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Traditionally the Surfliner operates in pull configuration away from LA Union Station and in push configuration towards it. On my trips this weekend, I noticed at least two trainsets operating the opposite way, including mine. Anybody know why? This delays boarding significantly because business...

For at least the past few weeks, I haven't been able to book a reasonable itinerary from San Diego connecting at LAX to any long distance train unless I use the multi-city function. I get some ridiculous multi-transfer itinerary or, worse yet, no trips available for the selected date. I don't...

Amtrak's RideReserve program starts next week. I would think it would be annoying to have to make reservations for each and every trip you want to take, and it would be an extra step if you got stuck at work and had to take a later train, if space was available. I guess it's necessary nowadays...

A new Surfliner schedule will take effect on 10/14/19. There were minor timing changes to some trains, but a new round-trip 578/591 was added. (Instead of numbering the new north-bound run as 589, they numbered it 591 and renumbered the existing 591 as 593.) It's nice that they tried to fill a...

I just took another Amtrak survey. This one was not specific to any of the trips I recently took, but asked me to compare travel by train versus taking a bus, flying, or driving based on several categories. What I thought was particularly interesting this time was this question and those that...

In the last couple months, it seems like many of the Surfliner trainsets are running with substitute equipment. For example, I've seen trainsets with: A second Superliner car subbing in for a coach or the regular business class car A California or long-distance lounge car subbing in for the...

The Pacific Surfliner's Facebook page and Twitter feed announced a pilot program to have two business class cars on all Surfliner trains effective 10/31 through 12/04/16. The nice Superliner car will be repositioned in the consist and assigned to the second business class car. Too bad as this...

Anybody know why most of the Pacific Surfliner trains were cancelled today, Saturday 1/23? Looks like 763 made it to LAX and was then cancelled. 1761 made it to SLO. And then the rest seem to have been cancelled. I know some were already scheduled to not run due to trackwork in San Diego county...

I use Google Street View regularly and once in a long while come across images of Amtrak trains on the go. Here are a couple of the Pacific Surfliner: https://www.google.com/maps/@32.9393987,-117.2611959,3a,15y,160.68h,85.84t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1ssqBUOOOSAn3CDGS4TT4qtw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!5m1!1e1...

Earlier this week I tried to book a trip on the Pacific Surfliner and Coast Starlight for this Saturday 9/14, only to be offered odd combinations of Thruway buses rather than the usual trains. After trial and error plugging in different cities and dates, I determined that Metrolink was most...

When booking a north-bound trip on the Pacific Surfliner and the Coast Starlight, train 763 is the only Surfliner train offerred. It gets into LAX at 8:50am but the 14 doesn't leave until 10:25am. Any reason why I couldn't just take the later "express" train, currently numbered 599, which gets...

Now that the new Pacific Surfliner schedule has been in effect for a few weeks now, do you like it? Many of the trains are the same with minor schedule adjustments. I like that there's less variation between weekday and weekend trains. Train 790/1790 (formerly 792/798) now runs all the way from...

I guess weekend demand for getting to the Del Mar races justifies a Metrolink train running from LAUS all the way to Solana Beach, traditionally Coaster territory, even though there is a Pacific Surfliner within one hour in both directions. Pluses: Cheaper fare, stops at stations not serviced by...

I noticed that there is a new Pacific Surfliner timetable that takes effect starting July 15, not a date when they usually make a seasonal schedule change. Every time there's a new timetable, I always have difficulty figuring out what has changed, resorting to a side-by-side comparison between...

I love it when they substitute the regular cafe car with a sightseer lounge car on the Pacific Surfliner, such as is the case this week with one cafe car out for repairs. The miles of beautiful coastline running on this route is a perfect fit for a sightseer lounge. Wish it were a regular!

Riding the Pacific Surfliner today, two CalTrans representatives distributed survey booklets. In all my years riding the Surfliner (and San Diegan), this is the first time I've taken the survey and I hope that CalTrans is genuinely interested in improving the service. Some of the questions...

Was anybody on the north-bound Pacific Surfliner trains this past Saturday night 8/21? I was south-bound on 590 when we encountered what appeared to be a combined 587/591 just south of San Juan Capistrano. Our conductor said that they were having mechanical problems and had to back out of the...