I think it’s downright criminal that there isn’t direct train service between the two marquee California cities. I hope that the high speed rail gets finished in my lifetime (and I’m not even that old). Another great video, Adam. Hope your channel blows up soon. It deserves it!
The Coast Starlight does run from Los Angeles to Emeryville/Oakland... There is train and bus connections across the Bay to San Francisco, and from San Jose to San Francisco... It isn't as if San Francisco is cut off from bus or train services to Amtrak...
@@ronclark9724The problem is that San Francisco is a peninsula without a normal gauge tunnel continuing on (BART uses a non standard gauge). So, you can't have through service like the Coast Starlight and have it go to San Francisco itself.
@@ronclark9724 one of the greatest advantages of trains over planes is that trains almost always go from city center to city center. This is lost when you have to embark/disembark from Emeryville when traveling to/from San Francisco. It would be wonderful to be able to take the train from Salesforce Transit Center.
@theo9976 Aren't they working on that? I read they got federal funding to build thst tunnel to the Salesforce transit center. I believe that same tunnel will be used by the CAHSR trains.
Back in about 2005, I took the Coast Starlight between LA and San Jose. It was a yearly trip and I normally drove, but I took Amtrak just to try it out. I only did it once because the train was so slow that the extra time outweighed the views. However, on the trip home, I ended up in the observation car with a group of creative folks. Me with my camera, a guy with a guitar, a poet with her notebook, and a sketch artist with his notebook. We all just happened to find each other there. And the guy with the guitar played a few songs for us, including two that he wrote. He even played the Firefly theme and we both sung the lyrics. Four random people just chatting about creative stuff. I'll never see them again, but I'll remember that evening forever.
I take public tansit in the Bay Area and LA, but to get between I fly. It's by far the fastest method. I have no idea why anyone would consider another way. "The Vietnamese Bus" is the fastest way on land. SJ to LA in 5 hours, 30 minutes.
Your videos feel like a love letter to California, Especially the bay area. And the production quality is so good for just you doing all the work yourself!
Thank you. It means so much to hear you say that. In a way they are a love letter to this place. It might be more popular to make fun of CA and the Bay. So someone should be doing the opposite.
A lot of people hate on it, but it's a beautiful state and the vibes are immaculate. Yes it has problems and a very high cost of living yet we pay it. Plus unlike other states when people move here we welcome them never heard anyone say "don't bring your Texas to California". 🤌
I'm a train conductor in the UK, and if someone has their feet on the seats wearing socks - that's a positive thing. Most people put their feet on the seats with shoes.
As soon as I saw the title I laughed out loud. I've (almost) made this same trip but even though it was painful it really should be a bucket list thing for every Californian. Too many of us only know the state from the perspective of highways and it's downright criminal.
I live in Los Angeles, and actually do use Union Station as my start and end point. 🙂 I've taken the Coast Starlight in both directions several times, and I love it. Obviously, this only works if I have a lot of extra time, including a generous time budget for delays. I usually camp in the observation car for most of the trip, enjoy a few glasses of chardonnay, and let the endlessly changing scenery send me into a very pleasant trance. I've also had some great conversations with people seated nearby. The Coast Starlight between LA and Oakland isn't great transportation. It's a great experience that also happens to be transportation.
I agree! I’ve gone from L.A. to S.F. In the Amtrak (which included an Amtrak shuttle bus ride from Emeryville to San Francisco) and loved it. Definitely need to go in it with a relaxed state of mind and enjoy the ride and scenery. This video made me somewhat anxious,…..too much time keeping and stressed vibes.
2 1/2 years ago I took Amtrak for the first time from LA Union Station down to San Diego. The train departed around 10:45 AM and we got to San Diego around 1:30 PM. I had a pretty good time. We got Wetzel’s Pretzels at Union Station, we enjoyed the scenery and got to sit on the right side of the train which showed us the views of the ocean When you head south, got me a couple of beers at the café. The staff was super friendly and helpful as well. I know it’s not the route you took in this video but it was my experience and it was about the most opposite thing compared to what I saw here.
having taken that as well, i reckon the biggest benefit is that there's direct service from LA to SD. there seems to be no such thing from LA to SF (at least, not yet)
The route from LA to SD is also relatively straight and flat. The Coast Starlight route from the Bay Area to LA has to hug the coast and negotiate mountains which lengthen the distance and time.
hey! native san franciscan here. i go to school in san luis obispo-i love taking the train back to the bay! it’s much more comfy and scenic, can grab a snack or just chill. to san jose, it’s only 30 minutes slower than the bus with less potential of traffic jams-UPRR owns the rails but they’re not carrying tons of freight anymore so it rarely gets delayed on this stretch. they’re looking to run more service between slo and sj, pending funding! also: love the videos. currently studying city planning, so having a transit/baseball content crossover on my feed was surely a shocker!
Haha, thank you! Not gonna lie I'm pretty jealous, SLO is incredible. I'd love to see more service but I suppose they have to work out that pesky funding first!
Just rode the electric Caltrain this weekend, massive improvement over the old diesel trains, and can't wait until they run out of the transit center in downtown!
You were impressed? I wasn't... Compared to other countries, we are still sooooo behind, even with this new train. I cry at the amount of money the government wasted on this.
@@_w_w_, you complain too much; Caltran sounds like it will be a game changer for NorthCal/San Fran. How perfect are you expecting Caltrain to be that you still hate it with the new electric trains?
People who dislike Amtrak are being dramatic. I fly around 30 times a year. Once I put aside the internet drama about Amtrak it’s pretty great… much better than any regional bus service (like Bolt Bus). Those rarely leave or arrive on time, like Amtrak. People who complain about it “being slower than car.” Some people don’t have a car. I do. They clearly list the expected travel time… kinda like an airplane ticket. Do y’all also complain that “everything looks the same” on a TransCon flight? After 30 minutes? Not to invalidate those who experience travel that way. It’s a valid experience. But so is mine and I’ll share it so that people who don’t get bored after 30 minutes might consider a relatively decent travel option. On the car thing… you try riding in an Uber or Lyft for a ride longer than 60 miles. Let me know how cheap that is. And how on time the driver is. Just a hint: Lyft will inflate expected travel time compared to Maps/GMaps. It’s much more obvious if you try to go more than 60 miles. There are pluses and minuses to every transport option. I am pretty certain the people who “get bored” after 30 minutes get bored after 30 minutes with anything.
I used to long distance commute for my work, so I flew between N CA to S CA weekly on Monday and Friday. No way in heaven would I take the train or HSR -- and I always take train, bus, subway and HSR in every other country. You should try Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan and reassess your comments here. In places like Japan, I can do door-to-door travel and be slightly faster using bus/subway/train/HSR than bus/subway/train/plane. SF-LA HSR won't work well unless they open up fast last-mile transit in communities (plural) around SF and LA. It's not going to happen because our government is not smart or effective enough to do it without major mega cost overrun. I have family members in LA subburb and I tried sooo very hard to use bus or train to go there - I live near San Jose Diridon Station, and I still can't make it work unless I just give up the entire day for one-way travel.
Compared to other 1st world country train systems Amtrak is a joke. The whole American train system is, all to make sure coal and oil companies stay in business.
In 1999 I took Amtrak from Emeryville across from San Francisco down the coast to Los Angeles. For the first three hours I was enjoying the experience. Then I became very bored and very ready to arrive at my destination. I looked outside and realized we were only a few miles south of San Jose, still in the S.F. Bay Area. I suddenly felt as though I was in a moving prison cell. In the end it took twelve and a half hours, twice the time it takes to drive the distance. I vowed NEVER to do that again. I haven't ridden Amtrak since. Will I ride the future high speed rail line from San Francisco to Los Angeles in a planned time of under three hours? No. Why? Because statistically I'll be dead of old age by the time the line is ready for full operation some time in the 2050s. I'll literally be dust in the wind yet still traveling faster than anything Amtrak can manage.
If you want to travel fast to SF/LA then take a plane, if you want to travel with convenience to SF/LA then drive a car, if you want to travel with comfort to SF/LA then take a train.
The comments from those who don't realize how well you know Bay Area transit amuse me. I realize you started in SF because it's such an iconic city, and perhaps to demonstrate the City's poor connections to Amtrak, but I think it's worth pointing out that the East Bay has so many more rail connections than SF does. BTW, if you haven't tried them yet, the new electric Caltrain sets are wonderful. I hope you made it to this weekend's grand opening celebrations.
Yeah you got it. I'm certainly not saying this is the best way to get from SF to LA. Just, if you were starting at the ferry building, this is one way to do it, and that's what it was like for me. Haven't been on the new Caltrain yet, but I will soon!
Many people not from the area don't know that SF is a peninsula, so major routes simply cannot run through there -- they'll almost run through the East Bay instead, since trains cannot, due to geography, go from SF to the west, north, or east. It's almost always advantageous then to run routes that pass through the SF Bay Area on the east bay, otherwise you're just cutting off the ability to connect with those other directions for the sole reason of being able to say the train directly connects to SF.
