I’m planning to take California Zephyr after New Year but not all the way until Emeryville, want to stop in Lake Tahoe. I found one of the closest transportation drop off is South Lake Tahoe (SLH) bus stop.
Question: what’s the best way to get from California Zephyr line to SLH?
I cannot find any available route that goes to SLH on Amtrak website. I also wouldn’t be driving because I don’t have an international driving license
##Amtrak to Finish California HSR
May 2029 - Secretary of Transportation, Vern Buchanan
###California High-Speed Rail Issues
The California HSR Project was originally slated to finish in 2033, however ballooning costs and property right issues have made this project extremely difficult to complete. As of 2029, the expected completion is 2039, and the project has already been going on for quite some time. Only sections of the route have been complete, and so far none of it is connected.
The primary issue is that of eminent domain. The State of California has been wary of using public funds to relocate its own residents, and this has caused significant delays, and the delays have created a salary burden that keeps increasing costs. Amtrak has been quite successful in its implementation of an HSR system on the East Coast, which President DeSantis would like to see replicated in high-population areas to generate tourism and business growth. California, as it already has an ongoing failing project, is a great place to start. Secretary Buchanan, in conjunction with the President have created a business plan to have Amtrak receive a DOT grant to buyout the CHSR project, and use federal power to eminent domain the remaining necessary properties by force. It is California after-all, DeSantis isn't particularly worried about lost love. Amtrak has been awarded an $80 Bn grant to cover the purchase of CHSR, which will then just become part of Amtrak Acela, the line itself will continue to be called California High-Speed Rail. Using the power of federal eminent domain, the Department of Transportation believes it can be completed by 2033- the original timeline. This 2033 completion date will also include the Brightline West extension to Las Vegas.
Checking one off the bucket list.
Hello! Originally from Singapore, I’m currently on a month long vacation, having hopped my way through Germany, the UK and Canada now. Looking to make my way over to the US once the border reopens on November 8th. Looking to check out NYC and D.C hopefully before going to Chicago to take Amtrak’s 52 hour California Zephyr cross country train all the way to San Francisco!
A travel partner would be amazing to check out any of the places I’ve listed above and/or to ride the train together! Imagine passing through the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada mountains and over the Mississippi River and right into the Moffat Tunnel… I really need to make this happen.
Looking to travel after November 8, pretty flexible on traveling dates. Hoping to wrap everything up and be in California by end Nov so I can fly home to Singapore.
Edit: I just realized my title might make it seem like the Pacific Surfliner was "The Good", the Coast Starlight was "The Bad", and the California Zephyr was "The Ugly", but that was not the case. Those were just the trains I was planning on traveling on, and the whole experience had good, bad, and ugly aspects.
Prologue: The plan was to travel from our (2 adults, 1 child and 1 infant) home near San Diego to Chicago. The first leg was on July 31st on the Pacific Surfliner from Oceanside (in coach) with a transfer to the Coast Starlight in LA (also coach), arriving in Emeryville that night and staying in a hotel. The next day, Aug 1st, we were to depart on the California Zephyr from Emeryville for Chicago (in a family bedroom), arriving two days later.
Several days before our journey began I saw on here that the California Zephyr had been unable to travel past Grand Junction. I contacted Amtrak and a representative told me that our train would in fact be able to make it through all the way to Chicago.
The Good: We left Oceanside early on a Saturday. The train arrived a few minutes early which was very helpful, considering we had a stroller, car seats,and lots of luggage to get on the train. The trip to Los Angeles was uneventful but comfortable, we were still pretty tired from getting up early to get to the train station.
Once we got to LA, all the attendants were very helpful and friendly. We got our bags checked to Emeryville (couldn't check them in Oceanside since they don't have bag check) and back on the train no problem.
The Coast Starlight was awesome! The views and experience were great, especially after the train passed Santa Barbara where most of the passengers got off. Even being in coach we were very comfortable. It was especially nice being able to walk around with the kids, and I was shortly convinced that train travel is the best method of travel.
Upon arriving in Emeryville we checked in our bags for Chicago and went to our hotel for the night. We weren't able to check our car seats since we would need those for the car ride to and from the hotel. The plan was to check those in the morning.
The Bad: We arrived back at the Emeryville station the next morning about 50 minutes before the train was to depart. There was a long line of people waiting to check-in/check bags, but I was not worried since worst case, we could just carry the car seats on to the train.
As we were waiting in line an announcement went over the loudspeakers saying
... keep reading on reddit ➡
I've heard many times that the most successful Amtrak route is the Northeast Corridor. Are the routes that go up and down the West Coast successful as well, or not?
