Weekend departures might be more expensive during spring break. if you have some flexibility, check prices on amsnag.net to see if you can find a "low bucket fare" date that also includes the detour.
Okay....just to be sure....this time the train will go via Oakland, and not bypass it from Sacramento, correct?
Oops! I wasn't aware of that....I guess i'll have to come up with a "plan B" to catch it. Thanks for that alert....
Your Plan B can be similar to older plan- fly into SFO, take BART to Lake Merritt (involves a change of train at Daly City). Amtrak Oakland station is a 0.5 mile walk from BART station, not too bad, except that this is Oakland *beware*
I have walked the Lake Merritt Station-Amtrak Station route at least two dozen times during the past 10 years, mostly at day but four times even at night. During the day, you should have no fear at all. It's an area of warehouses and a few developing artists lofts/restaurant ventures and easily done between moderate 10-15 minutes at most. At night you would need to be a bit warier but the apprehension is more the fact that there is no one around, rather than unsavory characters around. Yes it is Oakland but crime in Oakland does not occur everywhere. And the area around the Lake Merritt station is overall safe. The Oakland Museum is a block and a half to the northeast, as is Lake Merritt itself, with its parklands.
Another way is to take the BART to Oakland 12th Street Station, then walk down Broadway to Jack London Square, then through Jack London to the Amtrak Station. A slightly longer walk, but much more pleasant surroundings so I always prefer it.
That is a nice walk indeed. Even in a light rain, it's pleasant.
:hi: :giggle:Folks on trainorders.com typically post near-real-time info on each day's detour. And that is what I did (from a smartphone) when I rode one of the northbound detours last year. And at least one person planned their rendevous with the train for photos based on locations I was posting to T.O.
Let me know when you're planning to do the trip. At the moment, there are four of us, possibly five, who will be on the CS to take the loop on 3/25 (leaving SEA 3/24).
Scheduled running time from OKJ to LAX via the Coast Line is 12 hours, 10 minutes. Routing from Sacramento to LAX through the Central Valley can be done in substantially less time than that. But routing from SAC to OKJ to the Central Valley via Niles Canyon and Altamont Pass, Tehachapi Pass, and Soledad Canyon is not likely to be substantially faster than the Coast Line. So don't count on an early arrival into LAX, even if the detour departs from OKJ on time.
you'd be welcome. The last time I checked, there were still sleeper accommodations available, but the buckets had gone up. 
