America's greatest train views ☀️ with a cruel twist ending 😒 | Coast Starlight
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- Опубліковано 2 гру 2023
- I rode Amtrak's Coast Starlight train 13 hours through California, from Emeryville (near SF) to Los Angeles. The ride through the fields of crops in the north, and the awe-inspiring views of the sunset as the train hugs the coast near Santa Barbara, were uplifting. But there was trouble when I went to the cafe car for dinner and the staff (never friendly to begin with) had an unwelcome surprise in store for all of us passengers. A worthy train ride, but there are some kinks to work out.
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If you want to take rail for the entirety of SF to LA you can take Caltrain down the peninsula and transfer to the Coast Starlight in San Jose
👆Agreed. And in the transfer from Caltrain to Amtrak, you can check out the SJ station. It's nothing special but it's quaint old style and not concrete jungle bus station as emeryville is.
This. The only downside is that on Northbound if the Coast Starlight is delayed badly, you might miss the last Caltrain out of San Jose. The safe thing to do is to keep track of delays and then buy a ticket from San Jose to SF onboard as you get closer to Salinas if it looks like you are going to miss the last Caltrain. Obviously this only works if you do not check luggage. The other thing you can do is buy the whole trip to SF paying a little extra, and just get off and switch to Caltrain in San Jose.
3:05 : To be fair , he did go through the pack and choose the West side window seat for you
Yeah that was much appreciated, thanks to that guy
Fun fact: there is a ghost town (Drawbridge, CA) at the south end of SF bay that is only visible from Amtrak or ACE trains. It's in the salt marshes between Fremont and San Jose. It's one of my favorite rail easter eggs in the bay area.
I used to ride the Coast Starlight from Olympia to LA and then down to SanDiego. I found the Amtrak personnel in Los Angeles to be the rudest and most unhelpful bunch along that whole segment. This was 15 years ago. And it was always the same people there when I arrived....usually too late to catch the local train that goes to San Diego from there. It's unfortunate that the atmosphere has not changed that much. However, as you discovered, that is also the most spectacular vista along the route. If you were going slow it may have been because they were going through the rice fields. We traveled once during an especially rainy stretch and they were forced to slow down on that section because of the saturated ground. I hope you have discovered that it is always always wise to pack your own food in case of problems as well as water. I don't do well when I'm hungry and it's for everyone's protection that I always come prepared. Happy rails to you and I look forward to more trips in Japan.
Water! Yes, bring water. Those “ice water” dispensers in every coach never seem to work.
Food? Yes. Buy two meals’ worth if the Cafe is open, saving some for when they unexpectedly close.
BTW, rice fields would be in the Sacramento Valley segment of CS (northeast of SF Bay Area). The ponds at 6:22 are bayshore evaporation ponds -source of sea salt.
Yes, the Amtrak personnel can be outright rude or just plain agnostic. I've become accustomed to it and just accept the fact that the golden age of passenger trains is gone forever. Before Amtrak it seemed that the personnel they had working on the trains were far more friendlier until people started leaving the trains for the highways and the planes in the 1960's. Just prior to Amtrak the Southern Pacific trains that ran the Coast Daylight used to put up signs telling people to ride the bus or fly because the ICC would not let them discontinue the half empty trains unless the trains were completely empty. It was like Southern Pacific was angry at the public for deserting the trains for the planes and highways ....AND RIGHT AFTER THEY HAD PURCHASED ALL NEW EQUIPMENT!! Employees of the Southern Pacific actually confessed that they were instructed to be less than hospitable to the passengers by the time the late 1960's arrived.
@@jackjules7552 SP was not the only example. Rail companies had for some time wanted to dump passenger rail service because the profit wasn't big enough - but the ICC wouldn't let them while they were still making money. So they set about making the experience as unpleasant as possible to reduce ridership to the point they could get permission to drop the lines. My example was Penn Central, which chose to stop maintaining the cars. Out of such examples was born Amtrak, with outdated facilities, worn-out rolling stock, and designed to fail. I think it's pretty amazing that the perpetually-underfunded Amtrak has done as well as it has all these years.
Amtrak has fooled me twice when it comes to food... I hope I've learned my lesson now!
