Down the tubes .......again......sigh.....

[Devil's Advocate]

How does one get from LAX to LAX?

http://www.lawa.org/flyaway/

I believe the locals simply call it Union Station and here on AU it's often written as LAUS to make it clear what the writer is referring to.

 

[BCL]

How does one get from LAX to LAX?

http://www.lawa.org/FlyAway/content.aspx?id=10152

Strangely enough, the route seems to be known as LAX2US and US2LAX depending on direction. Of course the service is provided by the airport.

I guess it's not quite like Shanghai, where they have a major combination railroad/train station. There's a dedicated shuttle going between the main international airport (Shanghai Pudong) and this airport/train station (Shanghai Hongquio).

 

[Tennessee Traveler]

Anyone know why the eastbound #6 lost 3 hours in Lincoln NB overnight and is now 5 hours late? And are the #5 and #6 still detouring from Salt Lake City to Elko, NV?

 

[caravanman]

As to getting from LAX to LAX, I guess it depends if you want to go direct, or just take a lax route...

Ed

 

[BCL]

As to getting from LAX to LAX, I guess it depends if you want to go direct, or just take a lax route...

Ed

Or an "Eastbound Express" to LAX, which would be EXLAX for short.

 

[niemi24s]

This is, after all, a forum dealing with Amtrak, and America is an inherent part of that word. So we, as patriotic re-blooded and xenophobic Americans, must do everything possible to discourage understanding and participation by those not conversant with the acronyms, abbreviations, argot and other assorted gibberish that distinguishes us from others. Them there foreigners with their metric systems, twenty four hour clocks and D/M/Y date systems. Harrumph! Why bother writing "I have a reservation on the Empire Builder from Chicago to Portland" when "Got a rezzy on 7 from CHI to PDX" gives us a certain aura of hipness and of being in the know.

I'm with others on this: anybody who can't be bothered with deciphering what's written here - doesn't belong here!

Bwaaa-ha-ha-ha!!!

 

[zephyr17]

How does one get from LAX to LAX?

http://www.lawa.org/flyaway/

I believe the locals simply call it Union Station and here on AU it's often written as LAUS to make it clear what the writer is referring to.

My point exactly. Thanks, Advocate.

 

[jis]

How does one get from LAX to LAX?

http://www.lawa.org/flyaway/

I believe the locals simply call it Union Station and here on AU it's often written as LAUS to make it clear what the writer is referring to.

Once upon a time it used to be LAUPT, and then one fine day it became LAUS I guess soon after the current owners took it over.

 

[zephyr17]

How does one get from LAX to LAX?

http://www.lawa.org/flyaway/

I believe the locals simply call it Union Station and here on AU it's often written as LAUS to make it clear what the writer is referring to.

Once upon a time it used to be LAUPT, and then one fine day it became LAUS I guess soon after the current owners took it over.

Actually, Catellus (descendant of the Santa Fe Land Company, which got Santa Fe's and SP's shares of the company. I don't know how they got UP's) renamed it quite a few years ago well before the MTA got it a couple of years ago. Technically, it was the correct thing to do, since Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal was no longer solely a terminal station hosting originating and terminating trains only, when the San Diegans/Pacific Surfliners started running through to Santa Barbara and points north. Prior to that the only train in its history that ran through was the pre-1942 Sunset Limited which ran San Francisco-New Orleans.

For the purists, I don't count the initial Amtrak 3-day a week Seattle-San Diego Coast Starlight, as the San Diego cars were just through cars switched between trains. I also do not count the late-era SP Sunset-Coast Daylight consist that ran through when SP was allowed to drop the Sunset to 3 days a week in 1970 and SP had closed their LA coach yard in order to build an intermodal terminal. Those were sold as separate trains and they kicked all passengers off at LA including passengers traveling between Sunset and Daylight points.

Besides it was always known as "Union Station" and that is what the sign said over the entrance since the day it opened on May 4, 1939.

 

[Montreal Ltd]

Irrelevant post warning! CLE (Cleveland) is the code for both air and train, just as CLT (Charlotte) is. Amtrak for Cincy CIN differs from the airport CVG, located in Covington KY. JFK used to be IDL (Idlewild)

 

[MARC Rider]

Now if everyone will stop using LAX for LA Union Station. LAX is an airport code that actually came to be the generally used name for LA International Airport itself. There are only a few other airports that generally go by their codes, SFO sort of does as does JFK. Can't think of any others off the top of my head.

BWI?

 

[Devil's Advocate]

BKK is a lot easier to remember than ท่าอากาศยานสุวรรณภูมิ or Suvarnabhumi.

Now if everyone will stop using LAX for LA Union Station. LAX is an airport code that actually came to be the generally used name for LA International Airport itself. There are only a few other airports that generally go by their codes, SFO sort of does as does JFK. Can't think of any others off the top of my head.

BWI?

DFW?

 

[zephyr17]

BKK is a lot easier to remember than ท่าอากาศยานสุวรรณภูมิ or Suvarnabhumi.

Now if everyone will stop using LAX for LA Union Station. LAX is an airport code that actually came to be the generally used name for LA International Airport itself. There are only a few other airports that generally go by their codes, SFO sort of does as does JFK. Can't think of any others off the top of my head.

BWI?

DFW?

Yes to both. Should have thought of DFW myself, having changed planes there a lot. I would not have thought of BWI, being a west coaster and never having flown there. Dulles and National, yeah, but not BWI.

 

[Triley]

BKK is a lot easier to remember than ท่าอากาศยานสุวรรณภูมิ or Suvarnabhumi.

Now if everyone will stop using LAX for LA Union Station. LAX is an airport code that actually came to be the generally used name for LA International Airport itself. There are only a few other airports that generally go by their codes, SFO sort of does as does JFK. Can't think of any others off the top of my head.

