Amtrak’s Coast Starlight train classes up its act
Amtrak’s Coast Starlight train, which meanders up the Pacific Coast between Los Angeles and Seattle, has made a big comeback after being sidelined for months by a mudslide that covered tracks in Oregon. Since returning to full service the first week in May, it has spiffed up its perks in first class and added seat-side meal service for coach passengers.
Better yet, the often-tardy train ran on schedule 86% of the time in May, said Amtrak spokeswoman Vernae Graham. That beat major U.S. airlines, which logged an on-time rate of less than 74% from April 2007 through April this year, according to U.S. Department of Transportation figures. Ridership has soared on the Coast Starlight, which carried nearly 22% more passengers in May 2008 than in May 2007, Graham said. Could it be the gas prices? Or rising airfares?
I toured the train Tuesday before it pulled out of Union Station in Los Angeles to see the latest updates:
Parlour Car: This vintage hang-out for the sleeping-car crowd (shown in photo) has been retrofitted with new air-conditioning. Very welcome, I imagine, in summer when you’re stuck behind a freight train. Also new: The upstairs lounge serves lunch and dinner. Meal seating is limited to 24, so reserve early or go to the regular Dining Car. In the downstairs theater, you’ll find a 50-inch, flat-screen monitor and an updated sound system. Some bad news: Daily wine-tastings are no longer free. It costs $5 to sample four regional wines, paired with four cheeses.
Arcade Room: Once known as the Kiddie Car, it’s now open to everyone and outfitted with video games. Warning: It’s a tight fit.
First-class boarding: Sleeping-car passengers in Los Angeles are served juice and coffee in the station while waiting to board. Then a conductor takes their bags for them and escorts them to their car. “From the time you get here, we wanted it to be a first-class experience,” said Dee Mason, Amtrak’s Oakland-based senior director for product management.
Coach class: Denizens of the cheap seats will find a few improvements. The main change is that you can now order meals delivered to your seat. (Don’t forget to tip.) You can still go to the Dining Car too. Coach-class pillows are bigger, I’m told, and blankets now cost $7.50 instead of $15.
– Jane Engle, Assistant Los Angeles Times Travel Editor
[Photo: Jane Engle]
21 Comments on “Amtrak’s Coast Starlight train classes up its act”
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June 12th, 2008 at 10:57 am
Jane,
Thanks for the continuing coverage of rail travel. It’s often overlooked. It’s too bad you didn’t get a chance to ride the “new” Coast Starlight. Sounds like about half the highly-touted “new” services aren’t being offered on the first day of service, which is a shame. And on the second day of “new” service, they didn’t have a Parlour Car or substitute first-class lounge at all. It’s still a beautiful train ride, though!
June 12th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
The Coast Starlight is our favorite way to travel to Oregon. We just pick up a rental car upon arrival.
June 12th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
This is welcome news. I had intended to take the Starlight earlier, learned of the mudslide and decided against the bus shuttle, vehicles that I can’t stand. Though patronage is up, it’s truly a shame that the entourage back in Washington DC is intent on starving AMTRAK and pushing people onto planes or slogging it out on the freeways with gas that in rural areas can easily reach $5.00 per gallon. Are those DC politicians mad? Welcome back AMTRAK!
June 12th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
I was on a Starlight from Oakland to Santa Barbara a few years back, and we were something like 13 hours behind schedule. We figured we could have driven back and forth and back again between the two stops during the time it took.
Still, the staff seemed to know how stressed we were and went out of their way to make it a comfortable endurance experience. They had reasonably good food and great service in the dining car. It was hard to get angry at the staff, because they were trying so hard — and were giving good service.
I vowed never to do it again, however, because I have a business to run. Nevertheless, years have passed and, with the announcement that they’re back with some increased amenities, my romance with rail travel was reawakened, and I’ve booked another round trip to Oakland — but timed it so that a delay won’t hurt my business meeting schedule.
I’m looking forward to the first leg of the trip on Sunday.
June 13th, 2008 at 4:41 am
It doesn’t matter what upgrades they make to the trains if they maintain a staff of belligerent, customer-hostile employees who should have been fired years ago or put into a back-office role.
For a sample of what you can expect if you’re unlucky in who’s working the Coast Starlight when you ride, Google for “My Final Trip on Amtrak”.
June 13th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
Is there train transportation from Michigan to Salt Lake City, Utah?
Please advise.
June 16th, 2008 at 7:46 am
Thanks to everyone for their useful comments on the Amtrak article! Mike, I’m wondering when you rode the Coast Starlight. Although I toured the train for its “official” re-launch, I believe some of the new features have been on the train since late May.