I love this personal take on mass transit. I mean, you could do arguments and run the numbers on transit. But, I like how your videos are personal and tell a story. Keep it up!
I took an Amtrak from Sacramento to Los Angeles twice and it wasn’t a bad experience, it wasn’t the coastal view but a view of just farms and fields for 10+ hours. the trains can use some upgrading but had to stop at Bakersfield since that was the last stop and had to take the bus from Bakersfield to Union Station. CHSR is a big upgrade to all this and hopefully is completed in my lifetime
Yeah if you're trying to get from SF to LA in the fastest way possible by train the San Joaquins line is the way to go. A lot more direct and flat than Coast Starlight.
That's funny, I took Amtrak from Fresno to Sacramento last year and it was one of the most miserable experiences of my life. Long delays, scary vagrants, inexplicable stops. But maybe I'm just jaded because the family in the seat in front of me spent the whole trip watching Family Feud at full volume and shouting out the answers together. "[Ding] Waffles!"
Native Oaklander here who's also a boomer. Love trains but never took one to LA. During my college days we would drive up and down the coast as it was just fun and faster. Or we would take a $19 flight. Thanks for taking me along your ride. 😄
Ive been riding the Amtrak round trip from Martinez CA to Grand Junction CO, twice a year for the past decade...its a 24 hour slog. But packing a carry on with snacks, a laptop with a DVD player make for 4 hours of Movie time. Also inflateable camping pillows and a light blanket help to make it fun in coach. The views are amazing...with mountains, desert scenery. I would recommend doing it. And Grand Junction is a fun college town with great hiking and biking trails. And my House, since I just rent and work in Bay Area...and looking to retire and move back to Grand Junction CO, which is honestly really great place to live.
Despite living in the bay area all my life, I've sadly only heard of Amtrak in hushed whispers. Watching this video, I'm already thinking up excuses to make my way, if only just to experience one of the views and one of the few rail-lines in California. Great stuff as always Adam!
Even with CHSR it will take more than three hours to go from LA to SF as HSR will not be going 200 mph through both the SF and LA urban metropolises north of San Jose and south of Lancaster...
I dated a girl who lived in Bakersfield for a spell. She would take the train rather than fly and I'd pick her up at East Bay station. Me, I just flew.
That was a fun video, thanks. Amtrak does a good job of servicing places that aren't near major airports, and gives you a lot more comfort than a bus, with less cost than a plane. You did Santa Barbara so dirty with that missing A though!! xD
As a European it does astound me how America functions without intercity train service - I hope you guys can get California High Speed Rail built eventually.
Unfortunately the two largest private major railroads that did build overhead electric lines over their tracks serving New York City, the Big Apple, went bankrupt soon after electrifying their tracks. And Europeans wonder why other American railroads have NOT electrified their tracks outside of several light rail and presently in California commuter rail... NONE of the major freight railroads desire to electrify their tracks, they are leaning presently for hydrogen locomotives to eventually replace their diesel locomotives... Even with this short distance of commuter rail in California is over budget... America is not a TINY nation like Germany or France. Just the one state of California is larger than both of these large European nations...
Everyone has cars. It actually reduces the need of trains a lot more substantially than people would like to admit. The interstate system is far superior to the Autobahn (not in surface quality, but in overall design and ease of use) and most US towns and cities are extremely spread out, making it necessary to use cars within them. This makes the car the first choice, whether you are travelling 100 miles, or 1000 miles... In much denser parts of the US, train service improves drastically like in the Northeast corridor, where density is more like europes.
@@aswinhanagal4293 Not everybody in the US has, can afford, or has the ability to drive cars. US car dependency is an accessibility nightmare. For example, it’s a tragedy when somebody looses their privilege to drive due to cognitive decline. The lack of indecent access to society quickly speeds up the decline.
Well... there are actually two different SF-LA rail lines that offer daily intercity rail - the Coast Starlight (the train in the video, scenic but slow) and the San Joaquins (faster and more frequent but with a bus connection). Americans, and specifically Bay Areans... we just like to whine a lot. It's a thing we do. It's really not that bad in the real world. He could have just taken the metro to an Amtrak San Joaquins stop (Richmond BART) and be done with this whole journey in 4 hours less if he wanted to. But the Coast Starlight is an iconic rail route that they run with vintage vehicles and it has incredible views. You have to take it at least once in your life! And the flights are super-cheap and frequent. If you don't want to do a train adventure you can always fly.
Glad you rewarded yourself with the beer, Adam, as a reward for the crazy trip. I like day trips, though I don't go on many as often as I'd like. The last time I went to Maine, my phone died, and I had to go to a T-Mobile and buy a charger which took a few hours away from my trip. Then i got stranded somewhere😅. Never again since I always come prepped now. But like your videos show, the stories you have make it so unique and rewarding. Sure your pedometer counts must be insane. Keep it up as always👏
Enjoyed your video! Live in San Francisco but grew up in South Bay. Still take Caltrain at least once a month. New caltrain cars finally have wifi, power and usb at each seat. Video inspired me to take AMTRAK, havent done it in years!
I live in Hawai'i but I was born and raised in Japan in the 1960s, and fondly remember my mom taking me to visit relatives in the Kanto region. We left when I was 7 due to my dad's job transfer to Hawai'i. Last year I finally returned to Japan after 57 years away. I bought a JR rail pass right before the 70% price hike. I spent 4 weeks exploring from Hakodate to Hiroshima, and loved every minute of it. I have nothing but praise to the Japanese rail system. If you haven't already I implore you to visit Japan and travel by rail. I can still speak Japanese fluently, so I may retire there, and throw away my drivers license forever. The street cars are amazing too, and extremely reasonable to ride.
The telltale line was, after checking Amtrak's funding, they do quite well with what they've got. Trains are neglected economically despite their importance to us all.
I've taken Amtrak a few times across America from Los Angeles, Ca to Chicago,, to Dallas Texas, and 3 times from L.A To San Degio. The last 2 times I paid extra for business class and it was so worth it. It was easy for me as a senior to get a discount and I like traveling at a slower pace now that I have more time.
My husband and I took the CA ZEPHER to Chicago. We both sleep pretty tight together so we asked the Conductor to only make up the lower bed. Leaving upper folded up for headroom. In the morning he looks at us with a smile .... winks....and said ""your railcar was rocking more than the others last night"". The next night he walks by....my partner motioned him into our room then whispers in his ear ""hopefully tonight we keep us on the rails""😊
I've done - several times - the Pacific Surfliner route from San Luis Obispo to Old Town, San Diego (and back sometimes). Nine hours for what would normally be about 6.5 hours driving, though LA traffic can really foul that timing up. And that is probably the greatest part of taking the train: It's a BREEZE getting through LA. Otherwise....I'm normally driving as I'd rather keep the trip short and do it on my own timetable, not Amtrak's. Still - they have saved me multiple times and for that I am very grateful.
4:21 As a person who takes the train in L.A., dude is an A rated passenger to me. Why? Dude is just keeping to himself. There is a lot worse out there in these L.A. trains.
Clearly took his shoes off, I think it's fine to have your socks on the seat. Frankly, I doubt socks are particularly dirtier than the seat of most pants
Imagine his trip as an overnight: Start late in one city, fall asleep in one of those micro-sleeper pods that Amtrak is contemplating, and wake up near your destination. Slow or stopped trains don't matter if you're dreaming. Would even the current coach seats be sleep-able if you recline it? I'd be tempted to try.
This is an absolute nightmare! I am glad that I have never bothered to try what you did from SF to LA. I have traveled widely especially in China where bullet trains run between ALL of the major cities. At a max of 185 mph, getting from Beijing to Shanghai (750 miles) is 4 hours. $25-30. Don't know how when the California bullet train will ever be completed between SF and LA. America really needs to get its act together.
China's public infrastructure has been built with borrowed money in order to stimulate economic growth so that by the end of 2024 its debt to GDP ratio will be 312% (vs 125% for the US). Much of that has been borrowed by local governments to build apartment blocks people can't afford to buy, highways to nowhere and, yes, high speed rail. If the US had a comparable figure to China, just the interest on that debt (at 5% interest rates) would be $1.5 trillion annually and would squeeze out a lot of spending on other things. But we could build shiny rail networks if we wanted to borrow money like China, even if no one wanted to ride them (I suspect the majority of Americans would still prefer to drive or fly).
@@BTinSF you forget about the immediate and long-term effects of better connectivity for workers, travellers and soceity. Less CO2 per capita and year, less time spend on the road and in congestions, more productivity for millions of people, more enjoyable lifetime to spend. It's not spending, it's investing in the future.
That was quite delightful! I've lived in the Bay for 30 years and have never taken a train south of San Jose, but now I want to. Thanks for the light hearted informative travelogue. Subbed!
I used to work on Caltrain. I work now at the San Jose station cleaning the Amtrak Capitols that come from Sacramento. Would have been cool to have run into you.
