Amtrak Trains in California

For Schedules and Deals, see amtrak.com

Shown is the Amtrak train called Pacific Surfliner, which goes between Los Angeles and San Diego with some stops at this public beach next to the pier in San Clemente, CA. We fondly call it the "beach train". 

The best way to approach taking Amtrak in California is to see if: 1. It goes to your destination, 2. It is cost effective or provides value, or  3. Has offers to places you would visit and explore.

Where does Amtrak go in California?

• 90 destinations in California - Trains with connecting service to Amtrak Thruway buses reach more than 90 places, including all the hot travel destinations such as San Diego, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Sacramento etc.
• Coast Starlight- West Coast daily service from the Bay Area to Seattle, Portland, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles.
• California Zephyr - Departs from the Bay Area (Emeryville) daily for Reno, Salt Lake City, Denver, and Chicago.
• Capitol Corridor - Up to 32 daily trains between Sacramento, the Bay Area, and San Jose. Direct connections to BART are available at the Richmond and Oakland Coliseum Stations. Stops: Auburn - Sacramento - Emeryville - Oakland - San Jose
• San Joaquin - Multiple daily departures from Bay Area and Sacramento to Fresno and Bakersfield along with Amtrak Thruway connections (buses) to Los Angeles and numerous Southern California points.
• Pacific Surfliner - 12 daily round-trip services between San Diego and Los Angeles, and between Santa Barbara and San Diego. Limited stop service on the Express Train runs Monday - Friday at 7:05 am from San Diego to Los Angeles

Except for a few cities such as San Francisco where over 90% of residents are within a few blocks of public transportation, the rest of California languishes, longing for similar options to let someone else do the driving. Tourists often go out of their way to find the public transport connections for California destinations simply because of the expenses of rental cars and hassles of driving. And with gas prices skyrocketing, more locals are exploring their public transportation options as well. Just this past week a class in Temecula advertised that it will teach people how to ride local buses. It takes a little brushing up to learn the "ins and outs" of riding a bus, trolley, ferry or train, but with a look on the Amtrak website and time on your hands, you can begin studying the routes and find out when and where it makes sense to ride the train instead of drive. Sacramento to Yosemite National Park, and Grover Beach to Anaheim, I can attest that the route is extremely popular and definitely worth considering in the the snowy winter months.