June 21st, 2008 at 1:50 am
despite congressionl attempts to kill off amtrak, i have found the onboard service excellent, most of the time. late trains due to freight rr, inoperable toilets due to lack of funding, still a great experience worth some “interesting” inconveniences.
June 30th, 2008 at 11:21 pm
To Mary Ann, yes there is Amtrak service from Michigan to Salt Lake City, UT. Of course it depends on where you begin in Michigan, but more than one route can bring you to Chicago where you would change trains to catch the California Zephyr which stops in Salt Lake late at night. For more info, check online at http://www.amtrak.com
July 3rd, 2008 at 7:38 am
I found coupon code V851 at http://www.railserve.com/amtrak_coupons.html that gives 20% off fares on the Coast Starlight. It didn’t work for travel next week, but saved me $20 on a trip in August.
July 7th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
My buddy and I rode the southbound Starlight #11 in late June and we had a great time. We got on in Seattle (rode the bus from Surrey BC; won’t do that again; cost effective but the border crossing experience was bush league). We got a roomette and enjoyed the ride immensely. What was amazing was how quiet it was compared to a plane. The parlor car was staffed by a real impresario and we had a great time with him during the wine tasting, dinner and breakfast. He let us sit two to a table unlike the dining car where the bureaucrats jammed us in four to a table at lunch. Lucky for us, we met some nice people at lunch, but it was still not as comfortable as the parlor car. After all, I was there to enjoy a few days with my buddy, not commune with the public. The train was about an hour late leaving Portland, due to a connecting train I believe, and it stayed an hour late all the way to San Jose where we got off. Great scenery, especially since I wasn’t driving. We intend to do it again, but next time we’ll take the northbound (#14) so we’ll pass through more of the mountains during daylight hours. One note: the roomette was tiny and had almost zero luggage space, so we had to stash our suitcases in the vestibule luggage rack. So bring your shaving kit and clean underwear and jammies into the roomette in a little tote bag. Otherwise you’ll be opening your suitcase on the vestibule floor, or dragging it down the hall to your roomette. Another note: I don’t know if this will be permanent, but on our train, the parlor car did not have a full dining car menu. The food was very good, but the selection was very limited compared to the dining car.
August 3rd, 2008 at 6:29 pm
I am scheduled on the trip north this weekend with my teenage boys. Took the trip when they were younger and they have asked to do it again! And they are a tough lot to please. My parents live in Oregon, so we rail up, vist for a week, and fly back. The sleeper cars are worth the price, especially when you include the price of meals, and still cheaper than flying. I don’t care if the train is a bit late, we are ready to enjoy every minute. Besides, when it runs late, you get to see Mt. Shasta in the morning - when on time, it is still dark.
August 4th, 2008 at 12:13 am
My granddaughter (age 11) and I have traveled each summer for the last four years by Amtrak from Los Angeles to Chicago and back (Southwest Chief). She has become an expert on train travel and loves to wait at the top of the stairs in the sleeper car to show passengers around. One summer we returned to California via the California Zephyr, a train that I rode as a child every summer from Salt Lake City to Chicago. What wonderful memories! (This is the reason I travel by train with my granddaughter each summer.) This past winter I traveled from Chicago to Portland via the Empire Builder. Unfortunately we had to be bused from Minnesota to Montana because of a derailed freight train. I then took the Coast Starlight from Portland to San Luis Obispo just a couple of days before the mud slide that shut down Amtrak service in Oregon. I so wanted to experience the Empire Builder, but that is OK since I got to ride a bus across North Dakota and Montana in the winter. (My glass is always half full.) My granddaughter and I will be leaving in a couple of days on the Coast Starlight for a trip to Portland. This will be her first trip on the Starlight. There is no other way to travel! Yeah, Amtrak!
October 22nd, 2008 at 12:40 am
I have ridden the Coast Starlight every year of my life since I was born (I’m 28) from Seattle to Martinez, CA. Let me tell you, there is no other way to travel. I love it! And although it sometimes can be late (they have gotten much better), there is so much to keep you entertained.
November 5th, 2008 at 1:54 am
My wife and I travelled for the first time from LA to Oxnard by Coast Starlight on 30th Sept 2008. The train started late in Union Station by an hour because of technical problem (engine needed to be replaced!). My wife was tense because we had an appointment with the doctor at 1 pm. We finally arrived at 12.45 and hurriedly caught a cab (spanish speaking driver - had diffculty in communicating but with help of map could manage)and reached the airport marina clinic at 1pm. We also had to catch a Greyhound bus to Santa Barbara at 3pm. Thankfully the bus was delayed by half an hour. The return trip in business class was excellent(enjoyed the wine & snacks). The train was ontime as we boarded in santa barbara in the evening.