It happens to me when I was in roomette. Looks like they closedown around 630 and there goes my dinner. Their PA system is crap and attendant claims he looked for me but I never get the knock on the door. It was flex dining so I didn’t loose much, but staying hungry for the night isn’t a best experience.
Pretty sad customer service. But thank you for another great video. The scenery was beautiful.
Whenever I can I'm in the lounge car as it's the best seats for viewing.
That's true. But if you want to see the best panoramic views of the ocean, sit on the eastern side of the train if you are in a coach seat. OK , might seem odd but then you get the view via many windows on the western side of the car. And, yes sometimes you see passengers moving about but it isn't much of a distraction and sunsets often last at least 15-30 minutes. Try it. You will likely enjoy it.
Boy AMTRAK has changed a lot since I last took a ride. Thanks for the video.
It’s too late now, but now I have something to look forward to at breakfast.
I definitely enjoyed the scenery of the Pacific Ocean. Very breathtaking, but the disappointment was the staff but it’s not your fault.
I ride amtrak about once or twice a month. I can say from expeirance that the LA Crew Base (that staffs the onboard staff like the dining car, cafe car, and coach attendants) are very hit or miss. Some or great and some are not so great. It is almost always the case that if there is one bad crew, the rest of them will be bad too. I recognize a few of the employees from your video.
Regarding your cafe experience, from the times I have rode this route my experience they will often close the cafe after Oxnard (even though the rules say they are supposed to stay open until Van Nuys). So unfortunately that is nothing normal. They have to do inventory and store all of their stock, and it has to be done before reaching the end of the line. It's confusing why it is that way.
The announcement system is old and they probably were making announcements during your trip but sometimes the announcements don't carry over well from one car to the next. They probably were making announcements but sometimes if they make an announcement from the car at the very front of the train it won't make it to the car at the very back of the train due to a connection issue somewhere along the train.
This is a great video, btw, I just wanted to add some of my commentary as to why you experienced the issues you did. There is no excuse that a first time rider is expected to know all of this but if you ride the train enough you figure it out (sort of how those smokers knew where all of the fresh air stops were even when the announcements weren't working).
Thanks for the comments. Seems like keeping the cafe open during the ride would be the only acceptable solution, then figure out how to take stock and stuff afterwards (pay the employees for that time, in other words)
Thanks for the great video. yes, I've had similar experiences with services on Amtrak, including the no-food scenario, but that sunset was amazing. We love your narrative style in these videos. Keep up the great work.
Thanks!
I’ve taken the Coast Starlight several times since I used to live in Ventura and Simi Valley. When my son was little about 20 years ago he was able to play in the children’s car. They had an entire car just for kids to play with toys. Around Oxnard a magician would board and play with them. I don’t know if they still do it but there were two observation cars; one for business and sleeper cars only. One thing about the CS is the bathrooms and train are gross and dirty
The Parlor Car for sleeper passengers have been gone since 2018. The overall experience on a long distance train is trash now. Train is just bigger than half the size it used to be since COVID started. It’s a real shame.
Accept that fact that the golden age of passenger train travel is gone forever. But you have to blame the travelling public for that as in the 1960's they deserted the trains for the planes and highways. Do you really think the passenger trains which were run by private railroads before Amtrak were going to continue to invest in a losing venture? And when Amtrak took over in 1971 they butchered the entire national passenger train system.@@brianjanes4393
I remember that! They also used that space for yoga I think. And the parlor car was really special. Not anymore more's the pity.
We rode from Emeryville to Seattle 7 years ago - fantastic trip, great sleeper car attendant - Robert. Full service dining car, sightseer car too. Times have changed for Amtrak and not for the better - at least not yet. Many ideas and studies in the next couple years - hopefully we'll see some good things come out of those plans.
I usually only use vending machines at work lately, which have credit card readers. I don’t usually carry cash. So it’s usually the thing I bought that I grab first. Lol
One time on the Crescent, they shut down the cafe suddenly. I talked to an attendant, and he gave me a snack box (he wouldn't let me pay). Since then, I always carry a cooler bag with diabetic friendly food just in case.
Nice of him
This reminds me of when my nephews would travel from Lompoc to L.A. to visit us. Such beautiful scenery. Sorry to hear the staff was grouchy.
Dude. Glad to see you hit Trimama's where they have pre-made sandwiches and salads.