I considered traveling to San Francisco via Amtrak (from rural New Mexico) this past summer. I decided to drive after a friend told me that LA to SF was dreadful (remember - Amtrak puts you on buses). I ended up driving 3 days each way in a wheelchair-equipped van… but your video definitely convinced me that I made the right decision!❤❤❤
7:53 that’s me in the blue shirt and suit and now that I re watched this video I remember you much better now especially being that I remember recommending that coffee place to you I hope the rest of your trip went well despite the delay tho 🙂
When I lived in the Bay Area I learned that if you want to take Amtrak to San Francisco from somewhere else, you should go to Richmond. The Richmond Amtrak and BART stations are next to each other so you take Amtrak to BART and get to the city that way.
When I was in high school, I took a Greyhound bus from SF to Ventura. It was 12 hours and sucked. This was in 1986, when they had a smoking section at the back of the bus, with a curtain separating the smoking and non-smoking sections 😂. We were in the last row of the smoking section 🤢. Anyhoo, i enjoyed your video more than that bus ride, and probably more than a train ride. I hope high-speed rail in CA becomes a thing. It's sad that the US is so far behind many countries in high-speed rail. 😢
I took Amtrak from Los Angeles to Albuquerque and it was a nightmare of delays and cancellations . It is a shame that there is not dependable rail service in the United States ! All the employees were wonderful helpful people .
Who rides AMTRAK? This Aussie guy does whenever he's in your country. One time the Coast Starlight took longer to travel from LAX to Chico CA than my flight from Melbourne, Australia to LAX.
What do you ONE TIME! Your flight back home takes about 15 hours... and even if you included your ride TO & FROM the airports, as well as Security, Immigration checks and waiting at the gate, it would STILL be quicker!
I live in Oakland and recently took the Amtrak Zephyr for the first time from Emeryville to Reno. That's a beautiful trip even with all the smoke. The train back was delayed by like 6 hours! But I kind of didn't care because that isn't the point. Just hung out in Reno longer. Talking to the guys who took it from Chicago to Emeryville was pretty interesting too. You meet all kinds of random people which is cool.
I took Amtrak going from Stockton to LA, requiring a bus connection from Bakersfield to LA Union Station. Then from there I took the Metrolink to City of Industry. I went through Central Valley, it wasn't as picturesque but it was still nice as I took a table seat and still enjoyed the view with the sun rising overhead. I did also take a short nap as well. About 5 hours on the Amtrak, I got to Bakersfield to get onto the bus connection. The bus took about 2 hours to get to LA Union Station. And then finished my final leg, about 30 minutes with Metrolink. Would I do it again? Yes, if I needed to. I'm actually interested to doing a longer trip to somewhere for vacation in the future. Would definitely be paying for a sleeper unit.
@@fullreinhard well, considering how driving from the Amtrak Station in Bakersfield to Union Station LA is about 2 hours or more as well, time wise, it's about the same. The traffic is the same for cars and buses. Both are sitting in it. I agree that it does suck a lot You are stuck with a bunch of people around you and you can't move around as much, but still. I mostly just napped and did some light reading. The hope is that there will eventually be a rail connection into LA County, most likely to Palmdale by the CA High Speed Rail Authority.
I took the train from SF to Bakersfield to meet up with friends that were going on a ski trip to Mammouth. The catch was the night before I was leaving one of my good friends was getting married in SF. Huge wedding huge party. I ended up leaving an Embarcadero hotel @ 3am to rush home, pack, grab by snowboard and be on the road by 5 am. I made it , but wow. Just wow. My friend was there in Bakersfield to pick me up and we drove to Mammoth from Bakersfield. Door to door it was nearly 20 hours. Ah to be in your 20s. Oh and I did the driving from Bakersfield to mammoth. We had an awesome trip it was worth every min.
I love the Coast Starlight and have taken many times between LA and Portland. Another favorite is the Empire builder Last March from Chicago to Seattle, Great snow scenes. I will be on. it again in November. Never bored and more comfortable than a plane. I am retired so I am not in a hurry. The seat are good for sleeping and we each had 2 seats which makes an easy sleep spot.
Been binging your videos for the last couple of days and this one is kinda special, because maybe it wasn't the best experience for you but: 1. It reminded me of a summer I spent at Pismo Beach during a lnaguage exchange scholarship. 2. In Spain (where I live) there's a seaside train that connects Barcelona and Alicante called the Euromed with great views of different beaches, cliffs, coves and the whole Costa Daurada of the Mediterranean. It's also a train that could be more comfortable and the ride lasts like 7 hours, so I related. 3. The comedic timing of being on the verge of losing the train, stopping to hold the door for that lady and the music stopping? Priceless.
Such beautiful land and coastline near San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara! Los Angeles Union Station is an incredible, historic building. It's easy to see how it used to be the spot where famous actors and actresses of old Hollywood would arrive to the paparazzi.
Across the street from the train station is Plaza Olvera-the first settlement by the folks from Alta California in Mexico. The Plaza is lovely & worth checking out. Too bad you didn’t know that.‘it’s sort of a dis.
This video gave me so much nostalgia! My dad was born in Oakland in 1948 and made it a point to take us everywhere via Amtrak . We road from Oakland to Seattle, Los Angeles , Sacramento (bunch of times) and even took us from Oakland to Washington DC on Amtrak!! Unforgettable experience partially because I got horrible food poisoning and had to stay in the hotel the whole DC portion of the trip 😂 cheers man! Will be booking a trip to LA via Coast Starlight in the very near future
Yo Adam. This was super fun to watch - I really enjoyed the editing, and it really felt like you loved this place and the gems it holds as much as I do. Glad I came across you. I live in SF, so I hope I bump into you some time. Also 17 hours is criminal.
I was as skeptical of watching this video as you were of riding the train. I LOVE THIS VIDEO! Even though you're on camera substantially, you have a positive, gentle, and humorous way, so it's more like a conversation than a lecture. Great editing, music, pace, and photography. We took the CalTrain from SF to San Jose as teenagers many times in the 1970's to visit family, and getting to the station on 5th Street was the hardest part. Thank You so much Adam. Keep up the good work! Do you have one going from SF/Oakland through the Sierra snow tunnels, either to Reno or to Salt Lake City??? Thinking of an anniversary trip some February.
@@AdamDoesNotExist They're always awesome. Love the videos, keep em coming long as you enjoy making them! Also worth noting on that route from LA to OC, Metrolink also run (for a lot cheaper), and they've just massively boosted their schedule. Worth noting if you're ever in the area again.
Wow this is spot on. I spent most of 2022 working in the Bay area while my family stayed in Irvine where we are from originally. This video is spot on. I even ended up at exactly the same coffee shop outside of Dirdon station the first time. A few thoughts: - It is maybe a bit quicker to walk to that coffee shop if you take the underground tunnel to the VTA light rail station and walk from there. I try to avoid walking along busy roads if I can. - The cell service isn't non-existent all the way, but it does get spotty. The worst section is from SLO to Santa Barbara. You basically just have to accept you won't have Internet access that whole time. This makes "working from home" difficult especially since you pass through this dead zone in the mid afternoon. - The coast starlight is the only option for taking a train between San Jose and SLO, but not necessarily the best. There is a bus extension of the surfliner from SJC to SLO that leaves at 11ish that is also pretty convenient. I get motion sickness when I try to work from the bus, but this may work for some people. It also avoids the train transfer at Union station. Another option is to take a 6am bus to Santa Barbara and transfer there around noon. That one is nice since it skips most of the cell service dead zones since the 101 pretty much has cell service the whole way. - Another option you may want to take advantage of is that both the coast starlight and surfliner have bike reservations. I usually just locked my bike in one of the bike boxes at Dirdon station but it is sometimes nice to have a bike available in socal - especially in a city like Irvine. Anyways, thanks for this awesome nostalgic trip. Great video.
Thank you! These are some really good, useful tips for doing this trip. Next time I might have to bring my bike. There are some really cool things you can do with just a bit more mobility on either end of the trip.
I've been riding The Coast Starlight since the mid '80's & will not go unless I'm in a Roomette or Bedroom. Booking a private space on a train allows me to have privacy & quiet place to enjoy the experience. Riding coach can be noisy & disruptive-especially at night. I also allow myself extra time for connections since trains are notorious for being many hours late.
Back in 1942 when the classic movie This Gun For Hire was made, Southern Pacific had several trains running between San Francisco to Los Angeles every day less on weekends. 🙏🤔😁
As far as alternative options -- the worst would probably be something like a Greyhound bus... I've done an Oakland --> San Bernardino trip which took almost 12 hours, had no legroom, and had to deal with the same traffic issues that cars do! Anyway, public transit in the US is such a pathetic joke... 😩
In 2010-2011, I rode the California Zephyr from Reno to Chicago (and back once) on three different trips. The first time was such a beautiful disaster, I fell in love with it. Over 13 hours of delays in a normally would-be 44-hour trip. Everybody was friendly, we talked about how much more comfortable it is than Greyhound or any bus and I got to see some US cultures that we don't readily see west of the Rockies. The landscape though? Majestic and unreal are words that come to mind. The Ruby Mountains are stunning and the tracks don't exactly run parallel to I-80 so you see parts NOBODY else gets to see unless they also enjoy the train. Nice video, earned a new follower. 👍🏼😎
Glad to have you here! Your experience is a perfect example of how these trains can be a great experience. Are they fast? No. Can you see incredible places and have cool experiences? Yes!
