How to Traintrek: Free transfers

One advantage of traveling by Amtrak is connecting with local transit systems, making longer journeys easier.

But something many people may not know is that Amtrak's Capitol Corridor passengers can get free transfers to ride local public transit systems.

In fact, you can even get two transfers to make a round trip on local transit: One to take a local bus or train from your Amtrak destination station, and another to get back to that Amtrak station for the trip home. This is not only a great convenience, but it saves money.

In my own case, I often ride Sacramento Regional Transit light rail trains from my neighborhood in East Sacramento to the Amtrak station downtown. I pay out of pocket for the RT ride into the station. But on the ride home aboard Amtrak, I ask for a transfer, so the ride home on RT is free. This saves me as much as $2, not to mention the time and trouble of obtaining that local transit ticket.

It's simple: When you board Amtrak and the conductor asks for your Amtrak ticket, ask him or her for a transfer (or two, if you need it) to use the relevant local transit service. On the Capitol Corridor, this includes Sacramento Regional Transit, AC Transit in the East Bay, VTA in the Santa Clara Valley, WestCAT in Martinez, and others.

For more on the transfer program, click here.

Unfortunately, you cannot get a transfer for BART trains. But you can get a discount on BART fares. For more on that, click here.

Sacramento's historic train station, where transfers to local public transit are easy.

 

2 new hikes available - in Sacramento!

I've just posted two new hiking guides accessible from Amtrak's Sacramento station:

Pedestrian passage from Amtrak station to Old
Sacramento State Historic Park

Sacramento River Parkway - North
Sacramento River Parkway - South

These can also be accessed from "The Map" page, above.

Like all the Traintreks guides, these are available for free on Scribd, where you can print them out, download them to your computer, e-reader or phone.

These two hikes are sort of close to my heart, as they are located in the city where I live. Both are "urban" hikes, but still offer plenty of interesting experiences and natural scenery. And they are super convenient to access from the Amtrak station.

Both hikes will be familiar to many people who live in Sacramento, but probably new to those who don't. They are interesting enough in themselves for a day-trip by train from the Bay Area, but also provide access to plenty of diversions such as museums, shopping and restaurants.

I hope you'll check them out, and please provide any feedback as you do so!

East Bay Parks expansion: Not much for train trekkers

The East Bay Regional Park District this week approved a new master plan that maps out where it intends to acquire new parkland. Unfortunately, there's not much in it for those of us who want to visit parks by train. In fact, I was surprised and disappointed that their map of the plan includes no reference whatsoever to public transit routes, let alone Amtrak in particular.

Here's a screen grab of the map, focusing on the region (in my opinion) with the most hiking potential:

If you know the Amtrak Capital Corridor route, you know it stops in Martinez and Richmond, and nowhere in between. As I noted elsewhere, Amtrak ignores Point Pinole Regional Park, a great hiking destination, even though the train passes right it.

Anyway, back to my point: There are no new park acquisitions (the black diamonds in the map above) planned near the Capitol Corridor. The closest prospect is the site identified as "North Richmond Shoreline," which I don't think is adjacent to the tracks, let alone the station.

The same applies elsewhere on the map, which covers all of Contra Costa and Alameda counties, consistent with the park district's jurisdiction.

The one bright spot is that the district plans a bunch of new trail connectors, which are the dashed purple lines on the map. The most important, from my perspective, are:

• Connections between Carquinez Strait, Crockett Hills, and the East Bay Municipal Utility District Briones-San Pablo reservoir lands. This would open up a massive hiking excursion, effectively connecting the Martinez Amtrak station to the vast string of parklands stop the East Bay hills, stretching almost unbroken to Castro Valley in the south.
• The smaller trail connectors in Richmond, which would make it easier to get from the Richmond train station to places like Point Pinole and Wildcat Canyon Regional Park.
• The long stretches of proposed trail along the San Pablo Bay shoreline, connecting Martinez with Point Pinole along the water's edge (which sounds like a fantastic hike).

I'm hoping these trail connection become a priority.

For more on the East Bay Regional Park District Master Plan, including a link to a full-size version of the map above, click here.

Food seem better on Amtrak lately? Here's why...

In case you wondered, yes, the food has gotten better on Amtrak trains. Long a sore point with regular riders, the food has often been soggy and bland in the past.

