Coast Starlight

[amy]

I am confused..is it only cancelled from La to seattle? and vice versa?

I see this train is running from Portland to California..according to the amtrak site...

is this right??

 

[Green Maned Lion]

A stub train runs from SAC to LAX and LAX to SAC. A bustitute is running from SAC to PDX and PDX to SAC

 

[amy]

A stub train runs from SAC to LAX and LAX to SAC. A bustitute is running from SAC to PDX and PDX to SAC

That is odd.. I JUST bought my ticket.. and it says nothing about a bus from portland to sac

 

[GG-1]

A stub train runs from SAC to LAX and LAX to SAC. A bustitute is running from SAC to PDX and PDX to SAC

That is odd.. I JUST bought my ticket.. and it says nothing about a bus from portland to sac

Aloha Amy

You didn't mention dates for your tickets. ther is several discussions here about the Coast Starlight interruption.

Hope your trip is after track repairs and the Ticket agent helps you with your needs.

 

[the_traveler]

A stub train runs from SAC to LAX and LAX to SAC. A bustitute is running from SAC to PDX and PDX to SAC

That is odd.. I JUST bought my ticket.. and it says nothing about a bus from portland to sac

At least they are providing service. Prior to the end of February, Amtrak was not providing ANY service between SAC and PDX!

And Amtrak is providing the service, even though they may not have mentioned that a bus will be a part of it. (I'm just using this as an example.) If you have a train trip from SYR to NYP, they may or may not tell you that the SCH-ALB segment is by bus, because of track conditions. (Yes, I agree, they should if it is planned.)

It's also like if you buy a ticket from United Airlines from ___ to ___ (all with UA flight numbers), you may not know that UA flight ___ is operated with a US Air aircraft! Or likewise, you buy a Delta ticket from ___ to ___, but you find out DL flight ___ is actually a Northwest plane!

 

[yarrow]

by the way amy, if you do not know, a stub train is a partial train. in this case, one without diner or sleepers. that is if you are travelling before full service is restored at some unknown date

 

[amy]

by the way amy, if you do not know, a stub train is a partial train. in this case, one without diner or sleepers. that is if you are travelling before full service is restored at some unknown date

the end of march..is when my ticket is for...

with this bus.. how much later do all things run?

Will I still be arriving on time?

im tempted to just cancel now.. and fly..

I wanted to go by land to take photos...

 

[wayman]

the end of march..is when my ticket is for...
with this bus.. how much later do all things run?

Will I still be arriving on time?

im tempted to just cancel now.. and fly..

I wanted to go by land to take photos...

Well, the good news is that (1) you can travel by train (with bus section) between LAX and SEA in late March; (2) your train (between LAX to Sacramento) will have a Sightseer Lounge, providing excellent views of the scenery; (3) you'll get to experience what I'm told are the beautiful California coastal views by train; (4) you'll get to experience what I'm told are the beautiful Oregon/Washington mountains/gorges by train.

The less good news is that (1) your only option is to travel by coach (no sleepers), which doesn't matter if you were only planning to travel by coach anyhow; (2) there will be no full diner with sit-down table-service meals (just a cafe car with ... not so great meal-food options); (3) you'll have to transfer from train to bus to train, and you'll be on the bus for almost half a day (probably less comfortable than the train, though I can't say from personal experience); (4) the bus probably won't give you as many pretty views of the territory between Sacramento and Eugene as the train would have (but I think this area, while beautiful, is judged to be less spectacular than the parts you will be on the train for). Also, the train between Eugene and Seattle won't have a Sightseer Lounge with the floor-to-ceiling windows, but it will have a Bistro Car where I think you'll have space to wander about and look out windows on both sides of the train comfortably (as well as a place to get decent food).

I have no idea about the timing; since the bus-bridge won't start until 29 Feb/1 Mar, we won't know in practice how well it works until we've got some actual data in early March.

 

[D.P. Roberts]

There's a "News" link at the top of the Amtrak home page that explains these details, including the limited train, the bus bridge, and the expectation that full service is not expected to return until April.

If you plan a trip online before March 21st, the Amtrak system clearly shows a train from LAX-SAC, and a bus from SAC northward. However, for all northbound departures on March 21st or later, it shows a normal CS train across the whole route.

If Amtrak currently believes that full service will be suspended until some time in April, one would hope they would update their online reservation system would have a date later than March 21st.

 

[wayman]

(4) the bus probably won't give you as many pretty views of the territory between Sacramento and Eugene as the train would have (but I think this area, while beautiful, is judged to be less spectacular than the parts you will be on the train for).

... well, and you also won't miss much scenery by being on a bus instead of a train for this stretch of the trip because it will be nighttime for more than half of the bus portion in each direction:

Bus 6711 Leave Portland 3:30pm, arrive Sacramento 5:45am

Bus 6714 Leave Sacramento 12:15am, arrive Portland 11:30am

(Also, substitute "Portland" for "Eugene" in my previous post; oops.)

Whether sleeping will be comfortable on the bus or not depends on how many people are on the bus and how well you sleep in whatever conditions you find on the bus, of course. Personally, I can fall asleep just about anywhere, but your mileage may vary.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

Couldn't I just go from SAC to EUG and then take the Cascades Talgos?

Also, I thought the Cascades had a dining car.

 

[amy]

thank you for all the replies..

the bus ride sounds like I could survive it another concern I have is..if my train is running late getting into Portland..will the bus going down to Sac wait??

but yes.. my reservation shows a regular route without buses since it is the very end of march...

I"ll have to talk to a amtrak agent...to get things straight.

 

[George Harris]

Since the bus if for the passengers off the train, it will wait for the train. There are any number of places where Amtrak does this now, and that is their normal procedure. (There are some cases, such as Jackson, Mississippi to Mobile, Alabama where the bus is an ordinary scehduled Greyhound bus. In those cases, the bus does not wait.)