I mean I would have taken BART to Emeryville and hit the train from there (Emeryville ain't Oakland!) edit: before anyone else comments, yeah I now realize there's no Emeryville station, as it would take a bus ride from the West Oakland station to get there.
@@arxligion Ah my bad, I was thinking Richmond but then I see the train south doesn't stop at the Richmond station. I'm used to taking the Capitol Corridor which does have a stop in Richmond which is literally right where the BART station is.
It’s fun seeing the beginning of the video which is almost the exact copy of my route to school coming from sf to Santa Cruz. I live in the outer sunset only a block away from the N-Judah train, and it’s just sorta cool to see it getting some love. It’s a great train. Great video man!
In 2011 I did my first trip to Europe (Hungary, Slovenia, and Austria) and had an amazing time on the trains there. When I returned I was determined to experience the Amtrak. At the time I was living near Oklahoma City and I had some friends I wanted to visit near Boston. So, I decided to take that trip entirely on Amtrak. It was a 60 hour ride on the Heartland Flyer (OKC to Dallas), Texas Eagle (Dallas to Chicago), and Lakeshore Limited (Chicago to Boston). It was one of my favourite US travel experiences. I was relieved that the coach seats on the Texas Eagle and Lakeshore Limited was able to almost recline flat. And the seats were plush. Sleeping wasn't an issue at all. And being able to roam around the train, hang out on the observation deck, and talk to the other long-haulers made the 60 hours actually pleasant. There was a family that, coincidentally, was doing the same exact trip from OKC to Boston. So, I got to hang with them for a little. The kids kept waking me up to show me whatever they were playing with, though. I had a few hour layover in Chicago. So, I went on Couchsurfing, mentioned my layover, and some random person contacted me. We hung out, grab a drink, went to a free concert at Millennium Park, then hopped back on my train. I was a little bummed that the Lakeshore Limited was a single decker, which means no observation deck. But it had some great views from the seat. I've been itching to do another long hauler, but now with my wife. I'd love to take the Coast Starlight from LA to Seattle.
I've gone from Anaheim to San Francisco (Oakland) twice on Amtrak to do return bicycle trips. I didn't mind getting into Oakland 4-5 hours late as it was early morning, the ferry across to SFO is next door to the train station, and no need for an overnight hotel before starting my journeys southward. I've also taken the Surfliner up to San Luis Obispo and pedaled back. It used to leave Anaheim in the morning (7AM) and get to SLO in the mid-afternoon, but Amtrak being Amtrak the schedule was inconveniently changed so it leaves about noon and gets to SLO after dark. Still not a bad way to go if timeliness isn't a big concern for your trip.
Enjoyed your trip report :) I take this all the time! I used to go by megabus but now that I have a little more money and not ever in a rush anymore coast starlight is my go to. Just did in October and have another booked for January. I don’t even sit in my seat just put my bag in the overhead, take out my day bag, and beeline straight for one of those single seats in the view car which are usually open still at emeryville when the long haulers haven’t woke up yet. Put the screens away. Pop in some tunes or a podcast, make some new friends, think about life, and enjoy the views. By far the best way to go between LA and the Bay without a car if you’ve got the money and a day to blow imo. Greyhound sucks compared to that discontinued megabus route. Flying is super stressful and LAX is especially hard to get into/out of.
If you do it again, the smarter way from the Embarcadero Station is to take BART to the Coliseum station, and switch to Amtrak there. The other BART station with a direct connection to Amtrak is the Richmond station (more useful if you're going north or east).
Best way is greyhound down hwy 1/pch. Its about 8 hrs, but rarely full, and you at least get the "true coastal experience" of passage thru big Sur, stopping in all of the little mission towns, and seeing water pretty much the whole time...very relaxing, and stations are centrally located in downtown areas, versus outskirts
When I was in high school, I used to take the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner from LA to SLO (grand parents lived in SLO and I would travel during Spring/Thanksgiving breaks). The trip was always very nice and the only Surfliner Trip to SLO left LA around 3pm and got into SLO around 8pm. That once a day trip timed up perfectly for the sunset along the Vandenburg coast line, and it was always absolutely beautiful. What better than an Air Force base to preserve a section of coastline. The trip was always easy and yes it took time, but being in High School it gave me a chance to catch up on home work/ school work/ prepare for a midterm.
lol, this first video I watched of his, not even sure why I watched because I've done this trip before, however such a good videographer can turn something so simple into a entertaining great watch. kudos.
I think it’s downright criminal that there isn’t direct train service between the two marquee California cities. I hope that the high speed rail gets finished in my lifetime (and I’m not even that old).
Another great video, Adam. Hope your channel blows up soon. It deserves it!
I agree! It's just such an obvious place to have it. I'm not holding my breath, but hopefully things get moving soon.
The Coast Starlight does run from Los Angeles to Emeryville/Oakland... There is train and bus connections across the Bay to San Francisco, and from San Jose to San Francisco... It isn't as if San Francisco is cut off from bus or train services to Amtrak...
@@ronclark9724The problem is that San Francisco is a peninsula without a normal gauge tunnel continuing on (BART uses a non standard gauge). So, you can't have through service like the Coast Starlight and have it go to San Francisco itself.
@@ronclark9724 one of the greatest advantages of trains over planes is that trains almost always go from city center to city center. This is lost when you have to embark/disembark from Emeryville when traveling to/from San Francisco. It would be wonderful to be able to take the train from Salesforce Transit Center.
@theo9976 Aren't they working on that? I read they got federal funding to build thst tunnel to the Salesforce transit center. I believe that same tunnel will be used by the CAHSR trains.
Back in about 2005, I took the Coast Starlight between LA and San Jose. It was a yearly trip and I normally drove, but I took Amtrak just to try it out. I only did it once because the train was so slow that the extra time outweighed the views.
However, on the trip home, I ended up in the observation car with a group of creative folks. Me with my camera, a guy with a guitar, a poet with her notebook, and a sketch artist with his notebook. We all just happened to find each other there. And the guy with the guitar played a few songs for us, including two that he wrote. He even played the Firefly theme and we both sung the lyrics.
Four random people just chatting about creative stuff. I'll never see them again, but I'll remember that evening forever.
That's awesome. That story could be a movie!
That's one of the perks of train travel. The atmosphere is more relaxed compared to being on a plane.
Half a thumbs up from me. The train and public transit in LAX is always better than driving.
I take public tansit in the Bay Area and LA, but to get between I fly. It's by far the fastest method. I have no idea why anyone would consider another way.
"The Vietnamese Bus" is the fastest way on land. SJ to LA in 5 hours, 30 minutes.
@@AdamDoesNotExist @10:09, Ey man, goin through me Hometown (still living there)
Your videos feel like a love letter to California, Especially the bay area. And the production quality is so good for just you doing all the work yourself!
Thank you. It means so much to hear you say that. In a way they are a love letter to this place. It might be more popular to make fun of CA and the Bay. So someone should be doing the opposite.
Samr as with my sister, i can make fun of her but when an outsider does it,
nah brah
-1pt for campers in the view car
@@TheKillerPURPLE
A lot of people hate on it, but it's a beautiful state and the vibes are immaculate. Yes it has problems and a very high cost of living yet we pay it. Plus unlike other states when people move here we welcome them never heard anyone say "don't bring your Texas to California". 🤌
I'm a train conductor in the UK, and if someone has their feet on the seats wearing socks - that's a positive thing. Most people put their feet on the seats with shoes.
I'll buy that!
Same here in Australia.
Yeah socks beats shoes or bare feet lol
Don't forget that guy's socks look pretty clean, too!
Still, toe-jammie socks are stinky
As soon as I saw the title I laughed out loud. I've (almost) made this same trip but even though it was painful it really should be a bucket list thing for every Californian. Too many of us only know the state from the perspective of highways and it's downright criminal.
I live in Los Angeles, and actually do use Union Station as my start and end point. 🙂 I've taken the Coast Starlight in both directions several times, and I love it. Obviously, this only works if I have a lot of extra time, including a generous time budget for delays. I usually camp in the observation car for most of the trip, enjoy a few glasses of chardonnay, and let the endlessly changing scenery send me into a very pleasant trance. I've also had some great conversations with people seated nearby.
The Coast Starlight between LA and Oakland isn't great transportation. It's a great experience that also happens to be transportation.
I agree!
I’ve gone from L.A. to S.F. In the Amtrak (which included an Amtrak shuttle bus ride from Emeryville to San Francisco) and loved it. Definitely need to go in it with a relaxed state of mind and enjoy the ride and scenery. This video made me somewhat anxious,…..too much time keeping and stressed vibes.
