Passenger Trains > Capitol thoughts.... (Amtrak California)

This morning I had a chance to ride the Capitol (Amtrak California) from Martinez to Santa Clara - Great America. I haven't ridden this line in several years and was curious to see how / if things had changed.

First off, compliments to the staff at the Martinez station. They were courteous, efficient and the station was nice and clean. Overheard them helping some other passengers as well.

Train 527 arrived right on time. Inside, the train looked clean and in good repair. I was disappointed the train had one of the downstairs cafe cars, not the full cafe car, which I often enjoyed riding in. But that is minor. The staffer in the cafe was friendly and a quick breakfast was soon in hand. My only complaint was an Amtrak worker (not train staff, looked like a track worker) who appeared to be deadheading in the cafe section. He kept coughing and hacking and generally looked unwell. He was away from the food, but still...

The conductors were having friendly chats with folks who were obviously regular riders. I got my ticket scanned with no fuss and then got on with breakfast and some work items. The wireless on the cars worked great and I was able to get quite a bit done by Oakland.

The only real clinker of the day came at Hayward. A man was helping his mother on board and did not get off the train when last call sounded. Instead of talking with the crew and working out how to get back from the next station, he pulled the emergency brake. What ensued was a shouting match between him, his mother and a couple conductors, with the man apparently threatening to sue Amtrak over the incident. At least one conductor was pretty pissed over the whole exchange, especially that the guy went to his car in the parking lot and grabbed his camera phone and filmed the train leaving. This idiot cost us several minutes while they reset the brakes and got going again. A conductor made an announcement about not pulling the emergency brakes and apologized for the delay.

At Santa Clara, the man's mother was on the phone talking about what "a**holes these Amtrak people are" and how rude they were when her son pulled the brake. Hey, he interfered with safe operations and was a self-centered idiot who didn't listen to the announcements, then yelled at the crew.

Getting off at Santa Clara - GA highlighted one thing I would love to see improved with newer cars: bicycle access. I ride a bicycle and have often taken in on CalTrain, so I can sympathize, but the volume of bikes getting off at Great America station was a real problem to navigate inside the car and they were all hustling onto the platform to get out before the doors closed, making it tricky to navigate. A dedicated bike car or dedicated end with extra wide doors would be welcome on new equipment.

All in all, though, a pleasant ride and a reminder that the Capitol Corridor is a nice service. Can't wait to see it expanded some more.

Z

Nice write-up. Thanks.

Nice report, thanks.

I'm picturing the "I Love Lucy" episode where Lucy pulls the emergency brake on the City of Los Angeles and the Mertzs get splattered with food in the diner.

Posted from iPhone

Thanks for posting! Glad to hear you had a positive experience on the Capitol Corridor. I'm now a regular on the route and have to say any complaints are few and far between. Crews for the most part are courteous and professional and they do have a good relationship with their regulars for the most part as well. And the route is very busy with bikes as you mentioned. They have recently added bike capacity but everyone still needs to offload at the same time (I get on/off at Davis which is Bike City basically). Hopefully the added bike capacity will help the situation slightly.

Amtrak should have called the cops to meet this jerk at the next station where he should have been arrested. Isn't there a fine for such actions?

The guy who pulled the emergency brake is fortunate that he was not arrested. I was on a San Joaquin when a young lady did the same thing after failing to get off of a NB at Modesto. The cops were waiting for her in Stockton. Not only does is it an inconvenience for the crew and passengers, it disrupts dispatching. She did it about a quarter mile north of the Modesto station, assuming they would just back up and let her off. Big argument when that did not happen.

warren49 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The guy who pulled the emergency brake is
> fortunate that he was not arrested. I was on a
> San Joaquin when a young lady did the same thing
> after failing to get off of a NB at Modesto. The
> cops were waiting for her in Stockton. Not only
> does is it an inconvenience for the crew and
> passengers, it disrupts dispatching. She did it
> about a quarter mile north of the Modesto station,
> assuming they would just back up and let her off.
> Big argument when that did not happen.

And she probably still blames Amtrak for her stupid decision...


Allen