles.
 
Cal said:
Really? I find this surprising. Genuinely who is going to go out to the station in the middle of nowhere just to hang out? People are weird.
Click to expand...
I’ve been to the station three times. Twice when taking the train and once when I thought I’d stop to see how the station looked (the area had just flooded and I was curious) on my way to LA.

When I first took the train in at 4:30am there were several cars parked in the parking lot, doing something. I got in my Uber and left. They were still there after my Uber left.

When I went back to the station a few nights later for my return trip, there were cars with lights on just like before, but when my Uber pulled up they left. I got out of the car to find 3 men “waiting for the train”. This was 11:45pm, the train was at 12:30am and running on time. I briefly talked with the men, and then sat on the bench as far away as possible. At about 12am a “security guard” showed up. He gave everyone a good look, took 2 pictures and left. When the train showed up, only me and one other person got on, I looked out the window as the train pulled away and saw the other two men still seated on the bench, closer than before. There were no more trains in Palm Springs for 2 days.

The third time I drove to check on the station there were yet again at least 5 cars in the parking lot, doing something, who all left as I pulled in. This was at 8am. The station looked abandoned and weather beaten. There were no people sitting on benches. I left 5 minutes later.

My suspicion is illegal activities. As for the men on the benches “waiting for the train”, whether they were homeless or also engaging in illegal activities I’m not sure. Not necessarily a safe place for people to travel from.
 
Given the unusual issues in Pam Springs, I've wondered about Amtrak adding a stop in Indio instead of PS. From a brief visit there, I recall the tracks being in "downtown" Indio, there being ample parking -- and no blowing sand. It's closer to the broader PS area than is Ontario.
 

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