My wife and I always enjoy eating in the dining car. In coach, you just have to flag down the dining car attendant when they cone through for reservations.
I agree the staff can be short with passengers, but I've also met some really helpful Amtrak staff.
If you saw my recent Texas Eagle or SW Chief videos, you can see I generally had good interactions with the staff (especially the first part of Texas Eagle from Chicago)
The CS is a beautiful ride. We chose to break it up with an overnight in Santa Barbara, mostly because we were continuing on to San Diego and didn’t want to wake up our relatives with late night arrival. Best decision! Great experience there and easy ride the next day.
What a great idea!
We did the same thing overnight stayed very near the station in Santa Barbara .Best decision our friends were waiting for us at the station in San Diego the next day which was only 5 mins from their house.
Strange way to assign seats ¿ Excellent video.I rode trains in Switzerland and Austria, and talk about professional service. 10 mins before arriving to a city there was an announcement. Train rode like being on a cloud. Ahhhh nice. Excellent job on your video. Look forward to your next one. Be safe.
Great video! I will be traveling on Coast Starlight in April. You provided me with a lot of useful information. Thank You!
Wonder why the staff was cranky. The train actually got to the destination EARLY (and wasn’t too far delayed when it reached EMV) which is rare for Amtrak.
Take Cal Train to san jose. No need for no bus
From Emeryville, u can take AC Transit 🚌7️⃣ to Asby BART Ⓜ️ & from there, catch a Milbrae Bound Red
Love traveling with you - make it an adventure each time!
Across the street from LA Union Station is Phillipe's French Dipped sandwiches, an LA institution. YOU MUST GO.
Hey great videos. I have to ask... Why on Earth do you not bring food on these trips.
I know. They keep telling me they'll feed me, and I keep believing them. (Generally they do, to be fair!)
Have you ridden the ACE train from Stockton to San Jose? It goes up altamont pass and through Niles Canyon and above the marsh and MAN THAT IS GORGEOUS
Not yet! Thanks for the info though
On my first trip on the CSL to SEA, I bought food at LA Union Station Trimana Market prior to boarding. Not the greatest options, but it's there when in a pinch.
I've certainly had much worse
There is a Circle K convenience store across street from Chicago Union Station.
Guy at 8:00 was me on the lakeshore limited and woke up in toledo with a sore back lol
Why would they shut it down? Because some of them are lazy and more interested in shutting the Cafe down way in advance so they can finish their arrival preparations so they can disembark the second the train arrives rather than doing their job and serving passengers. Its normal to close in advance, but 2 hours is ridiculous. Im an ER doctor...imagine if I just stopped seeing sick patients 2 hours before my shift ended.
And how would know when their official hours are over. Sure, they could work an extra hour to serve their customers and not be paid for it. Would you?
New subscriber here from western CO...just thought I'd help nudge the algorithm a bit for you.
We like your style...great videography, production, and narration. Very informative with lots of scenic shots. Looking forward to more of your adventures!
Thank you! Glad you like this style :)
Traxx Union Station either the restaurant or bar has really good food. I like the burger and avocado fries. There's also the Homebound Brew Haus in the old Fred Harvey space. The latter is open until 10 daily. No need to eat Tremana.
Also Philippe, the historical French Dip Sandwich shop is a very brief walk from Union Station. Also Olvera Street, across the street from the station has a bunch of amazing Mexican food spots (honestly can't make a wrong choice of restaurant there)
Those are both excellent suggestions for eats near the station in LA. To our host-there are some excellent travel tools that will give you information on nearby restaurants to hotels, airports and train stations.
@@lucaspadilla4815Plus there are some really nice restaurants in Chinatown just a couple of blocks away
Sounds good - I was kind of focused on getting to my hotel at a reasonable hour (it was already late and I still had to go all the way to the airport, THEN find the shuttle bus to the hotel...)
@@T1DWanderer I hear ya. Never too late for a full liquor bar when traveling though. Great video.
It’s a trip I have done in full twice. The first time was back when you could ride coach and eat in the diner. I don’t like the cafe car food so this year I stocked up at the place where you bought food in Union Station and it was very tasty. When I was assigned for a seat at LA I was able to pick where I wanted but I guess it’s easier when the tram commences from there and it was pre assigned before boarding. Given how in Europe and else where you can pick your seat when you buy your ticket it’s really old fashioned how Amtrak works.