Yeah idk what he was talking about when he said no one uses Union Station. It’s literally a hub. I start and end my trips there all the time
@@LEX.IBA333 He's an idiot. He went from Oakland to SF to take a train to L.A. when he should have stayed in Oakland and taken the train from there.
Yeah I was like ??? When he said that. I live in Los Angeles and everyone starts/ends in Union. The people who go to the OC... live in the OC, not LA.
@@AlexaDonne bc he is a clown youtuber. why not just do an Emeryville to LAUPT video?
2 1/2 years ago I took Amtrak for the first time from LA Union Station down to San Diego. The train departed around 10:45 AM and we got to San Diego around 1:30 PM. I had a pretty good time. We got Wetzel’s Pretzels at Union Station, we enjoyed the scenery and got to sit on the right side of the train which showed us the views of the ocean When you head south, got me a couple of beers at the café. The staff was super friendly and helpful as well. I know it’s not the route you took in this video but it was my experience and it was about the most opposite thing compared to what I saw here.
having taken that as well, i reckon the biggest benefit is that there's direct service from LA to SD. there seems to be no such thing from LA to SF (at least, not yet)
The route from LA to SD is also relatively straight and flat. The Coast Starlight route from the Bay Area to LA has to hug the coast and negotiate mountains which lengthen the distance and time.
I’ve done this many times. Bike travel free, with reservation!
hey! native san franciscan here. i go to school in san luis obispo-i love taking the train back to the bay! it’s much more comfy and scenic, can grab a snack or just chill. to san jose, it’s only 30 minutes slower than the bus with less potential of traffic jams-UPRR owns the rails but they’re not carrying tons of freight anymore so it rarely gets delayed on this stretch. they’re looking to run more service between slo and sj, pending funding!
also: love the videos. currently studying city planning, so having a transit/baseball content crossover on my feed was surely a shocker!
Haha, thank you! Not gonna lie I'm pretty jealous, SLO is incredible. I'd love to see more service but I suppose they have to work out that pesky funding first!
same, but im from sj and live a 2 min walk from the station.. the amount of slo students on the train is absolutely insane
@@chloechloe3166 my fault…
UP is indeed carrying tons of freight still. Maybe just not on that trackage
@ that’s exactly what i meant in the original message, should’ve worded it better
Just rode the electric Caltrain this weekend, massive improvement over the old diesel trains, and can't wait until they run out of the transit center in downtown!
Nice! I'm excited to ride one. They look great
RIP F40'S
You were impressed? I wasn't... Compared to other countries, we are still sooooo behind, even with this new train. I cry at the amount of money the government wasted on this.
If only they weren’t late all the time…
@@_w_w_, you complain too much; Caltran sounds like it will be a game changer for NorthCal/San Fran. How perfect are you expecting Caltrain to be that you still hate it with the new electric trains?
People who dislike Amtrak are being dramatic. I fly around 30 times a year. Once I put aside the internet drama about Amtrak it’s pretty great… much better than any regional bus service (like Bolt Bus). Those rarely leave or arrive on time, like Amtrak.
People who complain about it “being slower than car.” Some people don’t have a car. I do. They clearly list the expected travel time… kinda like an airplane ticket. Do y’all also complain that “everything looks the same” on a TransCon flight? After 30 minutes?
Not to invalidate those who experience travel that way. It’s a valid experience. But so is mine and I’ll share it so that people who don’t get bored after 30 minutes might consider a relatively decent travel option.
On the car thing… you try riding in an Uber or Lyft for a ride longer than 60 miles. Let me know how cheap that is. And how on time the driver is. Just a hint: Lyft will inflate expected travel time compared to Maps/GMaps. It’s much more obvious if you try to go more than 60 miles.
There are pluses and minuses to every transport option. I am pretty certain the people who “get bored” after 30 minutes get bored after 30 minutes with anything.
I could have flown from Santa Ana to Oakland for about the same price. So in my case it does feel a bit silly. But I still think the train is great!
I used to long distance commute for my work, so I flew between N CA to S CA weekly on Monday and Friday. No way in heaven would I take the train or HSR -- and I always take train, bus, subway and HSR in every other country. You should try Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan and reassess your comments here. In places like Japan, I can do door-to-door travel and be slightly faster using bus/subway/train/HSR than bus/subway/train/plane. SF-LA HSR won't work well unless they open up fast last-mile transit in communities (plural) around SF and LA. It's not going to happen because our government is not smart or effective enough to do it without major mega cost overrun. I have family members in LA subburb and I tried sooo very hard to use bus or train to go there - I live near San Jose Diridon Station, and I still can't make it work unless I just give up the entire day for one-way travel.
@@AdamDoesNotExist Santa Ana mentioned :0
Compared to other 1st world country train systems Amtrak is a joke. The whole American train system is, all to make sure coal and oil companies stay in business.
What drama? Just genuinely curious. Amtrak has never disappointed me when I took train.
In 1999 I took Amtrak from Emeryville across from San Francisco down the coast to Los Angeles. For the first three hours I was enjoying the experience. Then I became very bored and very ready to arrive at my destination. I looked outside and realized we were only a few miles south of San Jose, still in the S.F. Bay Area. I suddenly felt as though I was in a moving prison cell. In the end it took twelve and a half hours, twice the time it takes to drive the distance. I vowed NEVER to do that again. I haven't ridden Amtrak since. Will I ride the future high speed rail line from San Francisco to Los Angeles in a planned time of under three hours? No. Why? Because statistically I'll be dead of old age by the time the line is ready for full operation some time in the 2050s. I'll literally be dust in the wind yet still traveling faster than anything Amtrak can manage.
I'd love to ride high speed rail to LA, but I'm certainly not holding my breath!
If you want to travel fast to SF/LA then take a plane, if you want to travel with convenience to SF/LA then drive a car, if you want to travel with comfort to SF/LA then take a train.
Move to China don’t torture yourself
Its really not their fault
If you are in a hurry FLY...
The comments from those who don't realize how well you know Bay Area transit amuse me. I realize you started in SF because it's such an iconic city, and perhaps to demonstrate the City's poor connections to Amtrak, but I think it's worth pointing out that the East Bay has so many more rail connections than SF does.
BTW, if you haven't tried them yet, the new electric Caltrain sets are wonderful. I hope you made it to this weekend's grand opening celebrations.
Yeah you got it. I'm certainly not saying this is the best way to get from SF to LA. Just, if you were starting at the ferry building, this is one way to do it, and that's what it was like for me.
Haven't been on the new Caltrain yet, but I will soon!
first step is the Amtrak bus to get to the train in east bay, oops that's not a train. and sometimes they have buses instead of trains.
@@AdamDoesNotExist Whoa! You definitely need to check out the new Caltrain! It's awesome!
Many people not from the area don't know that SF is a peninsula, so major routes simply cannot run through there -- they'll almost run through the East Bay instead, since trains cannot, due to geography, go from SF to the west, north, or east. It's almost always advantageous then to run routes that pass through the SF Bay Area on the east bay, otherwise you're just cutting off the ability to connect with those other directions for the sole reason of being able to say the train directly connects to SF.
I love this personal take on mass transit. I mean, you could do arguments and run the numbers on transit. But, I like how your videos are personal and tell a story. Keep it up!
Thank you! I like to make it a bit more about my actual experience and glad you enjoy that!
great if you love hearing someone complain for the first 8 minutes - wah - wah - wah
I took an Amtrak from Sacramento to Los Angeles twice and it wasn’t a bad experience, it wasn’t the coastal view but a view of just farms and fields for 10+ hours. the trains can use some upgrading but had to stop at Bakersfield since that was the last stop and had to take the bus from Bakersfield to Union Station. CHSR is a big upgrade to all this and hopefully is completed in my lifetime
This is definitely good option even from the Bay Area
Yeah if you're trying to get from SF to LA in the fastest way possible by train the San Joaquins line is the way to go. A lot more direct and flat than Coast Starlight.
That's funny, I took Amtrak from Fresno to Sacramento last year and it was one of the most miserable experiences of my life. Long delays, scary vagrants, inexplicable stops. But maybe I'm just jaded because the family in the seat in front of me spent the whole trip watching Family Feud at full volume and shouting out the answers together. "[Ding] Waffles!"
@@Shlikas Were you not able to change seats?
@@Shlikaslike what the other guy said. You could’ve got up and walked to a quieter car.
dude you deserve at LEAST 500,000 subscribers for these videos you’ve been putting out
I really appreciate that!
Enjoying your content recently. Keep it up :)
THANK YOU! That means a lot to me. Glad you're enjoying these videos :)
Native Oaklander here who's also a boomer. Love trains but never took one to LA. During my college days we would drive up and down the coast as it was just fun and faster. Or we would take a $19 flight. Thanks for taking me along your ride. 😄
Ive been riding the Amtrak round trip from Martinez CA to Grand Junction CO, twice a year for the past decade...its a 24 hour slog. But packing a carry on with snacks, a laptop with a DVD player make for 4 hours of Movie time. Also inflateable camping pillows and a light blanket help to make it fun in coach. The views are amazing...with mountains, desert scenery. I would recommend doing it. And Grand Junction is a fun college town with great hiking and biking trails. And my House, since I just rent and work in Bay Area...and looking to retire and move back to Grand Junction CO, which is honestly really great place to live.
