I know this is a fairly old thread, but I've got a question regarding this topic and thought I'd use the old one.... I'm scheduled to catch the SWC from Riverside to LAUS in late July and then connect with the CS , If the SWC is uber late I have several options to get myself to LA - the metro trains, or my son in law would drive me there I'm sure - but question is, since the beginning of the CS reservation has me boarding in RIV, and say I skip that for whatever necessary reason....is my CS rez. voided automatically? If it's not ridiculously late, I'll wait for the SWC and I understand it's a guaranteed connection but I would hate to miss the coast line view. Wondering if the safer choice would be to cx the SWC portion and simply take a local train to the city to ensure connection. [since I'll already be in RIV for a couple of days, I can always make a decision based on how things are running closer to departure] Advice?