Passenger Trains > Thanksgiving Eve Sacramento Ridership Report

I had the opportunity to experience the crowds at Sacramento during the noon hour today.  First was the 1210 Capitol Corridor departure for the Bay Area, Train 537, which gradually filled up with arriving passengers.  At 1209, with precision of a world-class corridor operation, the conductor closed the doors and the train began to move just as the time changed from 1209 to 1210.

Next to arrive was Train 528 from San Jose, which was running about 20 minutes late at Davis but managed to squeak in at 1217, one minute early, thanks to recovery time in the schedule.  A total of 274 passengers disembarked -- just at this one station!

Meanwhile, operationally things were not quite as smooth for the inbound direct San Joaquin train from Bakersfield, 701, due at 1230pm.  Nevertheless, it managed to arrive with gusto at 108pm, disgorging a total of 215 passengers in Sacramento.

Now it was time to visit the Amtrak Thruway Bus boarding area, where a form of managed chaos reigned, with more than 100 connecting passengers looking and waiting for their departures, with 5 buses at the curb: one for Marysville, Chico, and Redding, another just for Roseville, and one more for Rocklin and Auburn.  The latter two were marked with 3-letter station codes, unknown to many riders..  The trans-Sierra inbound buses from Reno were delayed due to poor road conditions (snow) on Interstate 80, thus delaying the Sacramento departures for Reno.  In addition, the Capitol Corridor arriving passengers needed to wait for the late San Joaquin to arrive, which brought additional connecting passengers.  Plus, it was soon time for the Stockton departure for the southbound San Joaquin at 125.  Fortunately, while the temperature is at 52, the sun is out and conditions are generally favorable, if cool.

The wait for departure time allowed for a closer look at Amtrak's passengers on a day that brings out many infrequent riders.  A man wearing a kilt is headed for Chico.  A grandmotherly type is holding a ticket reading San Jose-Marysville.  Another rolls up with a bicycle and a violin case.  Someone else is pushing a walker.  One is carrying a plastic laundry basket filled with assorted items.  There's a businessman in a suit.

Many passengers on this day have traditional agent-printed tickets, but one man boards the Stockton bus showing his Apple watch to the driver, who scans the reservation from the watch.  It's hurry-up-and-wait time, and a number of Amtrak employees, bus drivers, and others are scurrying around attempting to assist passengers, some by barking at them ("that luggage needs to go underneath...it's federal law").

Thirty-five years ago, on September 15, 1980, California began its experiment with dedicated bus connections for state-supported trains, with two daily connections to Stockton each way from Sacramento for the San Joaquin trains being the first services added (other than the always-existing buses to San Francisco).  In those first days, bus ridership was in the 5 to 7 range.  Look at it now.  Amtrak's buses from Eureka, San Luis Obispo, and several other locations were sold out days ago for the holiday, even with extra sections added.  Today, even the midnight bus from San Diego to Los Angeles is sold out.

Meanwhile, there are little setbacks.  The big clock in the Sacramento station waiting room, fixed more than a decade ago by Caltrans, is again nonoperational, with the hands perpetually fixed at 1043.  Oh well, the station has a new owner now (City of Sacramento). One can always hope that the problem with time standing still is temporary.

A happy Thanksgiving to everyone!



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 11/25/15 15:45 by reindeerflame.

I will NOT ride a bus. That is a very degrading means of transportation. Run trains!

DavidJustinLynch Wrote:
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> I will NOT ride a bus. That is a very degrading
> means of transportation. Run trains!

No.  Buses are frequently the most appropriate and are very successful, especially for the taxpayer.

DavidJustinLynch Wrote:
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> I will NOT ride a bus. That is a very degrading
> means of transportation. Run trains!


SOOOOOOOOOO ... are we judging those that do ride buses ??? ... sounds like your of the opinion that people who ride buses are beneath you or a better way to put it ... YOU'RE TOO HIGH CLASS TO RIDE A BUS and the people who do ride buses are scum ... for a LOT of people, if it weren't for buses they wouldn't be able to survive ...

In order to ride a Thruway bus in California you have ride the train as part of your trip.  The Thruway buses are nothing more than a connector/feeder to the rail network.  AmCal boasts that the buses put 98% of California's population within reach of a train.

