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Oakland to Caltrain Expertise?

2007-03-21T14:35:46Z

Hello.

In the months to come, my partner and I will be seeking a home in the Oakland Area. My job is in Oakland, his is near the San Carlos Caltrain station. He is game for a longer commute with minimal transfers. Below I've noted what it seems our options are. If anyone has thoughts or experience related to this, we'd love to hear about it :)

--the Dublin/Pleasanton Bart goes all the way to Millbrae, then he easily gets the Caltrain at Millbrae. This looks like the least transfers and biggest no-brainer solution. (we'd live near the Lake Merritt BART... I guesss he could do one more BART transfer, if we lived near Rockridge or something)
--It looks like Oakland buses do go to SF, but not necessarily near, say, the 4th and King Caltrain station... (help?)
--It doesnt look like the Amtrak train thing is particularly helpful to our cause, but maybe someone knows something I dont?

posted in Bay Area Trains - 1 reply

Bicycles on Trains

2006-12-30T22:01:26Z

After a bike tour this summer I wanted to take the #11
LA -> Seattle train. It required Bicycle disassembly.

Recently I took the Capitol Corridor to Sac, they have bike racks and I was very happy. It makes great sense to have a bicycle and public trans work together. So, what trains have easy bicycle access.

BART - Yes
Capitol Corridor - Yes
Amtrak #11 - No
Others - ?

posted in Bay Area Trains - 4 replies

Joyriding trains. Anyone do it?

2006-10-04T07:54:41Z

I have a student who is interested in studying a phenomenom he calls "joyriding" on the CTA (Chicago Transit). He thinks it might be an important use of the train system during off-peak hours, but at the same time, joyriders might scare people?

Does anyone do this or can anyone offer me a perspective on it? (thanks, nana)

posted in Bay Area Trains - 4 replies

Beer on the train

2006-04-10T16:44:22Z

This Sunday proved to be the exception to the rule ( I thought you couldn't bring alcohol on the train) Anyway, First we headed down to the SF Giants game me and my nephew which was GREAT fun we left during the fifth to catch the train back to SJ to go to the SHARKS game ( I am a Great Aunt ) Well, the big bummer was both ways we saw and had to endure some rather rowdy individuals who brought at least three twelve packs with them ....

While we moved away from the raucous, the train coming back was delayed because the police "had to take care of someone". Fortunately, both games were good and overall fun riding the train (and cheap!)

What's up with the beer?

posted in Bay Area Trains - 0 replies

An Interesting Bay Area Amtrak Train/Bus Option

2005-07-12T15:40:40Z

I hate going to L.A. in one day, and yet I'm burnt out on doing the San Juaqin route and then spending the night in boring Bakersfield. But being mentally ill, I cannot get up in the mornings in time to take the Coast Starlight to L.A. So then what to insomniac train buffs do? Well, I could take Greyhound, except that Greyhound sucks, and so I only do it as a last resort. The people on there are scary, well, no scarier than me; but you know how that goes, even scary people don't want to see each other and are hoping to be among non-scary people. Plus then I hate Green Tortoise to L.A., because the bus has no bathroom. True they stop every four hours, but some of us old guys with bad bladders cannot wait four hours. True they'll stop the bus for people who need to go, but then one is publically having to annoy everyone because one can't hold one's pee, so then what?

Here's a neat one: If you live in SF, you take Cal-Train to San Jose, thus bypassing all that silly Emeryville transfer point, where you take a bus to the East Bay only to get on a train and take it back to the same side of the bridge you came from when you arrive in San Jose. Anyway, you get off at San Jose and then catch an Amtrak bus that does a six-hour night run to San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara. One spends the night at either point, thus having a nice little evening on the Amtrak bus, at San Luis Obispo if you just got a couple hundred from relatives in Christmas money, and, if one just got a total yuppie job but just hates cars, then one can go all the way in to Santa Barbara and pay $300 per night.

Then, the next day, from most of the central coast joints starting from Paso Robles on down, and a lot of folks, including myself didn't really get this, there are commuter trains called Pacific Surfliners that go all the way, in some cases from Paso Robles to San Diego for a very modest price, and they don't smell like the Starlight and other three-day trip trains do; (Since most multi-day trains only have showers that are practical for the sleeper car class. One could manage a shower from coach, but it's not pretty. So then the Surfliners have the advantage of getting one from just South of the Bay Area all the way practically to Mexico one a single, breezy day-train with great scenery the whole way.

posted in Bay Area Trains - 1 reply

Baby Bullet

2004-06-20T23:04:09Z

Is anyone here taking the CalTrain Baby Bullet trains
along the San Jose-San Francisco line?

I drive a shuttle bus at the Hillsdale station, and my
passengers who take the Baby Bullets have nothing
but praise for them.

posted in Bay Area Trains - 0 replies

Newly carless

2004-03-05T17:02:12Z

After a meaningful eleven year relationship, the longest most stable relationship I have ever had, I sold my bug (see my main photo). I am now one of you.

Took the Capitol Corridor twice in the last two months. It is really a convinient, nice, cheap, line. I am walking distance from the Oakland stations. The first return trip Sac-> Oak in Dec, the train was two hours late. Suck!

posted in Bay Area Trains - 3 replies

[OT} Train wreck

2004-03-01T06:06:55Z

True story:

Three or so years ago, I flew into Burbank. Across the street is the Amtrak platform where I had hoped to take the train Burbank -> Oxnard. The schedule was tight. I raced from the plane to the station platform where I missed the train. The next one was in an hour.

After 90 minutes or so, and a big crowd standing around, somehow, someone found out there were problems, and the train would not be running.

Long story short, I took a taxi to Oxnard Amtrak, I bitched and moaned and finally they paid the taxi drive (standing there waiting patiently) around $100.00.

Come to find out the train I just missed, hit and killed a couple of folks in a truck, the train derailed and lot's of passengers got hurt.

There was a bad Kurt Russell film (I think) where he was in a plane wreck and survived without a scratch, and it changed his life, I kind felt like it was a brush with something. And I always remember how petty and upset I was at simply missing a train.

--Chris

posted in Bay Area Trains - 0 replies

CalTrain

2004-02-13T08:26:16Z

Reply to this thread to discuss the San Francisco to San Jose/Gilroy service. Looking forward to the end of weekend buses and the "Baby Bullets"? How's about that new Millbrae station? Used the Palo Alto bikestation? Does the SJ airport shuttle from Santa Clara really work? How about the trolley connection at the stop just south of Diridon? Share your experiences here.

Raines

posted in Bay Area Trains - 7 replies

Anyone Tried The Altamont Commuter Express?

2004-01-21T02:45:00Z

I took it once. It was pretty expensive, but sharp looking, although ending up in the bad part of Stockton at sunset was a bit disconcerting.

posted in Bay Area Trains - 5 replies

Capitol Corridor

2003-12-03T10:59:03Z

Reply here to discuss the Sacramento-to-Emeryville/Oakland/San Jose Amtrak service.

posted in Bay Area Trains - 4 replies