Agree baseballfan. Why the hell can't Amtrak figure out a way to get pre assigned seating before boarding. European trains have so much more complexity, yet you don't have this situation. They are apparently smarter than we are. USA is NOT number one in transportation, we are way down the list.
FWIW the New Zealand scenic trains run by Kiwi Rail have the same problem with not being able to seat select on their website. Basically, you're meant to turn up early at the station & the staff will assign you a seat. The situation is made even worse by their seat configuration. Most of the seating is around tables, all very well for a family of four but sucks for other people. And the diesel locomotives have shiny new paint but are really really old!
@@Arturo-sm1tb Nonsense. Maybe Amtrak doesn't want to reserve seats. Why bother when the conductors prefer to choose where folks sit? The conductors like to seat passengers in groups by departure stations, especially on the long distance sleeper over night trains.
That's sad. Reminds me of when we took Amtrak coach to Florida from NY four years ago, and the same sort of experience (I'll never ride Amtrak coach again unless things change radically). Really sorry the route doesn't even go down to San Diego. I drove that route on the Coast Road from SD up to San Francisco back in the '60s and it was spectacular (even got to swim with sea lions on one of those beaches), but it's just a different world today. First piano bar I ever experienced was in San Luis Obispo, ran out of gas 15 miles out of San Fran. Does Cal Tran even go to San Diego, or is there no rail service? I'm still glad you shared this, either way. I've also had the good luck to watch sunset over the Pacific many times back in the day, from both California and Hawaii, so I can appreciate how nice it was to witness it. Anyhow, thanks again, keep the videos coming, much appreciated. I also saw all the homeless encampments along the tracks in several of the towns; that's really sad, and I would have expected better of California.
The Pacific Surfliner goes between San Luis Obispo and San Diego several times a day so it's actually a better service than the Starlight that only runs once a day
Thanks for that. My best memories from the '60s and '70s are of the coast from San Diego through La Jolla and Del Mar up to LA. I remember walking the stairway from the cliffs at Del Mar, crossing the Coast Line rails and getting on the beach there several times. @@nataliajimenez1870
You could also take the train to Richmond and BART right in to downtown SF. After our trip to Emeryville from PDX, I couldn’t wait to get off that train! My how far the Coast Starlight had fallen in the 19 years since I took it from LA, north in 2000 Out of food items. Out of nearly all wine in the dining car; shower broken. And what was that posing as a breakfast burrito!?! No thanks!
Wonderful video!! ❤❤❤🎉🎉
Thank you very much
I rode this train with this same staff from LA to Seattle in late October. I agree with you 100% about the staff. I was so excited about the experience that I wasn't going to let "them", spoil my trip. It was a long trip, fantastic views. Next time, I will definately get a room though, And yes, the cafe downstairs was closed more than open with the tacky cardboard sign!! Same guy too. Haha On the trip I had dinner in the diniing car which was nice.
Same cardboard sign! It's getting famous 😁
19:11 ... the thing I bought>
So you're a free spirit, after the experience!
That’s like JetBlue where they cram too many people at the end of the terminal and make indecipherable announcements, then you get on the plane and they only serve vending machine snacks and soda.
Both flying and train travel have disintegrated through the years...but you have to blame the travelling public for that.
That was a pleasure. It took me two days, but I finally could sit down for the ride.
I would look into some carry-on fare to try and boost the culinary experience.
Let’s figure out the top ten list for easy or somewhat easy or not easy, but awesome foods to carry on the train.
I know, I keep trusting that they'll feed me...!
Never forget about God. He hasn’t forgotten about you. Let him in.❤You getting that seat wasn’t luck it was God.
I think that the sleeper car staff tends to be nicer. I've been lucky with them. I would also include the dining car staff. However, they are more one on one with the passengers and they also rely on tips.
You made one mistake in the video. Southern Pacific’s tracks ended in Portland, so that was the official end of the Cascades train. One of the Cascades sleeper cars was detached at Portland Union Station and attached to a Northern Pacific train to Seattle.
Thanks for the correction
Nice video my coach days are over i will always get a bedroom last 3 trips Chi-Seattle on the Empire Builder got roomettes Texas Eagle from Dallas to Chicago had a bedroom, next year plan on the California Zephyr From Emeryville To Chicago in a Bedroom the wife loves this room.