BWI?

DFW?

YVR?

 

[Montreal Ltd]

Canadian airports start with Y, for example YYZ for Toronto and YUL for Montreal. Is YVR Vancouver BC?

 

[Montreal Ltd]

VAC is Amtrak, maybe VIA as well, for Vancouver BC

 

[SarahZ]

Canadian airports start with Y, for example YYZ for Toronto and YUL for Montreal. Is YVR Vancouver BC?

YVR is Vancouver, BC.

 

[zephyr17]

VAC is Amtrak, maybe VIA as well, for Vancouver BC

VIA uses 4 character station codes, Vancouver, BC is VCVR. VIA also does not use codes on their baggage tags at all. Vancouver's baggage tag is "VANCOUVER" they are color-coded, though.

 

[west point]

Amtrak codes generally were set up to follow airport codes such as PVD, EWR, ALB, TRE, PHL CHS, SAV, JAX, MIA, ATL, BHM, BTR, SEA, PDX Where it gets interesting is locations such as.

1. locations with more than one airport,: New York , NYP, NYG ( stations ), Chicago,

2. More than one RR station Richmond, Va RVR & RVM. Aiirport code for Va is RIC which is Amtrak Richmond , CA.

3. Same name different states. Usually Amtrak does not use any location's name ID.i

Weird exceptions.

a. San Francisco airport is SFO but there is no Amtrak SFO. Speculation is that Amtrak though it would someday serve the airport stop and may still if a coast daylight to transbay is ever started.

b. BAL is Baltimore, MD. BAL was the original identifier for what is now BWI. Then Amtrak used that when the renamed BWI stop was added.

c. Orlando airport cited is MCO but there is actually an Orlando airport ID ORL ( executive airport )

d. Same way New Orleans. The lakefront airport is ID NOL

\ON & ON

 

[jis]

a. San Francisco airport is SFO but there is no Amtrak SFO. Speculation is that Amtrak though it would someday serve the airport stop and may still if a coast daylight to transbay is ever started.

That speculation, which I have never heard of until now, is extremely idle at best . The stop for SFO Airport on the Peninsula Line (and BART) is Millbrae and it is unlikely to change its name. And Amtrak is unlikely to ever run on the 5'6" BART line to the airport. It is also unlikely that yet another station would be built on that line with the need for yet another people mover connection to the airport.

Actually, it makes sense for Amtrak to use the same code as the airport when the station is located at or near the airport (e.g. EWR ios both the Amtrak and IATA code for Newark International Airport. In other cases where the station is nowhere near the airport, it does not make much sense other than to just contribute to confusion as in Los Angeles for example.

Basically unless the context makes it unambiguous, any Amtrak code should be prefixed with "Amtrak Code" and any IATA code with "IATA Code", to avoid confusion. Indeed the same Amtrak stations that do need an IATA code do have a separate IATA code from the Amtrak three letter code, which Amtrak borrowed from the airport, like for example ZFV for Philadelphia 30th St (Amtrak PHL), ZRV for Providence (Amtrak PVD), ZLY for Albany-Renn (Amtrak ALB), ZTO for Amtrak BOS, etc.. Even for station codes that are not based on IATA airport code, when needed IATA issues a new code, for example ZYP for New York Penn Station (Amtrak NYP), ZTY for Amtrak BBY etc. Usually such IATA codes are assigned for only those stations where code-share tickets issued through airline systems are likely. So there are no IATA codes for Amtrak stations like Seattle, Portland OR, Los Angeles etc.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Jis, you're making me zzzzzzzzzzzz

 

[Tennessee Traveler]

BNA BNA BNA My favorite is BNA

 

[BCL]

a. San Francisco airport is SFO but there is no Amtrak SFO. Speculation is that Amtrak though it would someday serve the airport stop and may still if a coast daylight to transbay is ever started.

That speculation, which I have never heard of until now, is extremely idle at best . The stop for SFO Airport on the Peninsula Line (and BART) is Millbrae and it is unlikely to change its name. And Amtrak is unlikely to ever run on the 5'6" BART line to the airport. It is also unlikely that yet another station would be built on that line with the need for yet another people mover connection to the airport.

BART has a station right at the airport.

If there was any possibility of that happening, it might have been considered before the BART extension to the airport was green lighted. I remember for years there was talk about how to extend BART to SFO, and there was a lot of talk about reducing costs by running it just to Millbrae. In fact if you transfer from Caltrain to get to the airport via BART, that would require two BART connections for most of the day.

 

[SubwayNut]

In my planners opinion (in an ideal word). That wouldn't have been a Bart extension to the airport but SFO Airtrain would have been extended to Milbrae where all Bart trains would have terminated. Would have made better connecting to everything. The Bart station only serves the international terminal so from many flights your directed to the SFO Airtrain already.

Caltrain riders shouldn't have to transfer trains and modes up to 3 times from Caltrain to their terminal

 

[Eric S]

In my planners opinion (in an ideal word). That wouldn't have been a Bart extension to the airport but SFO Airtrain would have been extended to Milbrae where all Bart trains would have terminated. Would have made better connecting to everything. The Bart station only serves the international terminal so from many flights your directed to the SFO Airtrain already.

Caltrain riders shouldn't have to transfer trains and modes up to 3 times from Caltrain to their terminal

The whole BART/Caltrain SFO Airtrain situation seems like empire-building at its best/worst. Completely agree that passengers would have been better served by a joint BART/Caltrain station with a connection there to SFO Airtrain. But, no, as you mention, Caltrain passengers get no such benefit - neither will CAHSR passengers unless things change - BART was concerned with its own fiefdom, and no larger entity forced a better design.