This is going in the opposite direction. Amtrak needs to be cheaper and faster for people to consider using it. Every time I think about taking a trip with them it's cheaper to fly and get there in a fraction of the time.
Rail does not receive the massive subsidies that highways do. Imagine the cost of driving if we had to pay up front the actual per mile cost of building freeways
One weekend we wanted to go to the rail museum in sac and thought it would be cool to take the train there from emy. We got to the ticket counter and the agent was totally clueless and unhelpful when we asked about the delay message on the board and the schedule. The price was insane, we have a car but for reference it was cheaper to rent a car across the street for the day than it was to take the train. Needless to say we just drove there.
It's a completely different experience than attempting to cram five people into an economy car for a drive. It's like complaining the Queen Mary 2 is more expensive than Ryan Air.
We're talking about practical and affordable transportation solutions here, which Amtrak is neither. You can rent a SUV for a family of 5 and still do better on both price and duration instead of going with Amtrak.
That certainly helps. But from Emeryville to Sac you're looking at $25 in gas assuming 25mpg @$4/gal. (I paid $3.35 yesterday at Costco). Not to mention you still need to pay for transport for the "last mile" to get from the Amtrak station to your actual destination. It's clear that Amtrak isn't an affordable or practical transit option. I do enjoy the scenery and I enjoy train infrastructure but it's not at all affordable if it's not any cheaper than a private car.
I've been wanting to take it to Truckee but I've heard nightmare stories of people getting hosed by the schedule and left out in the freezing cold late at night.
Ya but a lot of things don’t get funding or attention until rich people care about them. I wonder if this would be displacing normal trains or if there is enough downtime on the tracks that this is a way of bringing in an outsized amount of profit on empty tracks.
Its not a new concept, private rail cars have been around since the beginning of rail travel. Presidents and Barons used to travel in them. In modern times you need to contract with a private logistics firm to hitch you up to industrial trains and broker your fare.
I don't see a market for rich people wanting to pay private jet money to take days longer to get to their destination and spend their days stuck in remote rail yards. It's niche for wealthy people that can't fly (ie heart problems).
I think when comparing train travel multiple things need to be taken into consideration. Cost is an important one, but not the only one. Train travel in the US isn't terrible because of the end-cost, it is horrid because it doesn't receive any sort of prioritization, subsidy or otherwise. The networks are just not built out enough and interoperable enough to make it a pleasant experience that attracts the numbers we see in Europe.
Ownership of the tracks is also a major issue that just does not end up incentivizing the passenger rail experience. Freight and passenger rail are using the same exact tracks, they are owned by freight companies but are required to prioritize passenger travel, but then you have old-ass train cars shipping things across the state and causing delays all the time. It is a shit system that will not be improved by lowering costs.
This isn't a government subsidized program. You have been able to attach your private rail car to a scheduled Amtrak run since forever. Amtrak will charge you a hefty fee for this.
This is a company selling that as a service, and renting you the private car at the same time. It may seem ridiculous but it isn't hurting anyone, and if anything, it's making Amtrak's operation more viable.
Their website offers no fares, no departures or arrival times for any train to any destination. The route between Emeryville and Los Angeles is not even on their route map, if you can call that a route map.
Yeah, that web site reads like a group project for an Intro to Business Marketing Fundamentals community college course. Little substantial information and the "route map" seems non-sensical. Washington to Jacksonville, FLA? Chicago to Dallas? Seems unserious.
Yes, when traveling, people need to know these details. Adults call it an itinerary. It's the same as every other form of travel. You need to know when you are supposed to arrive so you can be on the train, the plane, the cruise ship so you can make your destination.
Spoken like someone that never leaves the nursing home.
If I want to travel from Oakland to Los Angeles without driving myself by all means, explain how this works where I do not know who to pay or when to arrive for departure.
if you've ever ridden the coast starlight, you know it is almost always delayed (often an hour or more) by the time it gets to oakland because it has already been en route for 2 states.
it makes me happy to know that the leisure class will experience these delays as well :)
Interesting. Their website makes it sound like $10,000 charters isn't their overall plan, as the designs and routes they show there are much more in line with European night trains, which are generally much more affordable. Hoping I'm right on that.
I took the starlight once, it was 13 hours. To be fair, a good portion, especially prior to LA proper stops, is gorgeous. But it is 13 hours. I feel like not many folks are going to pay a high price for a long journey that is double the time of an Uber, 10x a flight, at 10x the cost.
This is going in the opposite direction. Amtrak needs to be cheaper and faster for people to consider using it. Every time I think about taking a trip with them it's cheaper to fly and get there in a fraction of the time.
This is honestly crazy to me. How is the train from the Bay to LA so expensive?? It's actually goofy
Rail does not receive the massive subsidies that highways do. Imagine the cost of driving if we had to pay up front the actual per mile cost of building freeways
One weekend we wanted to go to the rail museum in sac and thought it would be cool to take the train there from emy. We got to the ticket counter and the agent was totally clueless and unhelpful when we asked about the delay message on the board and the schedule. The price was insane, we have a car but for reference it was cheaper to rent a car across the street for the day than it was to take the train. Needless to say we just drove there.
The fare from EMY to Sac is $29 for most trains. It is extra for the Zephyr or the Coast Starlight.
https://www.capitolcorridor.org/
Family of 5 x29 and a car rental can be $40 for an economy car with unlimited miles for 24hr. Sucks but their statement isn’t that off
It's a completely different experience than attempting to cram five people into an economy car for a drive. It's like complaining the Queen Mary 2 is more expensive than Ryan Air.