I have always wondered that since I took the CZ 10 years ago. I got a room at by myself. Is it possible if you You pay for a roommette, that you would have to have a roommate that you don't know?? Sorry if this is a silly question, I don't remember so long ago and even then I'm not sure that I understood that I might have had a random person to room with.
Amtrak personnel is usually not the friendliest.
I took the train from Amtrak L.A. to San Diego and back, and many times the food shop was closed. While airlines are eager to see you food on board. Amtrak seems to have the opposite approach. Took a train from Chicago to New York, where the last four hours of the ride, they forbade coach passenger to go to the restaurant car. Most of the time Amtrak personnel feels like that they are doing you a favor, for riding with them.
I've starlings from Sacramento to Eugene
Love the CS, just got off of the EB about an hour ago.
I'll be on this train Jan 9th, from Eugene. Staff interaction was really disappointing. I do have a way of cutting it up with folks though, so I'll do my absolute best to bring a smile to someone. Thanks for the video! 😊
Nice to have someone intending to create happiness and smiles. The employees of Amtrak seem to have no interest in that. For decades we have heard about the great changes coming. Its the same as it was in the late 80s it would seem.
Now that Bright Line West has got FUNDING. Could you do a video on Bringing back PIONEER DESERT WIND from Portland to Las Vegas
That will take years unless they plan to use existing freight trackage. If so, no high speed there. Funding is nice but actual work takes time. Are you sure you aren't talking about their LA to Las Vegas and return route? That, too, was part of the old Desert Wind.
Thanks for the heads up. Seems like Amtrak a bit hap hazard.
You could have gone to the dining room but you would have had to pay or paid a little bit more for a roomette and you would have had your meals prepared for you. If it were me traveling that distance, I would have gone with the roomette. That is just me. Have a great day.
😊
In the 1990s i used to take the Starlight from LA to San Jose regularly. At the San Jose station you can take the Caltrain to San Francisco. This is better than taking the AMTRAK bus to Oakland. Today I will not take AMTRAK coach and will get at minimum a roomet. The sleeper service includes dinner car meals. Also the sleeper passengers get to use a dedicated lounge car.
As to AMTRAK train staff, those working out of LA are only 2nd to Chicago staff in nastiness and laziness. When Coast Starlight and Surfliner are ariving at LAX the cafe car staff shut down early so they can hop off the train and go home. The best trips with LA staff was when my friend was conductor. She was from an old train family.
Living in LA is expensive and AMTRAK pays as if you live in mid west.
The first class lounge car (normally the Pacific Parlor Car) was removed from the train a few years ago, sadly. It was very nice and had some nice special drinks and meals, and I miss it greatly. Unfortunately Amtrak didn't have it in their budget to keep those heritage cars refurbished -- as they broke down they replaced them with extra Superliner lounges, and as the Superliner fleet has aged and cars have been scrapped/salvaged for parts, they have also removed those extra lounges.
The Superliner fleet simply has no replacement seriously planned, as there is no manufacturer currently making compatible rolling stock (double decker cars with high level connectors that meet American freight railroad weight/crash regulations). The last attempt was the California Car replacements from Nippon Sharyo USA, and the design failed the heavy buff strength tests, and Nippon Sharyo USA went ouf of business, which is why California is now buying single-level Siemens Venture sets.
How come you didn't use the observation car? The seats are open to everyone and you would've had views on both sides of the train. As for this not being the first time the cafe care as closed on you, don't you learn from your mistakes? Sorry guy but, it's all on you.
The conductor is the king on any US train, passenger or freight. Conductors traditionally rose via the engineer ranks and are members of the Railway Union which are more concerned with operations than customer service. If you want better customer service, buy a sleeper ticket. Sleeper attendants or porters are members of the Pullman Union, are customer service oriented, and expect a tip. With different unions representing different jobs, expect different reactions with customers.
GREYhound please try that.
The Coast Starlight usually has a dining car in addition to the cafe. Was that not an option? It can be pricey, but it is better food than the cafe.
Traditional Dining Car not available to coach passengers.
@@PCBill0622 How recent is that information? I haven't been on the route lately, but I've read that the dining car can be open to coach if there's space available after the sleeper car passengers have been accommodated. That's been since March or so.
