Coast Starlight to California Zephyr Connection

[carjaq]

Hello

What's the best way to connect from a southbound Coast Starlight to an eastbound Zephyr? Is the safest bet to just spend the night in Emeryville, or is there a guaranteed connection?

Thanks,

carjaq

 

[Guest]

Hello
What's the best way to connect from a southbound Coast Starlight to an eastbound Zephyr? Is the safest bet to just spend the night in Emeryville, or is there a guaranteed connection?

Thanks,

carjaq

Your guranteed connection is in Sacramento, scheduled CS#11 arrives 6:35AM, the CZ#6 departs SAC @ 11:49AM which gives you time for beakfast,walking around a little etc. Some members have bought tickets to Martinez and been allowed to stay in their room in both directions

to/from SAC but thats up to the conductor/SCA and luck of the draw! Pay your money and take your choice!

 

[the_traveler]

Some members have bought tickets to Martinez and been allowed to stay in their room in both directionsto/from SAC but thats up to the conductor/SCA and luck of the draw! Pay your money and take your choice!

I have been one of those!

Advantage is that you can sleep later and eat on the CS! (They may not start serving until the CS leaves SAC - that's how it was stated the last time I ride a few months ago!) If you are on an AGR award (like PDX-DEN via SAC), if you buy the extra short turn, you will earn another 200 AGR points! And you could go SAC-EMY-SAC and make the connections.

 

[AlanB]

Some members have bought tickets to Martinez and been allowed to stay in their room in both directionsto/from SAC but thats up to the conductor/SCA and luck of the draw! Pay your money and take your choice!

Just know that this choice is not considered a guaranteed connection. It will be up to you to pay attention to whether the Coast Starlight is running on time or not, and if it is late, you have to decide when and where to bail out. And if you no show at Martinez, you could find your sleeper sold by the time the train gets to you.

Additionally, if the Coast Starlight is so late, that it even misses the normal guaranteed connection in Sacramento, then you are on your own. Amtrak will not put you up in a hotel for the night in SAC because you don't have a guaranteed connection. Amtrak will rebook you on the next days train, at the current price less whatever you paid for your original ticket.

But Amtrak will not honor the old price and the night and food in SAC is your problem.

 

[the_traveler]

What Alan says is true IF you buy 1 ticket from (say) PDX to EMY and a 2nd ticket from EMY to DEN. Then it will not be guaranteed on SAC. But if you buy a ticket from PDX to DEN (which connects in SAC) and then purchase a separate coach ticket for SAC-EMY-SAC, then it will be guaranteed in SAC!

He is also right about watching the time! I had bought a SAC-EMY-SAC, but because the CS was running late and I wasn't sure of making the connection in EMY, I bailed out at MTZ and waited for the CZ!

 

[carjaq]

Sorry, I don't understand what you mean by staying in my room both directions from SAC. Don't you have to change trains?

At any rate, what I'd like to do is travel in a loop. Chicago (where I live) to Chicago via the EB, CS and CZ, avoiding overnight hotel stops. It looks like Portland and Sacramento are the best place to change trains. And is the best way to book this on-line through the multiple segment function?

Thanks.

carjaq

 

[Ispolkom]

Sorry, I don't understand what you mean by staying in my room both directions from SAC. Don't you have to change trains?
At any rate, what I'd like to do is travel in a loop. Chicago (where I live) to Chicago via the EB, CS and CZ, avoiding overnight hotel stops. It looks like Portland and Sacramento are the best place to change trains. And is the best way to book this on-line through the multiple segment function?

Thanks.

carjaq

You could certainly book it that way. I'd book it in two itineraries, though, the first Chicago-Portland-Sacramento, the second Sacramento-Chicago. This gives you a guaranteed connection in Portland, when you have the 4-hour layover, in case the Empire Builder is late. Your 5.5 hour layover in Sacramento, of course, wouldn't be protected. If you booked using the multiple segment function, no connections are guaranteed.

This is all assuming that you're paying cash for your tickets. If you are using AGR rewards, different considerations apply.

Have you considered traveling clockwise? Chicago-Sacramento-Portland-Chicago can give you more mountains in the daylight, especially on the California Zephyr, at the cost of a short layover in Portland. In that case I'd definitely book the itinerary for a guaranteed connection in Portland.

 

[the_traveler]

Sorry, I don't understand what you mean by staying in my room both directions from SAC. Don't you have to change trains?
At any rate, what I'd like to do is travel in a loop. Chicago (where I live) to Chicago via the EB, CS and CZ, avoiding overnight hotel stops. It looks like Portland and Sacramento are the best place to change trains. And is the best way to book this on-line through the multiple segment function?

Thanks.

carjaq

Yes, you do change between the CS and CZ. And technically you do change trains in SAC.

What I meant by "staying in my room" is that from PDX to SAC, I had a roomette on the CS, and from SAC to CHI, I had a roomette on the CZ. These connected in SAC. Not wanting to change trains about 6 AM (and to get more train time ), I bought a COACH ticket from SAC to EMY and back on the CS and CZ.

With the approval of the Conductor, I was allowed to stay in my roomette on the CS between SAC and EMY - even tho I had a coach ticket for that 2 hour segment. When I boarded the CZ, again with the approval of the Conductor, I was allowed to occupy my roomette (that I had from SAC to CHI) 2 hours early.

But as I stated, keep an eye on the time. Because the CS was running late, I got off in MTZ and waited there for the CZ.

Some people may not want to try this - and just wait in SAC. It's up to you!

 

[AlanB]

You could certainly book it that way. I'd book it in two itineraries, though, the first Chicago-Portland-Sacramento, the second Sacramento-Chicago. This gives you a guaranteed connection in Portland, when you have the 4-hour layover, in case the Empire Builder is late. Your 5.5 hour layover in Sacramento, of course, wouldn't be protected. If you booked using the multiple segment function, no connections are guaranteed.

Booking using the multi-city option does not invalidate guaranteed connections. If a connection is guaranteed via the single segment option, it remains a guaranteed connection even when using the multi-city booking option. So if the carjaq were to book CHI-PDX-SAC-CHI via the multi-city option, all connections would be guaranteed.

The issue with using the multi-city function is that it will allow you to build a trip that does not have guaranteed connections. For example, booking the Capitol Limited from Chicago to NY via DC, the single segment option will present you with train #148 as the connecting train in DC to reach NY. Using the multi-city option will present you with every regional train on the corridor, including connections that simply cannot be made, connections that can be made but are not guaranteed, and of course the guaranteed connection.

 

[carjaq]

Thanks for your suggestions. Appreciated and all very helpful. I'm hoping to book this counter-clockwise for January.

carjaq