The sole exception to that is 3702, which is a commuter coach run from Martinez to Sacramento.  I drove that route for a couple years before moving to greener pastures. 

-Tiger



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/25/15 16:48 by CanyonTiger.

DavidJustinLynch Wrote:
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> I will NOT ride a bus. That is a very degrading
> means of transportation. Run trains!

About twenty years ago, I rode a San Joaquin to Merced and connected to a bus to reach Yosemite National Park.  I did not feel degraded at all.  On the contrary, I got to see the right-of-way of the abandoned Yosemite Valley Railroad and the structures at El Portal.  The bus also bought me right into the heart of the Yosemite Valley.  If I had your attitude, it is unlikely that I would have gone to Yosemite.

Yes, I wish there were more trains which went more places.  But there aren't and sometimes driving or flying are undesirable or costly options.  Therefore, I ride buses.
 

Good report - thanks. Note that the CCJPB (and other agencies) are in the process of holding hearings concerning the future Sacramento - Roseville third track, which will allow ten (!) Capitol Corridor trains to terminate in Roseville.

The Sacramento Bee reported that the cost of this will be around $270 Million (lots of bridges)..

But that's a LOT less than the $400 Million price tag to rebuild ONE very messy highway interchange in Roseville (I-80 to CA-65)!

Much as I would like an all-rail trip between LA, Bakersfield and points north, the Ambus is what we'll have until the High Speed Rail Line (I should live so long!) is built.  Amtrak California could bring back the short-lived "Spirit of California" overnight trains via the Coast Line, but don't hold your breath.

Out_Of_Service Wrote:
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> SOOOOOOOOOO ... are we judging those that do ride
> buses ??? ... sounds like your of the opinion that
> people who ride buses are beneath you or a better
> way to put it ... YOU'RE TOO HIGH CLASS TO RIDE A
> BUS and the people who do ride buses are scum ...
> for a LOT of people, if it weren't for buses they
> wouldn't be able to survive ...

You can call me a bus-riding foamer scum anytime. :-)

Even a country with extensive passenger rail network beyond the imagination of automobile-oppressed ruling elites and citizens has bus connections where people aren't forced to walk for miles to reach a train station in less urban areas. That country has even dared to replace unprofitable rural rail lines with Bus Rapid Transit lines. The horrors...

It would be nice to see a better resource coordination (like scheduling) between trains and buses by independent agencies. Ya know, less turf wars, more concerns for the riding public? Why just limit such privileges to one agency like Amtrak California running both trains and their own connecting buses?

DavidJustinLynch Wrote:
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> I will NOT ride a bus. That is a very degrading
> means of transportation. Run trains!

Super troll!

reindeerflame Wrote:
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> No.  Buses are frequently the most appropriate
> and are very successful, especially for the
> taxpayer.

I want my tax dollars to go to trains. 

aehouse Wrote:
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> reindeerflame Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
> > No.  Buses are frequently the most appropriate
> > and are very successful, especially for the
> > taxpayer.
>
> I want my tax dollars to go to trains. 

I want my tax dollars to go to trains also.....

Back in 1977, I did the "Dog Tired Tour", going from the Los Angeles area to Boston and back on the Greyhound system.  Amtrak was quoting $180 from LA to Beantown, and Doggie Bus was $75 each way.  Since I had more time than money that year, I sent away to the Great Kennel for timetables and received their complete schedule book (no charge, either).  But I did not feel "demeaned" by riding the bus.  To quote Milton: "What matter where I be, for I be still the same."   Buses, trains, and airplanes all have their place in the realm of automobile-free transport.  To balance things out, in 1981, my financial situation improved and I did the "No Scene Twice Seen" trip on Amtrak; the only bus rides were to and from the Amtrak station in Pasadena CA, and one local bus in New Jersey to visit the Edison Historic Site, after riding the (direct current powered) Erie-Lackawanna electric train.

Last month my wife and I flew from LA to Budapest to start a European river cruise.  We were stuffed into the economy section of an Airbus A-380 along with over 400 other folks who didn't want to pay for first-class seats. I commented that there's probably a secret laboratory where airline researchers are trying to develop suspended animation technology so passengers can be loaded in and stacked like cordwood.  No, airline travel is something to be endured in order to reach some place you really want to see (or get back to home), but the days of ocean liners steaming across the sea with comfort and style are long gone.