If the dining car had been available, I probably would've tried to do lunch in the dining car and then tried the cafe car for dinner (which wouldn't have avoided the problem seen in this video, but at least there would've been a solid meal during the trip).
The Coast Starlight has added a sleeping car back to its consist. The likelihood of coach passengers getting availability is nil, although technically possible. Another factor is a cut in dining car staffing.
@@PCBill0622 Thanks for the reply. I definitely think dinner would be dicey, but historically the dining car can be more open during breakfast and lunch. Of course, the limited seating may throw all that out of the window.
@@PCBill0622 As of 2023 coach passengers can use the Dining car, for $20 breakfast, $25 lunch, $40 dinner. Every trip on this route I have been on recently the option was there. For breakfast you just had to show up, for lunch and dinner you had to catch the dining car attendant after they had taken reservations from sleeping cars.
Too bad you weren't around to ride the passenger trains before Amtrak. We had great service then and many many more trains and routes to choose from. Amtrak is just a shadow of what once was an incredible national network of passenger trains with stellar service. You are looking for an experience that does not exist anymore.
Handing out seating assignments at the platform. What is this, 1980s Italy?
The Coast Starlight has great views although customer service is questionable. Amtrak has a monopoly on long distance train service. I wouldn't recommend taking Greyhound which could be potentially traumatizing. The other travel options are by plane or car. Amtrak has been focused on train service on the Eastern Seaboard that has more riders between Boston & DC than Superliner service in the West. If you can get past rude employees & outdated equipment, A Roomette or Bedroom offers the most enjoyment but it's pricey. There's been talk about a State funded overnight train route between L.A. & the Bay area. Southern Pacific once had an overnight train which ran between Oakland & L.A. (The Lark) until the early '70's.
While the airlines maybe able to offer numerous flights around the clock, Amtrak doesn't... Amtrak barely has enough train sets to run the schedule as is... A overnight service in both directions requires two train sets. Notice Amtrak California runs older used single level coaches with their bi-level Superliner coaches? Shouldn't this imply there is a shortage of Superliner coaches?
Seems that you are the only one that misses a meal on Amtrak...or maybe my luck is on our side on trips.
I had seen in other videos that the cafe is cashless but I thought when you bought your grilled cheese that I heard your change jingle. Were they taking cash?
Yes I was able to pay with cash in that cafe
Indifferent staff is a direct product of Amtrak management not interested in promoting long distance travel. As you stated there are great employees who take pride in serving passengers. However there are many who could care less knowing they’re protected by union contracts and unlikely to be disciplined to start.
Most of the time, the train staff are pretty nice but my husband and I have encountered a few "unpleasant" people.
What great views but that service was so unlike Amtrak. You got lucky with window seat for sure! We hope to ride this route in FULL someday. The cafe car closed early, wonder why? If this was your only Amtrak trip ever, I would understand not wanting to ever ride again with this service
Right, I'm glad I had such a good time on the Texas Eagle and SW Chief right before this
Friendly service on Amtrak?
Some. perhaps most of the Amtrak employees have ZERO customer service skills, such as kindness, a smile and helpful attitude. How do those people get hired? You would think the wages would be decent, but these people hate their job apparently Half of Amtrak travelers are new to the various experiences on these trains, such as the extreme delays. Why can't they create automated announcements if the employees are too busy to get on the microphone, or they are short staffed? Are automated announcements too high tech for America and Amtrak?
Can you imagine the impact on foreign visitors? And the lack of FOOD? Terrible, embarrassing, 3rd world transportation.
I can’t imagine how staff like that would handle emergencies or super-long delays
You are looking for an experience that does not exist anymore on passenger trains. Before Amtrak took over the passenger trains in 1971 the USA had the top notch passenger trains throughout the country where the staff seemed to love their jobs and were loyal to the railroad company they worked for. That all started to change very quickly in the 1960's when the travelling public started to prefer to travel by plane or take to the new highways. By the time Amtrak took over the passenger trains in 1971 the trains were in a state of disrepair and service was no longer top notch. The passenger train companies were not about to invest any further in what was becoming a losing enterprise. Amtrak made the situation even worse when it butchered the entire system overnight. The golden age of passenger train travel is gone forever and will never come back.