Well, Amtrak has been consulting with some of the nation's premier chefs to pump up your train food a little. In fact, Amtrak is trying to "go gourmet," according to this recent Washington Post article.

Amtrak has employed a test kitchen in Wilmington, Del., to try new recipes. Most of the important chefs on its consulting list are from the Washington, D.C., area. The names mean nothing to me, since I'm not a foodie. The important thing is that the new menu items are being rolled out on Amtrak routes nationwide - mainly on the long-distance routes for now.

Another noteworthy point is that the chefs were not paid, at least not directly. Instead, they were offered "miles" in the Amtrak Rewards travel program as compensation. I call this a creative use of an alternate and readily available currency for an agency that is forever under the microscope in Congress.

Cool Capitol Corridor summer travel deal

Amtrak's Capitol Corridor route is offering a tremendous summer deal. Buy one full-price fare to any destination on the Capitol Corridor, and up to five of your friends can ride for only $5 each.

The deal is valid for travel through Sept. 1. It's a great complement for hiking groups traveling by train. It's even valid for folks who want to take Amtrak Thruway bus service to San Francisco.

For all the details (and there are a few restrictions), click here: Amtrak Take 5 fare deal.

Teaser shot

Is it an Alexander Calder sculpture? One leg of an invading spaceship?

No, this is just one of the sights you'll see on the next Capitol Corridor TrainTrek, which I should have posted in a couple days. Stay tuned!

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Trek Tips: The flexible ticket

Not many people know this, but when you buy a ticket to travel on Amtrak's Capitol Corridor, you are not necessarily locked into a particular travel time. As long as the ticket is valid, the conductors will let you travel each leg of your trip at a different time of day than what your purchased ticket says.

This is especially handy during a train trek. Your hike may take longer than you expected. You may want to have dinner at a local restaurant before boarding the train. Or maybe it's a beautiful day, and you just want to stay out longer. No problem: Just catch the next train.

But it's important to be sure there IS a next train. This is why it is essential, at the outset of your trip, to be familiar with the train schedule. For this reason, I always try to have a printed schedule with me while hiking, in case I want to change my plans.

Also, if you happen to travel during busy commute times, be sure and ask a conductor if this flexibility still applies, because trains can be more crowded.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Dogs on Amtrak trains? Yes.

Want to take Amrak on a hiking excursion and bring your dog, too? Forget about it.

Not many people know that Amtrak does not allow pets on trains, whether in the passenger compartment or as checked baggage. This is absurd, given that pets have always been allowed on airlines.

A bill proposed in Congress this week would require Amtrak to let passengers bring their dogs on trains. The bill is by Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Calif., and it's long overdue

The bill includes the following basic limitations, which are quite reasonable:

• One car on each train would be designated for travelers with pets (dogs & cats)
• Pets could travel with passengers in this car if they fit in a portable kennel that conforms with Amtrak's size limits for carryon baggage.
• Larger pets in kennels could travel as checked baggage.
• Pets would be permitted only when the passenger is traveling 750 miles or less.

What I don't find reasonable about the bill is that passengers with pets would have to pay an extra fee. To compensate for what additional expense on Amtrak's part? A fee might make sense for passengers traveling more than 750 miles, and only if that distance limit was also dropped from the bill. Otherwise, drop the fee requirement and move this bill along.

 

Posted with Blogsy

New Amtrak locomotives built in Sacramento

Siemens Rail company will build advanced electric locomotive engines in Sacramento for Amtrak routes in the Northeast. The new engines are capable of 125 mph and are expected to recover 65 percent of their build cost through regenerative electricity production generated during braking. The 70 new engines are expected to be completed by the end of 2014.

(Photo by Randy Pench, Sacramento Bee).

 

 

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Amtrak upgrades Wi-Fi service aboard trains

Even thought Amtrak has long offered passengers free wireless internet service, whereas most airlines offer none, it hasn't been enough for some critics. Lots of people complain the service is spotty and slow.

Well, that should be changing now that Amtrak has upgraded most of its trains, including the Capitol Corridor and other California routes, to broadband-speed Wi-Fi. And it's still totally free.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Feds may close 28 Amtrak routes

Bad news for train travelers: Congress plans to close 28 Amtrak routes unless state governments fork over more subsidy cash. In California, this includes the scenic Pacific Surfliner route between San Luis Obispo and San Diego. On the upside, it looks like most states are stepping forward because they see the economic value in these routes.

 

Posted with Blogsy