We're talking about practical and affordable transportation solutions here, which Amtrak is neither. You can rent a SUV for a family of 5 and still do better on both price and duration instead of going with Amtrak.
The discussion is about a new train service supposedly launching in January, 2026 to Los Angeles.
And the comments are about how comically expensive rail travel is.
They do offer 50% after the first ticket if booked a day in advance, which can help offset that: https://www.capitolcorridor.org/friends-and-family/
Right, so $120 round trip for two people. You can rent a car for a day for half that.
50% off for companion fares: https://www.capitolcorridor.org/friends-and-family/
So it's a $90 round trip. Which is better? More cost neutral compared to renting a car and getting gas, at least.
That certainly helps. But from Emeryville to Sac you're looking at $25 in gas assuming 25mpg @$4/gal. (I paid $3.35 yesterday at Costco). Not to mention you still need to pay for transport for the "last mile" to get from the Amtrak station to your actual destination. It's clear that Amtrak isn't an affordable or practical transit option. I do enjoy the scenery and I enjoy train infrastructure but it's not at all affordable if it's not any cheaper than a private car.
I've been wanting to take it to Truckee but I've heard nightmare stories of people getting hosed by the schedule and left out in the freezing cold late at night.
Ya but a lot of things don’t get funding or attention until rich people care about them. I wonder if this would be displacing normal trains or if there is enough downtime on the tracks that this is a way of bringing in an outsized amount of profit on empty tracks.
Its not a new concept, private rail cars have been around since the beginning of rail travel. Presidents and Barons used to travel in them. In modern times you need to contract with a private logistics firm to hitch you up to industrial trains and broker your fare.
I don't see a market for rich people wanting to pay private jet money to take days longer to get to their destination and spend their days stuck in remote rail yards. It's niche for wealthy people that can't fly (ie heart problems).
I think when comparing train travel multiple things need to be taken into consideration. Cost is an important one, but not the only one. Train travel in the US isn't terrible because of the end-cost, it is horrid because it doesn't receive any sort of prioritization, subsidy or otherwise. The networks are just not built out enough and interoperable enough to make it a pleasant experience that attracts the numbers we see in Europe.
Ownership of the tracks is also a major issue that just does not end up incentivizing the passenger rail experience. Freight and passenger rail are using the same exact tracks, they are owned by freight companies but are required to prioritize passenger travel, but then you have old-ass train cars shipping things across the state and causing delays all the time. It is a shit system that will not be improved by lowering costs.
Yea but what about the public high speed rail the people voted for.
Less luxury crap for the rich please, more public amenities.
This isn't a government subsidized program. You have been able to attach your private rail car to a scheduled Amtrak run since forever. Amtrak will charge you a hefty fee for this.
This is a company selling that as a service, and renting you the private car at the same time. It may seem ridiculous but it isn't hurting anyone, and if anything, it's making Amtrak's operation more viable.
Their website offers no fares, no departures or arrival times for any train to any destination. The route between Emeryville and Los Angeles is not even on their route map, if you can call that a route map.
Yeah, that web site reads like a group project for an Intro to Business Marketing Fundamentals community college course. Little substantial information and the "route map" seems non-sensical. Washington to Jacksonville, FLA? Chicago to Dallas? Seems unserious.
Fyre fest???
If you need to know this info - you can’t afford the ticket price.
What a weird comment
It’s satire - kind of a well known trope
https://youtu.be/i0CW39q0TrY?si=Nd3AaSYvqPxfJRbr
Omg
If others aren’t picking up on your use of satire, you simply aren’t doing it very effectively. Sorry 😞
But it’s not really anything to worry about. Just entertainment. If someone doesn’t get the satire - who is the joke on?
Yes, when traveling, people need to know these details. Adults call it an itinerary. It's the same as every other form of travel. You need to know when you are supposed to arrive so you can be on the train, the plane, the cruise ship so you can make your destination.
Ordinary man concerns …. Ah yes . I do recall my younger glory days.
Spoken like someone that never leaves the nursing home.
If I want to travel from Oakland to Los Angeles without driving myself by all means, explain how this works where I do not know who to pay or when to arrive for departure.
if you've ever ridden the coast starlight, you know it is almost always delayed (often an hour or more) by the time it gets to oakland because it has already been en route for 2 states.
it makes me happy to know that the leisure class will experience these delays as well :)
And when I took it, it almost always ended up being a bus.
One of the few times it was a train, we hit a cow and were delayed. Does Amtrak’s budget not include cow catchers?
Don’t worry, they’ve already worked it out so they get to bypass the right of way and those pesky delays.
Edit: guys I’m clearly not being serious, but /s just in case you need it.
There used to be an overnight bus with little bunk beds that went between SF and LA. I miss that!
1500 a pop, you can fly to nyc first class. This is dumb.
2002 called they want their airfares back
SFO to JFK first class RT tickets can easily be found for 1500-1800. Not my fault you get scammed lol
Interesting. Their website makes it sound like $10,000 charters isn't their overall plan, as the designs and routes they show there are much more in line with European night trains, which are generally much more affordable. Hoping I'm right on that.
Want to go between Oakland and LA but prefer it to take over 8 hours and cost as more than a flight? Boy have we got something for you!
NO ONE IS ASKING FOR THIS.
I took the starlight once, it was 13 hours. To be fair, a good portion, especially prior to LA proper stops, is gorgeous. But it is 13 hours. I feel like not many folks are going to pay a high price for a long journey that is double the time of an Uber, 10x a flight, at 10x the cost.