You need to work in their shoes and understand their problems with the jobs they do before you pontificate. Any, yes, they could quit and lose both their seniority and retirement benefits. Starving their families likely won't improve their dispositions much either.
@@jackjules7552 With better, more reliable funding and better government management, it could be much better. Good luck with that. Remember most Amtrak employees today never saw the heyday of passenger railroading. They weren't even born back then. Today, many of them are somewhat depressed over how things are done. Poor morale. Most try to keep smiling and being helpful under those conditions. Working for government is "interesting". Little incentive to improve anything. And, the "nails" that try only get "hammered" down day after day.
@@WilliamMurphy-uv9pm No sympathy for the nasty attitudes and uncaring vibe. No excuse. The passengers are paying big money for the long distance trains. The employees are MAKING money, not paying it out. Passengers deserve better. Yes, I can pontificate because I have seen it during extreme delays on the Cali Zephyr. All it takes is a smile and compassion. It is called basic human kindness.
You can also take BART to/from San Francisco at Emeryville station.
There is no BART station at the Emeryville Amtrak station.
Better to take Caltrain to SJ
@@lucaspadilla4815 SJ train station has more ambiance than Emeryville too.
Forget the Amtrak Bus from SF to Emeryville. Just take an Uber. It's just a few miles. I couldn't eat the grilled cheese. It was revolting. I've taken over ten trips on Amtrak, the PA only worked on less than half of them.
Not a surprise. It is mostly the same equipment broken or not. PA should be a critical item but, no, they don't have money for the big stuff let alone PA systems. President Biden did earmark a bunch of money for Amtrak. That's great news except it digs the national debt even deeper. Then again no one seems worried about the inflation that comes when you simply print more money to pay for things. There really is no free lunch folks but the States and municipalities now want more of that free printed money from the feds. Everyone wants a free lunch. Are we all idiots? Just asking.
Yeah, customer service is the last thing from Amtrak's mind. I'm not sure why they are in business, since they seem to take pride on making things as tough as possible for their (coach) passengers. Of course, if you choose to be fleeced by booking a sleeping car (and tipping the employees), you will be treated like a king, in that case. SMH
Is it too expensive to set up AUTOMATED announcements like every train has in Japan? EVERY TRAIN. This is a disgrace in communications with the paying customers.
This is like some train system in Turkmenistan or other random former Soviet republic.
It's because Amtrak owns almost nothing. Japan's train system is successful because the railways (both the semi-private Japan Railways, and the smaller private railways) are landlords around their stations. They make money on rent by making their station areas great places for commerce and habitation, and the train service itself is run with minimal profit or even at a loss to keep them connected with other places. Nobody will want to live/work there if the trains suck, so they are incentivized to keep the trains on time and comfortable. Driving is an expensive alternative because via toll roads (most highways have tolls) and vehicle fees most of the costs of driving are borne by drivers.
in the US this system mostly doesn't exist. Roads are largely provided for free by the government, with drivers only paying a tiny fraction of the upkeep via gas taxes that haven't kept with inflation in decades. Thus you wind up paying for car infrastructure via taxes whether or not you drive, so you might as well use it. There is no incentive to provide good transportation, but you are often required by law to provide ample parking for cars.
There was a *CHANCE* for this system to have happened in the US, back during the days of Streetcar Suburbs, but the American model back then was to sell the property rather than rent it, so once the train company made its money offloading all the real estate by the stations, they no longer had any incentive to maintain good service -- then when government-funded car infrastructure came around it became impossible to turn a profit on rail transportation since it's really hard to compete with mandated free car infrastructure.
Freight railroads remain somewhat competitive because the efficiency of trains is so great that they can still turn a profit despite competing over free roads, and freight doesn't need as much timeliness or comfort as passengers do. That same efficiency works great for passengers but not enough to overcome the amount of subsidy automobile infrastructure gets.
That's why Greyhound can still turn a profit -- they spend as little as possible and make the experience as miserable as possible for people who have no alternative, and since they get to use the automobile infrastructure at a massive discount it doesn't matter.
@@NozomuYume thank you, and I agree with everything. It is not that expensive relative to other infrastructure to set up automated announcements. Even in the very compromised Amtrak system, I expect better in my country. Cannot wait to go back to Japan in the coming months...