If one has an appointment it is not advisable to travel by this train. Otherwise it is comfortable.
Padmesh & Usha
November 5th, 2008 at 2:12 am
Also I should mention that the staff helped me call the clinic informing them about the delay. We are thankful to the coach attendant for lending her mobile phone. That was an excellent gesture.
December 3rd, 2008 at 8:48 pm
We are thinking of doing the trip in late March from Los Angeles to Seattle.
Is this way better or vice versa?
Are you able to choose to be on the ocean side for a better view?
We are from Australia
December 23rd, 2008 at 10:39 pm
I’ll be taking this route this week and haven’t seen it since the upgrade, so I am curious to see it in person.
Having traveled on numerous Amtrak routes over the past few years, I’ve noticed that when the trains are really delayed the majority of people riding coach tend to be miserable while the people in sleepers still love the experience. I took coach all the way from Connecticut to Seattle twice and Connecticut to Houston twice before deciding to get a sleeper (roomette), and now I can never go back because it is so much less miserable than coach once everyone starts complaining about the delays and the smokers start whining about wanting to get out to smoke! Amtrak is defintely not the way to go if you’re in a hurry and have a deadline to be somewhere, but if you’re patient and you want a scenic experience and can spring for a sleeper it’s all right and you get some nice views. I do think it’s a little ridiculous though that it takes nearly twice as long to get from LA to Seattle on the Coast Starlight than it would take if you drove (I drove from Seattle to Pasadena in 19 hours), and more if you are delayed.
We need an Acela-type train here on the West Coast that goes all the way up the coast to link the big cities—San Diego, LA, San Francisco, then cut inland to go to Portland and Seattle and maybe all the way up to Vancouver.
January 3rd, 2009 at 2:47 pm
I have taken the Coast Starlight many times, and it is an amazing experience. Anyone who enjoys the journey as much as (or more than) the destination must travel by train sometime.
In answer to John’s question:
It sounds like viewing the ocean is an important part of your planned trip. If so, definately take the route from Los Angeles to Seattle. Since you depart Los Angeles in the morning you are guaranteed to travel past the ocean during daylight hours. Traveling from Seattle, if the train is a few hours late you will arrive at the ocean after dark.
I should point out that you will only be able to see the ocean for about 3 to 3.5 hours, from Ventura to just before San Luis Obispo. You will also see the Puget Sound when you get near Seattle, but only for about a half hour, just before arriving at Tacoma.
Regarding which side of the train to reserve: there are no guarantees. I have seen the sleeper cars on the train either way, so you can’t guarantee that your car will be on the train with the room you reserve on the West side of the train. However, in my experience the deluxe bedrooms and the even-numbered standard bedrooms have more often been on the East side of the train, so the odd-numbered standard bedrooms would normally be on the West side. Again, just my observation–no guarantees.
But it really is not as important as you might think to get a bedrrom on the ocean side. Travelling from Los Angeles you will get to the ocean about noon and be able to see it until about 3:15. You might also be in the dining car for lunch about an hour of that time with only a 50-50 chance of getting a table on the West side.
Your best bet is to get settled in your room quickly, then head to the parlour car and select a table on the West side and stay there until San Luis Obispo. You will have a far better view from the parlour car than a bedroom, and you can now get lunch in the parlour car.
Enjoy your trip to the States!
January 11th, 2009 at 7:09 am
We are planning a trip in April, comign form the UK. Looking at the Amtrak website, and reading the comments above, it seems the Coast Starlight follows the coast from Santa Barbara to San Luis Obispo, presumably on the same track as the Pacific Surfliner? But our Lonely Planet Guide says it goes inland after Santa Barbara? Can anyone advise? And does it make a difference which of the two trains we get from LA to SLO?
Thanks!
January 17th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Michael - The best part of the trip begins at Santa Barbara. Once past SB you are literally on the bluffs overlooking the Pacific and at times actually riding over the beach. Another bonus is the possibility of seeing a missile launch from Vandenburg Air Force Base. The train has to stop until the launch is over. You also will be on very prohibited government property and will see the site where the space shuttle was supposed to be assembled and launched. Take the trip, it is well worth the effort and occasional delays. Book a roomette if you can afford the fare. There is a very good Winter Special Available now that will save you money. Good Luck