Coast Starlight Business Class

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There is a business class attendant who will give you your voucher, the WiFi password and, usually, a bottle of water and a pillow right after you board. After that, it depends. Some will disappear until the next stop, others will more or less always be around and offer you more water and see if you need anything else. Including, in one case, access to the PPC for drinks. Some get tips, some don't.

You'll hear all the announcements.
 
I received two bottles of water, my $6 voucher, and my pillow from the business coach attendant as soon as I boarded. He also greeted me at the door as I boarded the train.

I did bring my own lightweight blankets as well as an eyeshade and earplugs. Slept reasonably well that night.
 
I will take the Coast Starlight the first time in January from Oakland to LA. I think an Upgrade for Business seems to be reasonable. I want a windows seat on the "good side" and I would love to get a chance to see a PPC - even if I have to take part in a wine tasting and Wifi is a perk too! Tennessee traveller wrote, that the PPC car was absent because it was January. Is there a schedule for maintaining the cars in January or was this just a 2017 thing?
 
The last few years the PPC'S have been taken out of service during the winter months due to "maintenance". How much if any maintenance is done is debatable but usually they go back in service around mid-March.
 
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Thanks. So It is the best option not to expect the palour car in January. I still think the Upgrade might be worth the price.
 
Peter KG6LSE said:
I was Just on the CS on thursday down to LA for the weekend. We were early!!!..Outta Eugene we Had a Really cool and hip ( and competent ! ) young conductor !

Things are changing. The PPCs are a gmmick for sleeper pax on the CS that no other train gets . Be happy you had them this long..

I dont think I would pay for bix in normal superliner layouts. I know the floor is not made for this , but IF they can pull off 1X1

seats then it would be worth it !. not Wider seats just more side room for bags and such . a few desks in the car.

SO us biz users can do paperwork on more then a itty bitty seat.

Oh right its called the sweet TALGO cascades.
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I haven't specifically taken BC on the CS, but I have on several other long distance routes.

To me, the primary benefit of BC is that it is nearly always far less crowded than coach - although there are no guarantees.

For me, that makes it a legitimate alternative to a sleeper if those fares are outrageous or the sleepers are full.

For example, I got a low bucket South Bend to Buffalo in a sleeper, but no such reasonable fare was available on the return. Taking BC in that case allowed me plenty of room to stretch out and get a pretty good nights sleep in a row to myself.

When I send my daughter off to college to VA (or back) on the Cardinal, I always pay the BC fare to make her more comfortable. She likes a window seat and one is always available in BC on that train. When I sent her coach, it was a 50/50 proposition at best. As most of you know, sleepers on that route are almost always crazy expensive, especially given the lack of a diner. I love her dearly, but we'll save that splurging for a special occasion :)
 
Rail Freak said:
Does the CS BC Have the vinyl 2&1 seating or is it just a coach car with less passengers?
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When I rode the CS BC in March, there were cloth seats on the upper level and vinyl sears on the lower level.

Lots of totally empty seats on both levels.
 
chakk said:
Rail Freak said:
Does the CS BC Have the vinyl 2&1 seating or is it just a coach car with less passengers?
Click to expand...
When I rode the CS BC in March, there were cloth seats on the upper level and vinyl sears on the lower level.

Lots of totally empty seats on both levels.
Click to expand...
My experience a year ago although the lower level was "full"! Plenty of room in the upper level.
 
My recent experience traveling Coast Starlight BC from TAC to SLM:

Our party of four sat in upper level. Seats were the "vinyl" type. The car and the seats were very nice and clean...felt new. We each received one bottle of water shortly after pulling out of TAC. I'm not sure why we didn't get the promised "two bottles" but whatever. A WiFi password was provided. I could not get it to work at all. In fact, when we were parked in PDX for 50 minutes I was able to get the regular Amtrak wifi from an adjacent Talgo trainset.

We each got a $6 voucher, which we applied towards lunch in the diner. One benefit to sitting in BC: You get priority over coach passengers when it comes to dining car reservations.

BC was about 75% full until we got to PDX, where it cleared out almost entirely.
 
Green Maned Lion said:
Why are vinyl seats seen as an upgrade?
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A lot of people can't tell the difference between leather and vinyl. That's especially true if their experience with leather is confined to car seats - most brand's leather is so chock full of plasticisers and other stuff that it might as well be vinyl. It is, however, easier to keep clean.
 
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The wifi router on the CS is located in the PPC, I believe. I've only seen it working once in the half-dozen trips I've taken on the CS when it was (supposedly) available for passenger use.

Sent from my iPhone using Amtrak Forum
 
chakk said:
The wifi router on the CS is located in the PPC, I believe. I've only seen it working once in the half-dozen trips I've taken on the CS when it was (supposedly) available for passenger use.

Sent from my iPhone using Amtrak Forum
Click to expand...
On my CS BC trip a year ago June, the BC car had its own wifi. In sleeper last October and again last July, each sleeper car had its own wifi. This was in addition to the PPC which has its own. Each car had the wifi name and password posted (each different).

The photo is typical (Verizon JetPack) of what is in each car.

20161017_061410.jpg
 

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