✌🏻👍🏻✌🏻
That cheese looked like melted plastic
It sure did. Tasted good enough but after seeing it from that angle... I don't know...
Is the snack & beverage store on the train cash only or are they able to take credit cards, do you know?
Thank you.
cards are ok
On average ... in the 40+ years I've ridden Amtrak, I've learned it's never been a "friendly," customer-appreciative travel option. And I've had my share of cruel stories. The last time I rode a long-distance train was in 2018; in the Miami station they charged me $20 dollars because one of the three dimensions of my duffel bag exceeded the measuring frame by 6". And I had bought a roomette all to myself. I wrote two complaint letters, the second of which was sent by a government big shot out of Washington DC. Long story short, rules is rules, tough luck. That ruined Amtrak for me, for good.
There is no excuse for getting on an Amtrak train without sufficient food. Don't front.
hello ur lucky u got a window seat on the side u want. thats almost unheard oif on this train and i dont blame the ladyl next tu u for being upset for beintg stuck in an aisle seat its not fun ive done it before
She can go the lounge car with bigger windows. Of course she will need to get there early to grab a seat.
I assume she ended up in the observation car; much better views there
😢LOW SUGAR?
Some guy at the platform shuffles tickets and gives you a seat based on his supposed knowledge? INSANE, and terrible way to run a train system. Why can't you reserve a seat at the station....certainly the ticket office has the same information as the onboard staff as to the current status of seats....OK, if not then put a kiosk in there with real time information if its too tough for a human to do. We passed an infrastructure bill....the cost of improving IT cannot possibly be one of the major items.
Total Confusion for all passengers and would be passengers. This saddens me on what could be America's greatest train.
s
It’s not Amtrak, it’s Americans….
Yeah, they definitely sucked. I’d outwork them 10x out of the day. Go be a trash man if you don’t want to work with the public lol
Excellent music choices. So many youtubers do a beautiful job of filming their travels, only to play obnoxious (city) music in the videos. It's usually far louder than the narration, so turning the volume down loses the narration. This only drives a wedge between the viewer and the countryside scenery, killing the mood. Anymore, I'll just shut it down at that point. This video is how it should be done.
Thank you!!
Regarding the lack of announcements and cafe closing early, you must’ve been on the same Coach i was three years ago! 😄
Regarding the crew’s indifference, well, if you had to live in California, you’d probably behave in a similar manner. 😄🤷♂️
And the unpleasant crew members who live in other states around the country would be because??
Nice video and music. For the life of me though, I have no idea how anyone could consume that overpriced, inedible, disgusting "food" from the Amtrak snack bar. With a modicum of creativity, it's easy to pack your own delicious meals, snacks, and beverages, or in a pinch a Jersey Mike's or something that at least resembles food. An insulated lunch bag or larger, a couple quart and gallon freezer ziplocks, a large cup of ice from anywhere, and you're set. Or if you're starting from home freeze something to act as your ice (e.g. tuna salad, one of your beverages, etc.) and then when it's thawed later in the trip it's your last meal. About the only thing you can't bring is a popsicle.
Lot of graffiti and slum looking towns and cities... shocker to see in California... 🙄
Joe Biden’s America
Railroads tend to traverse industrial and city center portions of cities that they were originally built to serve. Industrial areas were never scenic, but graffiti has worsened the view.
Fortunately, the CS route south of San Jose is through scenic agricultural and wild areas. IMO, the most scenic portion is along the Pacific Ocean from south of San Luis Obispo to Ventura. If you only wanted to journey this section, there are two Amtrak Surfliner trains each way between LA and SLO.
North of the SF Bay to Portland is also mostly rural and scenic (although the CS train passes through some of this at night -hence it’s the “Starlight” part of its name). Especially beautiful are the Cascade Mountains of Oregon.
Joe Biden does not tell me how to live. @@BobWehadababyitsaboy69
I rode this train with this same staff from LA to Seattle in late October. I agree with you 100% about the staff. I was so excited about the experience that I wasn't going to let "them", spoil my trip. It was a long trip, fantastic views. Next time, I will definately get a room though, And yes, the cafe downstairs was closed more than open with the tacky cardboard sign!! Same guy too. Haha On the trip I had dinner in the diniing car which was nice.