I've been to grand junction once, and I was shocked by how nice everyone was there. I guess it must be a great place to live!
love the public transit vids 😃
Thank you!
Thank you Adam for all the 411 about Amtrak.... i just luv amtrak; and thanks to you i will be planning my Amtrak vacations; Great Job!!
Despite living in the bay area all my life, I've sadly only heard of Amtrak in hushed whispers. Watching this video, I'm already thinking up excuses to make my way, if only just to experience one of the views and one of the few rail-lines in California. Great stuff as always Adam!
Even with CHSR it will take more than three hours to go from LA to SF as HSR will not be going 200 mph through both the SF and LA urban metropolises north of San Jose and south of Lancaster...
Thank you! I've heard the trip up to Tahoe is really beautiful as well, and a bit shorter.
@@ronclark9724CAHSR will have a 2 hour 40 minute travel time from San Francisco to Los Angeles, not "more than 3 hours".
I dated a girl who lived in Bakersfield for a spell. She would take the train rather than fly and I'd pick her up at East Bay station. Me, I just flew.
Quality content persists on youtube so long as Adam is posting. Now I want to take this trip myself!
Thank you, sincerely!
"Observation Car"
Everyone looking at their cellphones.
It’s the world we live in now…too bad
That was a fun video, thanks. Amtrak does a good job of servicing places that aren't near major airports, and gives you a lot more comfort than a bus, with less cost than a plane. You did Santa Barbara so dirty with that missing A though!! xD
As a European it does astound me how America functions without intercity train service - I hope you guys can get California High Speed Rail built eventually.
I guess we just love cars here. And the population is so spread out!
Unfortunately the two largest private major railroads that did build overhead electric lines over their tracks serving New York City, the Big Apple, went bankrupt soon after electrifying their tracks. And Europeans wonder why other American railroads have NOT electrified their tracks outside of several light rail and presently in California commuter rail... NONE of the major freight railroads desire to electrify their tracks, they are leaning presently for hydrogen locomotives to eventually replace their diesel locomotives... Even with this short distance of commuter rail in California is over budget... America is not a TINY nation like Germany or France. Just the one state of California is larger than both of these large European nations...
Everyone has cars. It actually reduces the need of trains a lot more substantially than people would like to admit. The interstate system is far superior to the Autobahn (not in surface quality, but in overall design and ease of use) and most US towns and cities are extremely spread out, making it necessary to use cars within them. This makes the car the first choice, whether you are travelling 100 miles, or 1000 miles...
In much denser parts of the US, train service improves drastically like in the Northeast corridor, where density is more like europes.
@@aswinhanagal4293 Not everybody in the US has, can afford, or has the ability to drive cars. US car dependency is an accessibility nightmare. For example, it’s a tragedy when somebody looses their privilege to drive due to cognitive decline. The lack of indecent access to society quickly speeds up the decline.
Well... there are actually two different SF-LA rail lines that offer daily intercity rail - the Coast Starlight (the train in the video, scenic but slow) and the San Joaquins (faster and more frequent but with a bus connection).
Americans, and specifically Bay Areans... we just like to whine a lot. It's a thing we do. It's really not that bad in the real world. He could have just taken the metro to an Amtrak San Joaquins stop (Richmond BART) and be done with this whole journey in 4 hours less if he wanted to. But the Coast Starlight is an iconic rail route that they run with vintage vehicles and it has incredible views. You have to take it at least once in your life!
And the flights are super-cheap and frequent. If you don't want to do a train adventure you can always fly.
The music choices paired with the stunning visuals in this video were great! Keep it up!
Thank you! Will do!
i cant believe this man went to LA and back for us... on a train.
To be honest, I'm not sure I believe it myself! Thanks, Humphrey!
Glad you rewarded yourself with the beer, Adam, as a reward for the crazy trip. I like day trips, though I don't go on many as often as I'd like. The last time I went to Maine, my phone died, and I had to go to a T-Mobile and buy a charger which took a few hours away from my trip. Then i got stranded somewhere😅. Never again since I always come prepped now. But like your videos show, the stories you have make it so unique and rewarding. Sure your pedometer counts must be insane. Keep it up as always👏
Sometimes when things go wrong it makes it more interesting. It certainly makes for an entertaining story!
Older cali lady here Have always loved trains which my daughters don’t get. Thx enjoyed!
Your videos keep getting better! Somehow kinda convinced me to do this ride lol.
It's a long one! A very long one. But those views between SLO and Santa Barbara are really incredible.
Enjoyed your video! Live in San Francisco but grew up in South Bay. Still take Caltrain at least once a month. New caltrain cars finally have wifi, power and usb at each seat.
Video inspired me to take AMTRAK, havent done it in years!
This was a fun video. Thanks for sharing your experience on the train, both good and bad
Glad you enjoyed it!
PRO TIP: Next time start from Emeryville (Oakland). Super easy station, and MUUUUCH closer than San Jose
As someone who literally ended their trip at Union station today, I was offended. :P
Hahaha. Sorry!
I live in Hawai'i but I was born and raised in Japan in the 1960s, and fondly remember my mom taking me to visit relatives in the Kanto region. We left when I was 7 due to my dad's job transfer to Hawai'i. Last year I finally returned to Japan after 57 years away. I bought a JR rail pass right before the 70% price hike. I spent 4 weeks exploring from Hakodate to Hiroshima, and loved every minute of it. I have nothing but praise to the Japanese rail system. If you haven't already I implore you to visit Japan and travel by rail. I can still speak Japanese fluently, so I may retire there, and throw away my drivers license forever. The street cars are amazing too, and extremely reasonable to ride.
As a born and raised San Francisco/ East Bay person, I thoroughly enjoyed your content. Thanks!
Thank you!
The contrast between this and being in Tokyo and getting a Shinkansen ticket to Osaka and going city centre to city centre in a couple hours is wild
The telltale line was, after checking Amtrak's funding, they do quite well with what they've got. Trains are neglected economically despite their importance to us all.
I've taken Amtrak a few times across America from Los Angeles, Ca to Chicago,, to Dallas Texas, and 3 times from L.A To San Degio. The last 2 times I paid extra for business class and it was so worth it. It was easy for me as a senior to get a discount and I like traveling at a slower pace now that I have more time.
For the non-Californians, “marine layer” = fog.
I love that sneaky Mitch Hedburg reference when you're walking down the escalator at the BART station
LOL, sorry for the convenience. 😜
California sure is beautiful!
It really is!
My husband and I took the CA ZEPHER to Chicago. We both sleep pretty tight together so we asked the Conductor to only make up the lower bed. Leaving upper folded up for headroom. In the morning he looks at us with a smile .... winks....and said ""your railcar was rocking more than the others last night"". The next night he walks by....my partner motioned him into our room then whispers in his ear ""hopefully tonight we keep us on the rails""😊
14:43 B A R B A R A
Hope your channel grows
I took Amtrak from Chicago to Dallas 20 years ago
Loved it!
Probably not the same now
That was painful.... Things run much faster for Amtrak between Boston and DC.
I've done - several times - the Pacific Surfliner route from San Luis Obispo to Old Town, San Diego (and back sometimes). Nine hours for what would normally be about 6.5 hours driving, though LA traffic can really foul that timing up. And that is probably the greatest part of taking the train: It's a BREEZE getting through LA. Otherwise....I'm normally driving as I'd rather keep the trip short and do it on my own timetable, not Amtrak's. Still - they have saved me multiple times and for that I am very grateful.
4:21 As a person who takes the train in L.A., dude is an A rated passenger to me. Why? Dude is just keeping to himself. There is a lot worse out there in these L.A. trains.
Clearly took his shoes off, I think it's fine to have your socks on the seat. Frankly, I doubt socks are particularly dirtier than the seat of most pants
Imagine his trip as an overnight: Start late in one city, fall asleep in one of those micro-sleeper pods that Amtrak is contemplating, and wake up near your destination. Slow or stopped trains don't matter if you're dreaming. Would even the current coach seats be sleep-able if you recline it? I'd be tempted to try.
That would be sick! The seats on this train are huge. Lot of people on this train with me were asleep most of the time.
This is an absolute nightmare! I am glad that I have never bothered to try what you did from SF to LA. I have traveled widely especially in China where bullet trains run between ALL of the major cities. At a max of 185 mph, getting from Beijing to Shanghai (750 miles) is 4 hours. $25-30. Don't know how when the California bullet train will ever be completed between SF and LA. America really needs to get its act together.
