San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara in December

Comments and 5 photos by Russ Jackson, RailPAC website editor

San Luis Obispo station, Sunday, December 16, 2007, 2:45 PM. Amtrak train 11, the southbound Coast Starlight, has arrived 35 minutes EARLY, with a sold-out load of Christmas time passengers. Too bad that great service is now suspended entirely due to the Oregon mud slide.

The southbound Coast Starlight, with Pacific Parlour Car, is buttoned up ready to depart San Luis Obispo on December 16, 2007. The train arrived on time in Los Angeles that night. How many passengers in California are now denied this service because Amtrak suspended the service in January?

Thruway buses at the Santa Barbara Amtrak station on December 17, 2007. Currently there are four buses from SBA to connect daily with the San Joaquins in Bakersfield. These buses are in jeopardy of cancellation due to low ridership, although when there were two a day they did well!

Large crowd waiting to board Pacific Surfliner 784 on a Monday, December 17, 2007, in Santa Barbara. The train will shortly arrive from Goleta enroute to Los Angeles.

Surfliner 784 is ready to depart SBA on December 17. Note that a Superliner coach is in the consist to “expand capacity.” to 6 cars. One problem with that is the Superliner exit door must be hand opened when one is in the consist. On a few occasions passengers have not been able to get off the train in Oxnard because the crew “forgot” to open that door, and those riders had to stay on to Santa Barbara and then return. Why isn’t that Superliner car in the Christmas time consist of a long distance train earning big revenue?