Passenger Trains > Oakland Airport Connection

Headed west on #5 before long. Usually make air connection at SAC but need to go on to Oakland this time. Where should I detrain and what is the best option to get to Okaland airport.

Richard Cook
Wichita Falls, TX

Uber. Worked well for me and other folks I know.
GeorgeAndrassy

Richmond and walk under to BART, then to the Colosuim, then AirBart (their new cable propelled line) to the OAK terminal.
If you have not seen AirBART it is an education....

railstiesballast Wrote:
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> Richmond and walk under to BART, then to the
> Colosuim, then AirBart (their new cable propelled
> line) to the OAK terminal.
> If you have not seen AirBART it is an
> education....

Most (but not all) Capitol Corridor trains stop at the Colosseum too- then walk 1 short block to the AirBart.  This would probably shave about a half hour or more off changing to BART at Richmond.

Airport connector is a separate fare from BART.  Make sure you have enough on your card for both fares. 
 

ruthyard is on the California Zephyr, not a Capitol Corridor train.   BART fare from Richmond to the OAK is $9.40.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/15/17 19:44 by amtrakin.

Thanks to all of you. As always you have been very helpful. And by the way you are both correct, I am traveling on #5 but only to SAC Where I will be for only an hour or two I will take a Capital Corridor from there. Thanks again.

Richard Cook
Wichita Falls, TX

Depends if 5 is on time. I can't really recommend taking the Capitol train to Coliseum and walking to the BART station. Not a great neighborhood. Safer if a game of some sort was going on at the Coliseum at the same time. That's only if the Capitol train that goes as far as Coliseum works into your schedule.

You may be better off taking BART from the shared Richmond Station. Or walk the 5 blocks from the Jack London Sqr station to the Lake Merritt BART station. I work nearby and walk around that area during the day.

If it is late in the evening, you may consider Uber.

Gary

Posted from iPhone

ruthyard Wrote:
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> Thanks to all of you. As always you have been very
> helpful. And by the way you are both correct, I am
> traveling on #5 but only to SAC Where I will be
> for only an hour or two I will take a Capital
> Corridor from there. Thanks again.

If you decide to take the Capitol Corridor to the Oakland Coliseum Station, be sure to de-train at the north end of the station and walk up the zig-zag ramp to the pedestrian bridge that connects the BART Station to the Stadium. You'll avoid walking street level that way, and avoid the riff-raffs, but most of all, avoid crossing San Leandro St. which can have a lot of traffic.

There's no need to plan too much ahead for paying the fare on the AirBART connector. BART folks have made sure there are Add Fare machines where you need them. You have to walk the entire length of the BART platform to access the stairs/escalators that take you to the AirBART platform, so just be ready for that walk.

Been there to railfan several times, and have used the Oakland Airport numerous times via public transit, pre and post AirBART.

Fine, whatever, but be aware that this fear (resulting in transferring at Richmond or Jack London to avoid the Coliseum) will add 1/2 to a full hour to your getting to your flight'
SR

BTW: I worked aboard the CC trains and made the Coliseum stop something like 4 or 5000 times to drop & receive passengers and I do not recall hearing any stories that would support this fear thing.

BoilingMan Wrote:
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> BTW: I worked aboard the CC trains and made the
> Coliseum stop something like 4 or 5000 times
> to drop & receive passengers and I do not recall
> hearing any stories that would support this fear
> thing.

Maybe there's a secret phobia for game day scalpers selling tickets for A's, Warriors, and the Raiders? :-)

Actually, for a while there were a couple of guys who used to put on vests, set out cones, and charge people to park in the Amtrak parking lot during games.
The ticket scalpers were small fish- these guys were thinking outside the box!

The Richmond BART station is no garden spot, but the Coliseum stations are just too close to the new apartment complexes just across the old WP tracks, where the criminals venture out into the immediate area and then run back in to hide. Best to arrive and depart on BART / Airport Connector then venture outside. Much safer if a baseball/basketball game is going on at the same time, then it is okay to come on Amtrak.

Gary

Posted from iPhone

I can't understand why anyone would ever want to ride an airplane. I don't and won't use airplanes.

DavidJustinLynch Wrote:
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> I can't understand why anyone would ever want to
> ride an airplane. I don't and won't use airplanes.

We get it, you hate flying. A majority of people don't mind flying. Get over it.

SN711 Wrote:
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> Depends if 5 is on time. I can't really recommend
> taking the Capitol train to Coliseum and walking
> to the BART station. Not a great neighborhood.
> Safer if a game of some sort was going on at the
> Coliseum at the same time. That's only if the
> Capitol train that goes as far as Coliseum works
> into your schedule.

For two years around 2009 I commuted 4 days a week on the Capital to the Coliseum and walked to the BART station where I picked up a shuttle bus to work.  On the reverse commute because of the shuttle bus schedule I had a 30 minute wait at the Coliseum station for the train.  Not once was I ever bothered by anyone.  In fact very rarely did I or the other guy who got on or off the train with me saw anybody.  When we did see someone, they were just passing through.  Because of where the station is located, there was really no reason for the bad people to go out there.   The only time I really saw people at the station is when there was something going on at the Coliseum and that is because people would use the Amtrak parking as free Coliseum parking (except for Raiders game when the Raiders would charge people to drive down the street to reach the Amtrak parking lot).

BoilingMan Wrote:
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> Actually, for a while there were a couple of guys
> who used to put on vests, set out cones, and
> charge people to park in the Amtrak parking lot
> during games.
> The ticket scalpers were small fish- these guys
> were thinking outside the box!

As I said previously, I commuted through the Amtrak Coliseum station for a couple of years around 2009.  There was a guy who worked the parking lot on A's game nights.  He would walk up to the cars pulling into the Amtrak parking lot (parking is normally free) and tell the drivers that he wasn't asking for money.  He would watch there car during the game and if they wanted, they could tip him as they were leaving to go home after the game.  I was there one of the first  first times he provided this service.  When the parking slots filled up, he started telling him the drivers to park along the red painted zones and the drivers did.  After several cars were parked illegally, a cop pulled into the parking lot and the man providing the service disappeared quickly.  The cop got out and ticked every car parked in the red zones.  After that, the man never told the drivers to park in the red zones.

I would talk to this man between cars and he seemed harmless and was only a hustler.  He was friends with the scalpers that sold tickets at the BART end of the bridge between BART and the Coliseum.  One day on the way home there was a BART cop sitting in a patrol car in the Amtrak parking lot.  The working the parking lot was sitting on one of the benches watching the cars drive in and waiting for the cop to leave.  One of his scalpers had walked out o on the bridge, which went over the edge of the parking pointed at the cop car and shouted to the man who worked the parking lot that was on the other side of the parking lot.  The man who worked the parking lot got up and left.