Spokker
Lead Service Attendant
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2008
- Messages
- 294
I live along the LOSSAN Corridor. Today we decided to visit San Juan Capistrano on a whim. There were no Metrolink trains available (they recently cut half of them) so we looked into Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner.
It would have cost $11 one-way on August 7th, 2010 to ride from Santa Ana to San Juan Capistrano. For the two of us, the round-trip cost would be $44. Because Amtrak is priced for intercity rail and not for these short distances, this is way beyond what I am willing to pay for a relatively short trip. Also, Amtrak tends to be less of a deal for couples and better for solo travelers.
So we decided to drive, which was a nightmare, but that's another story.
In any case, what is the shortest length you are willing to travel on Amtrak? When does Amtrak become too expensive for the ride? I regularly take the Surfliner *from* Los Angeles (I never take it *to* Los Angeles because you don't get free transfers to Metro Rail), but only when I'm traveling solo.
As an aside, the Surfliner trains I observed in San Juan Capistrano were packed. If we were going to Santa Barbara or San Diego, we would definitely be on the Surfliner. It's just not worth it for shorter trips, though. Unfortunately, we don't have the proper Metrolink service to cover those shorter distances. Orange County really needs to get its act together on regional rail because the demand is clearly there (while we decided to visit San Juan Capistrano late in the day which means we missed the Southbound Metrolink train, we observed a Northbound Metrolink train that was packed).
It would have cost $11 one-way on August 7th, 2010 to ride from Santa Ana to San Juan Capistrano. For the two of us, the round-trip cost would be $44. Because Amtrak is priced for intercity rail and not for these short distances, this is way beyond what I am willing to pay for a relatively short trip. Also, Amtrak tends to be less of a deal for couples and better for solo travelers.
So we decided to drive, which was a nightmare, but that's another story.
In any case, what is the shortest length you are willing to travel on Amtrak? When does Amtrak become too expensive for the ride? I regularly take the Surfliner *from* Los Angeles (I never take it *to* Los Angeles because you don't get free transfers to Metro Rail), but only when I'm traveling solo.
As an aside, the Surfliner trains I observed in San Juan Capistrano were packed. If we were going to Santa Barbara or San Diego, we would definitely be on the Surfliner. It's just not worth it for shorter trips, though. Unfortunately, we don't have the proper Metrolink service to cover those shorter distances. Orange County really needs to get its act together on regional rail because the demand is clearly there (while we decided to visit San Juan Capistrano late in the day which means we missed the Southbound Metrolink train, we observed a Northbound Metrolink train that was packed).