Coast Starlight sleeper status during bus bridge

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minnrider

Train Attendant
Joined
Jul 22, 2020
Messages
25
I am wondering if sleepers will be in the Coast Starlight consists between Seattle-Klamath Falls and Sacramento-Los Angeles since the Klamath Falls to Sacramento bus bridge is essentially the entire overnight portion of the trip. I have a sleeper reservation in August and am now unable to retrieve it on the Amtrak website. Also, I did some test bookings for sleeper space in July and August between SEA-KFS and SAC-LAX; all the random dates I chose show sleepers as "sold out", so it appears no sleeper space is being sold during the bus bridge.
 
That has been my observation. I did some spot checking through the month of August and it always returned "Sold Out" for sleepers. Wouldn't surprise me if there are no sleepers at all on those trains. The diner, that's another question.
A 33+ hour trip in coach>bus>coach. Not for me.
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Just wanted to followup; My travel agent got through today and was told my roomette is the same Emeryville to Sacramento and more importantly Klamath Falls to POrtland. While happy about THAT, not happy that it screws up sleep as not likely going to sleep well on the bus. Was looking forward to a good nights sleep and enjoying the scenery. Not much to be done about it. Am bringing the neck brace/pillow, that should help on the bus. Fires still going eh? Tough on everyone out there.
 
Just wanted to followup; My travel agent got through today and was told my roomette is the same Emeryville to Sacramento and more importantly Klamath Falls to POrtland. While happy about THAT, not happy that it screws up sleep as not likely going to sleep well on the bus. Was looking forward to a good nights sleep and enjoying the scenery. Not much to be done about it. Am bringing the neck brace/pillow, that should help on the bus. Fires still going eh? Tough on everyone out there.

You call Amtrak CS after your trip and they would issue you a refund on voucher.
 
We are scheduled to board Coast Starlight in Portland and go through to Emeryville in early Sept. We have a bedroom. Haven't heard anything from Amtrak and can't get through to them on the phone (calling from the UK so this is very expensive!!)
 
We are scheduled to board Coast Starlight in Portland and go through to Emeryville in early Sept. We have a bedroom. Haven't heard anything from Amtrak and can't get through to them on the phone (calling from the UK so this is very expensive!!)
Much too early to get definitive answer now anyway....
 
We are scheduled to board Coast Starlight in Portland and go through to Emeryville in early Sept. We have a bedroom. Haven't heard anything from Amtrak and can't get through to them on the phone (calling from the UK so this is very expensive!!)
The through service resumption date remains the previously announced September 8th. According to posts last week on Trainorders.com, UP is proceeding rapidly on repairing the bridge and, while still subject to delays, appears on target for their September 1st completion date. Dry Canyon Trestle girders?. I would start to feel more confident if my travel were September 8th or later.

Amtrak is running full service Starlight trains Los Angeles-Sacramento and Klamath Falls- Seattle with the bus bridge through in the middle of the night.

You are likely to get more complete information here than the call center. The call center only knows what the computer tells them and usually has no context.

BTW, download Skype for very cheap international calls. Skype itself is free.
 
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The through service resumption date remains the previously announced September 8th. According to posts last week on Trainorders.com, UP is proceeding rapidly on repairing the bridge and, while still subject to delays, appears on target for their September 1st completion date. I would start to feel more confident if my travel were September 8th or later.

Amtrak is running full service Starlight trains Los Angeles-Sacramento and Klamath Falls- Seattle with the bus bridge through in the middle of the night.

You are likely to get more complete information here than the call center. The call center only knows what the computer tells them and usually has no context.

BTW, download Skype for very cheap international calls. Skype itself is free.
 
Many thanks!! Our travel dates are Sept 7-10 (changing to Coast Starlight on the 9th and arriving SF on the 10th). I completely agree that there is much more reliable info on everything Amtrak here. Definitely Skype is cheaper than regular long distance calls....but then there's still the endless wait for anyone to pick up and they don't appear to know very much. If the regular train service isn't restored in time for our trip we'll probably fly from Portland to SF. Fingers and toes crossed!!!
 
That has been my observation. I did some spot checking through the month of August and it always returned "Sold Out" for sleepers. Wouldn't surprise me if there are no sleepers at all on those trains. The diner, that's another question.
A 33+ hour trip in coach>bus>coach. Not for me.
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But if you check tomorrow and the next day, there's availability including sleepers and traditional dining. As I recall, someone else figured out that Amtrak is opening the Coast Starlight (including any sleepers not booked up by rebooking north of Klamath Falls and south of Sacramento) for booking for a day or two in the future only.
 
I traveled the other direction a week ago. sleepers stayed as scheduled. The only hitch is the 7 hour bus ride between Sacramento and Klamath Falls. (not all riding; 2 hours hanging out at truck stops)
 
With three cross country trips coming up in Oct, Nov, and Dec. commencing on the CS in EUG I have been calling in and speak to some very good res agents... and they say than only know what comes in as communications memos... nothing on when CS will resume info. Train Orders.com notes that rapid progress is being made on the trestle and road bed effected by fires.

Gonna just 'go with the flow' and be flexible with whatever customer service offers as alternatives. I do want to retain Executive Plus status... and expect they will work with me on that as well if trips are altered. Just be appreciative and nice when you talk with them cause system disruptions are certainly not their fault.
 
On the website reservations being taken and Schedules tab shows the whole route for 9/8 and later. UPRR.com has 9/1 as the target date for the line to be opened. Trainorders.com reports rapid progress in repairing the bridge.

I would feel pretty good about October/November/December. I have a Starlight trip myself scheduled mid-November and am not concerned about it based on current information.
 
On the website reservations being taken and Schedules tab shows the whole route for 9/8 and later. UPRR.com has 9/1 as the target date for the line to be opened. Trainorders.com reports rapid progress in repairing the bridge.

I would feel pretty good about October/November/December. I have a Starlight trip myself scheduled mid-November and am not concerned about it based on current information.
Thank you... that's good to know! :)
 
Well we just cancelled our trip. It was just too close to our travel date for comfort. Sad because we don't know if we'll have the opportunity again. Thanks to everybody here for the help and advice, especially where Amtrak didn't bother even letting us know there might be a problem. Happy travels!
 
Well we just cancelled our trip. It was just too close to our travel date for comfort. Sad because we don't know if we'll have the opportunity again. Thanks to everybody here for the help and advice, especially where Amtrak didn't bother even letting us know there might be a problem. Happy travels!
Good decision with the Uncertainty!Hope yall do get to go when things are more stable!

And the Fires are ramping up again, so probably not a good time to plan a Train trip in the Northwest!
 
Good decision with the Uncertainty!Hope yall do get to go when things are more stable!

And the Fires are ramping up again, so probably not a good time to plan a Train trip in the Northwest!
Thank you.
Have no idea when or if we can get back as we live in the UK. But who knows 😎👍
 
We’ve got a long-booked trip coming up that includes taking the Coast Starlight from Emeryville to Seattle on 9/8. Too many other moving parts to want to postpone and I feel like fires are likely next year anyway.

Fingers crossed!
 
We are scheduled to board Coast Starlight in Portland and go through to Emeryville in early Sept. We have a bedroom. Haven't heard anything from Amtrak and can't get through to them on the phone (calling from the UK so this is very expensive!!)

you know you can make cheap international phone calls from Skype or google voice.
 
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