China's public infrastructure has been built with borrowed money in order to stimulate economic growth so that by the end of 2024 its debt to GDP ratio will be 312% (vs 125% for the US). Much of that has been borrowed by local governments to build apartment blocks people can't afford to buy, highways to nowhere and, yes, high speed rail. If the US had a comparable figure to China, just the interest on that debt (at 5% interest rates) would be $1.5 trillion annually and would squeeze out a lot of spending on other things. But we could build shiny rail networks if we wanted to borrow money like China, even if no one wanted to ride them (I suspect the majority of Americans would still prefer to drive or fly).
@@BTinSF you forget about the immediate and long-term effects of better connectivity for workers, travellers and soceity. Less CO2 per capita and year, less time spend on the road and in congestions, more productivity for millions of people, more enjoyable lifetime to spend. It's not spending, it's investing in the future.
That was quite delightful! I've lived in the Bay for 30 years and have never taken a train south of San Jose, but now I want to. Thanks for the light hearted informative travelogue. Subbed!
3:10 "Always remember to pay your fare in San Francisco" right 😆 cause no one else does.
Quickly becoming one of my favorite channels!
Thank you!
I used to work on Caltrain. I work now at the San Jose station cleaning the Amtrak Capitols that come from Sacramento. Would have been cool to have run into you.
Yeah it would have!
I considered traveling to San Francisco via Amtrak (from rural New Mexico) this past summer. I decided to drive after a friend told me that LA to SF was dreadful (remember - Amtrak puts you on buses). I ended up driving 3 days each way in a wheelchair-equipped van… but your video definitely convinced me that I made the right decision!❤❤❤
7:53 that’s me in the blue shirt and suit and now that I re watched this video I remember you much better now especially being that I remember recommending that coffee place to you I hope the rest of your trip went well despite the delay tho 🙂
Just came from Oakland and I don't want to go back to Oakland.
That remark has been made by many, many people.
LFG! Awesome video! thank you for idea for my next rail the adventure!
Thank you! Glad you liked it!!
When I lived in the Bay Area I learned that if you want to take Amtrak to San Francisco from somewhere else, you should go to Richmond. The Richmond Amtrak and BART stations are next to each other so you take Amtrak to BART and get to the city that way.
When I was in high school, I took a Greyhound bus from SF to Ventura. It was 12 hours and sucked. This was in 1986, when they had a smoking section at the back of the bus, with a curtain separating the smoking and non-smoking sections 😂. We were in the last row of the smoking section 🤢. Anyhoo, i enjoyed your video more than that bus ride, and probably more than a train ride. I hope high-speed rail in CA becomes a thing. It's sad that the US is so far behind many countries in high-speed rail. 😢
Smoking section! Yikes! Glad you liked the video :)
It’s not just the U.S. the whole continent of Americas is captured by private oligarchs
Lmao, America is a third world country, just accept it.
I took Amtrak from Los Angeles to Albuquerque and it was a nightmare of delays and cancellations . It is a shame that there is not dependable rail service in the United States ! All the employees were wonderful helpful people .
We need Adam on Jet Lag
I found Jet Lag a few weeks ago and have since watched every single season. What they do is incredible.
Your editing is FIRE.
Who rides AMTRAK? This Aussie guy does whenever he's in your country. One time the Coast Starlight took longer to travel from LAX to Chico CA than my flight from Melbourne, Australia to LAX.
What do you ONE TIME!
Your flight back home takes about 15 hours... and even if you included your ride TO & FROM the airports, as well as Security, Immigration checks and waiting at the gate, it would STILL be quicker!
I live in Oakland and recently took the Amtrak Zephyr for the first time from Emeryville to Reno. That's a beautiful trip even with all the smoke. The train back was delayed by like 6 hours! But I kind of didn't care because that isn't the point. Just hung out in Reno longer.
Talking to the guys who took it from Chicago to Emeryville was pretty interesting too. You meet all kinds of random people which is cool.
Great video!! You should do one on the SMART train that goes from Marin to Sonoma!
I did... sort of. It's titled "An Absurd Journey to the World's Best Beer | Pliny the Younger"
Wow, this video was entertaining. I like the honesty and the humor. It was fun to watch.
I took Amtrak going from Stockton to LA, requiring a bus connection from Bakersfield to LA Union Station. Then from there I took the Metrolink to City of Industry. I went through Central Valley, it wasn't as picturesque but it was still nice as I took a table seat and still enjoyed the view with the sun rising overhead. I did also take a short nap as well. About 5 hours on the Amtrak, I got to Bakersfield to get onto the bus connection. The bus took about 2 hours to get to LA Union Station. And then finished my final leg, about 30 minutes with Metrolink.
Would I do it again? Yes, if I needed to. I'm actually interested to doing a longer trip to somewhere for vacation in the future. Would definitely be paying for a sleeper unit.
I think the sleeper unit would be a gamechanger! Like an even better upgrade than business class.
Man, sitting in the bus for hours stuck in freeway traffic just suuuucks. Wish it went straight from Stockton to LA. Oh well.
@@fullreinhard well, considering how driving from the Amtrak Station in Bakersfield to Union Station LA is about 2 hours or more as well, time wise, it's about the same. The traffic is the same for cars and buses. Both are sitting in it. I agree that it does suck a lot
You are stuck with a bunch of people around you and you can't move around as much, but still. I mostly just napped and did some light reading.
The hope is that there will eventually be a rail connection into LA County, most likely to Palmdale by the CA High Speed Rail Authority.
I took the train from SF to Bakersfield to meet up with friends that were going on a ski trip to Mammouth. The catch was the night before I was leaving one of my good friends was getting married in SF. Huge wedding huge party. I ended up leaving an Embarcadero hotel @ 3am to rush home, pack, grab by snowboard and be on the road by 5 am. I made it , but wow. Just wow. My friend was there in Bakersfield to pick me up and we drove to Mammoth from Bakersfield. Door to door it was nearly 20 hours. Ah to be in your 20s. Oh and I did the driving from Bakersfield to mammoth. We had an awesome trip it was worth every min.
Sounds like a sweet trip! Those are the weekends you never forget!!
I love the Coast Starlight and have taken many times between LA and Portland. Another favorite is the Empire builder Last March from Chicago to Seattle, Great snow scenes. I will be on. it again in November. Never bored and more comfortable than a plane. I am retired so I am not in a hurry. The seat are good for sleeping and we each had 2 seats which makes an easy sleep spot.
So much more comfortable than a place if you can spare the time!
@@AdamDoesNotExist Plenty of time and don't mind if it's late.
Been binging your videos for the last couple of days and this one is kinda special, because maybe it wasn't the best experience for you but:
1. It reminded me of a summer I spent at Pismo Beach during a lnaguage exchange scholarship.
2. In Spain (where I live) there's a seaside train that connects Barcelona and Alicante called the Euromed with great views of different beaches, cliffs, coves and the whole Costa Daurada of the Mediterranean. It's also a train that could be more comfortable and the ride lasts like 7 hours, so I related.
3. The comedic timing of being on the verge of losing the train, stopping to hold the door for that lady and the music stopping? Priceless.
Such beautiful land and coastline near San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara! Los Angeles Union Station is an incredible, historic building. It's easy to see how it used to be the spot where famous actors and actresses of old Hollywood would arrive to the paparazzi.
I knew the coast was going to be great, but I was kind of shocked how nice the train station was.
Across the street from the train station is Plaza Olvera-the first settlement by the folks from Alta California in Mexico. The Plaza is lovely & worth checking out. Too bad you didn’t know that.‘it’s sort of a dis.
@@klgarner8483And he missed the “Cielito Lindo” taquitos, what a shame 😂
@@Kenna198 Yep....good memories of the Plaza
This video gave me so much nostalgia! My dad was born in Oakland in 1948 and made it a point to take us everywhere via Amtrak . We road from Oakland to Seattle, Los Angeles , Sacramento (bunch of times) and even took us from Oakland to Washington DC on Amtrak!! Unforgettable experience partially because I got horrible food poisoning and had to stay in the hotel the whole DC portion of the trip 😂 cheers man! Will be booking a trip to LA via Coast Starlight in the very near future
That's awesome! I think I like trains for similar reasons. Taking them into penn station growing up!
6:51 That's the train that comes in from Stockton to bring in commuters!
haha… 18:05 you stress me out 😂 maybe because you running late reminds me of myself haha..
Thanks for the laugh ❤
It looks like Flixbus has a service from SF to LA over around 8 hours. Sure, it's less exciting than this, but I'd include that in the comparison too!
Good point! Bus is absolutely an option
Yo Adam.
This was super fun to watch - I really enjoyed the editing, and it really felt like you loved this place and the gems it holds as much as I do. Glad I came across you. I live in SF, so I hope I bump into you some time.
Also 17 hours is criminal.
OMG my local Safeway got featured!!!
I have a crazy story about that Safeway. Perhaps my most embarrassing moment ever. Maybe some day I'll tell it!
