Train Travel: A Great Way to Go in Southern California and America

How was your Memorial Day weekend travel experience?  For many Americans, it meant dealing with traffic congestion and airport indignities.  For those of us who were able to choose train travel, it was a much more dignified, relaxing experience.

I took Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner from Los Angeles Union Station to San Diego recently.  As one who has grown up in Southern California, the passenger train revolution that’s taken place here in recent years as been a welcome change from crowded freeways.

L.A. Union Station has been transformed in the past several years from nearly dead to the busiest train station west of Chicago.  It is now a busy hub of all types of rail travel, from local light rail to the Chicago-bound Southwest Chief.  At Union Station it is possible to transfer to the L.A. Metro Rail system and take the train to Hollywood, Pasadena, and Los Angeles.  L.A. Metrolink commuter rail provides connections throughout the area’s suburbs.  Similar connections are available in San Diego on its light rail and commuter train system.  These kinds of connections are called “intermodal”, and they make rail travel all the more attractive.

Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner is one of America’s great train rides.  Much of it along the ocean and a great alternative to driving the I-5, it whisks you to San Diego and Santa Barbara from Los Angeles in about two hours and forty-five minutes, often faster than driving and with none of the hassles.  People from all walks-of-life took the train, from business people to students to seniors to families young and old.  It connects communities large and small in California, places that the discount airlines bypass.  And did I mention the ocean views!

Americans want more passenger trains.  A Harris Poll was released a few months ago that confirmed that Americans want to see more trains accommodating our transportation needs than any other mode, especially more car and airline travel.  Given the current state of gas prices, is this any wonder?  Amtrak’s routes, both the shorter “corridor” services and the long distance routes, provide travel not just to big cities, but also to many small towns where air travel is either very expensive or non-existent.

Unfortunately, many in government just don’t get it.  Just a few weeks ago the Secretary of Transportation released a study on congestion that never mentions passenger trains.  And despite widespread support for more trains, Amtrak struggles for support from Congress and the Administration while our aviation and highway systems are heavily invested into.

Help put America back on track!  We need more investment in Amtrak and passenger rail.  Contact your Congressional representatives and let them know you want Amtrak to receive its full appropriation this year.

-Dennis Lytton
NARP At-Large Board Member
Los Angeles, CA