I was as skeptical of watching this video as you were of riding the train. I LOVE THIS VIDEO! Even though you're on camera substantially, you have a positive, gentle, and humorous way, so it's more like a conversation than a lecture. Great editing, music, pace, and photography. We took the CalTrain from SF to San Jose as teenagers many times in the 1970's to visit family, and getting to the station on 5th Street was the hardest part. Thank You so much Adam. Keep up the good work! Do you have one going from SF/Oakland through the Sierra snow tunnels, either to Reno or to Salt Lake City??? Thinking of an anniversary trip some February.
Whoa! The Irvine bubble in the wild! Shoutout to Scotty your conductor on the Surfliner 😎
He was great! I had a major issue with the railpass on the way back, and a different Surfliner conductor was also really great to me!
@@AdamDoesNotExist They're always awesome. Love the videos, keep em coming long as you enjoy making them!
Also worth noting on that route from LA to OC, Metrolink also run (for a lot cheaper), and they've just massively boosted their schedule. Worth noting if you're ever in the area again.
Wow this is spot on. I spent most of 2022 working in the Bay area while my family stayed in Irvine where we are from originally. This video is spot on. I even ended up at exactly the same coffee shop outside of Dirdon station the first time. A few thoughts:
- It is maybe a bit quicker to walk to that coffee shop if you take the underground tunnel to the VTA light rail station and walk from there. I try to avoid walking along busy roads if I can.
- The cell service isn't non-existent all the way, but it does get spotty. The worst section is from SLO to Santa Barbara. You basically just have to accept you won't have Internet access that whole time. This makes "working from home" difficult especially since you pass through this dead zone in the mid afternoon.
- The coast starlight is the only option for taking a train between San Jose and SLO, but not necessarily the best. There is a bus extension of the surfliner from SJC to SLO that leaves at 11ish that is also pretty convenient. I get motion sickness when I try to work from the bus, but this may work for some people. It also avoids the train transfer at Union station. Another option is to take a 6am bus to Santa Barbara and transfer there around noon. That one is nice since it skips most of the cell service dead zones since the 101 pretty much has cell service the whole way.
- Another option you may want to take advantage of is that both the coast starlight and surfliner have bike reservations. I usually just locked my bike in one of the bike boxes at Dirdon station but it is sometimes nice to have a bike available in socal - especially in a city like Irvine.
Anyways, thanks for this awesome nostalgic trip. Great video.
Thank you! These are some really good, useful tips for doing this trip. Next time I might have to bring my bike. There are some really cool things you can do with just a bit more mobility on either end of the trip.
I've been riding The Coast Starlight since the mid '80's & will not go unless I'm in a Roomette or Bedroom. Booking a private space on a train allows me to have privacy & quiet place to enjoy the experience. Riding coach can be noisy & disruptive-especially at night. I also allow myself extra time for connections since trains are notorious for being many hours late.
Yeah the private rooms look like a much better experience!
Back in 1942 when the classic movie This Gun For Hire was made, Southern Pacific had several trains running between San Francisco to Los Angeles every day less on weekends. 🙏🤔😁
This video makes me glad I live in New Jersey with an actual high speed rail line
You're lucky!
I do - Multi million mile flyer - I’m done with airports - I really enjoy your videos !
As far as alternative options -- the worst would probably be something like a Greyhound bus... I've done an Oakland --> San Bernardino trip which took almost 12 hours, had no legroom, and had to deal with the same traffic issues that cars do!
Anyway, public transit in the US is such a pathetic joke... 😩
There's room for improvement, absolutely. But there are some good systems out there!
In 2010-2011, I rode the California Zephyr from Reno to Chicago (and back once) on three different trips. The first time was such a beautiful disaster, I fell in love with it. Over 13 hours of delays in a normally would-be 44-hour trip. Everybody was friendly, we talked about how much more comfortable it is than Greyhound or any bus and I got to see some US cultures that we don't readily see west of the Rockies. The landscape though? Majestic and unreal are words that come to mind. The Ruby Mountains are stunning and the tracks don't exactly run parallel to I-80 so you see parts NOBODY else gets to see unless they also enjoy the train. Nice video, earned a new follower. 👍🏼😎
Glad to have you here! Your experience is a perfect example of how these trains can be a great experience. Are they fast? No. Can you see incredible places and have cool experiences? Yes!
I mean I would have taken BART to Emeryville and hit the train from there (Emeryville ain't Oakland!)
edit: before anyone else comments, yeah I now realize there's no Emeryville station, as it would take a bus ride from the West Oakland station to get there.
Bart doesn't go to Emeryville, you have to take the 7 bus or get a taxi
Please point to the Emeryville BART station on a map.
I just wanted to share my experience on the train. A faster option would be to just fly. And there's a bus that goes to Emeryville, but no train
@@arxligion Ah my bad, I was thinking Richmond but then I see the train south doesn't stop at the Richmond station. I'm used to taking the Capitol Corridor which does have a stop in Richmond which is literally right where the BART station is.
It’s fun seeing the beginning of the video which is almost the exact copy of my route to school coming from sf to Santa Cruz. I live in the outer sunset only a block away from the N-Judah train, and it’s just sorta cool to see it getting some love. It’s a great train. Great video man!
So many people on fent its sad
The new Caltrain is so nice! Free WiFi too.
In 2011 I did my first trip to Europe (Hungary, Slovenia, and Austria) and had an amazing time on the trains there. When I returned I was determined to experience the Amtrak. At the time I was living near Oklahoma City and I had some friends I wanted to visit near Boston. So, I decided to take that trip entirely on Amtrak. It was a 60 hour ride on the Heartland Flyer (OKC to Dallas), Texas Eagle (Dallas to Chicago), and Lakeshore Limited (Chicago to Boston). It was one of my favourite US travel experiences. I was relieved that the coach seats on the Texas Eagle and Lakeshore Limited was able to almost recline flat. And the seats were plush. Sleeping wasn't an issue at all. And being able to roam around the train, hang out on the observation deck, and talk to the other long-haulers made the 60 hours actually pleasant. There was a family that, coincidentally, was doing the same exact trip from OKC to Boston. So, I got to hang with them for a little. The kids kept waking me up to show me whatever they were playing with, though.
I had a few hour layover in Chicago. So, I went on Couchsurfing, mentioned my layover, and some random person contacted me. We hung out, grab a drink, went to a free concert at Millennium Park, then hopped back on my train. I was a little bummed that the Lakeshore Limited was a single decker, which means no observation deck. But it had some great views from the seat.
I've been itching to do another long hauler, but now with my wife. I'd love to take the Coast Starlight from LA to Seattle.
I've gone from Anaheim to San Francisco (Oakland) twice on Amtrak to do return bicycle trips. I didn't mind getting into Oakland 4-5 hours late as it was early morning, the ferry across to SFO is next door to the train station, and no need for an overnight hotel before starting my journeys southward. I've also taken the Surfliner up to San Luis Obispo and pedaled back. It used to leave Anaheim in the morning (7AM) and get to SLO in the mid-afternoon, but Amtrak being Amtrak the schedule was inconveniently changed so it leaves about noon and gets to SLO after dark. Still not a bad way to go if timeliness isn't a big concern for your trip.
I love trains and love taking them. I think I’ll take the trip as you did! It was so fun! Thank you so much!
Enjoyed your trip report :) I take this all the time! I used to go by megabus but now that I have a little more money and not ever in a rush anymore coast starlight is my go to. Just did in October and have another booked for January. I don’t even sit in my seat just put my bag in the overhead, take out my day bag, and beeline straight for one of those single seats in the view car which are usually open still at emeryville when the long haulers haven’t woke up yet. Put the screens away. Pop in some tunes or a podcast, make some new friends, think about life, and enjoy the views. By far the best way to go between LA and the Bay without a car if you’ve got the money and a day to blow imo. Greyhound sucks compared to that discontinued megabus route. Flying is super stressful and LAX is especially hard to get into/out of.
If you do it again, the smarter way from the Embarcadero Station is to take BART to the Coliseum station, and switch to Amtrak there. The other BART station with a direct connection to Amtrak is the Richmond station (more useful if you're going north or east).
Best way is greyhound down hwy 1/pch. Its about 8 hrs, but rarely full, and you at least get the "true coastal experience" of passage thru big Sur, stopping in all of the little mission towns, and seeing water pretty much the whole time...very relaxing, and stations are centrally located in downtown areas, versus outskirts
When I was in high school, I used to take the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner from LA to SLO (grand parents lived in SLO and I would travel during Spring/Thanksgiving breaks). The trip was always very nice and the only Surfliner Trip to SLO left LA around 3pm and got into SLO around 8pm. That once a day trip timed up perfectly for the sunset along the Vandenburg coast line, and it was always absolutely beautiful. What better than an Air Force base to preserve a section of coastline.
The trip was always easy and yes it took time, but being in High School it gave me a chance to catch up on home work/ school work/ prepare for a midterm.
lol, this first video I watched of his, not even sure why I watched because I've done this trip before, however such a good videographer can turn something so simple into a entertaining great watch. kudos.
Thank you for the wonderful video! Loved the music ❤️