Pacific Surfliner
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Pacific Surfliner | |
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| A Pacific Surfliner at the former Santa Fe train depot in San Diego. | |
| Info | |
| Type | Inter-city rail |
| System | Amtrak |
| Terminals | San Diego, California San Luis Obispo, California |
| Operation | |
| Opened | June 1, 2000 |
| Owner | SDNR, BNSF, SCRRA, San Diego Metropolitan Transit System, UP (track) |
| Operator(s) | Amtrak |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 350 miles (560 km) |
| Gauge | 4 ft 8½ in (1,435 mm) |
The Pacific Surfliner is a 350-mile (563 km) Amtrak passenger train route serving communities on the coast of Southern California between San Diego and San Luis Obispo. It is the second-busiest rail route in the Amtrak system after the Northeast Corridor[1][2], and recovers 59.1% of its operating expenses through ticket sales.[3]
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[edit] Route
On the northernmost part there are two trains per day in each direction; on the stretch from Los Angeles to San Diego, a little less than one per hour. Thruway Motorcoach connections are available between Santa Barbara and Paso Robles during hours when that part of the Coast Line track is in use by freight trains. The route is named after the Santa Fe Railroad's (now owned by Southern California Regional Rail Authority) Surf Line. Over the years, the number of trains and passengers on the route has increased greatly; in the late 1970s there were only three round trips daily between Los Angeles and San Diego.
Because neither San Diego, San Luis Obispo, nor Goleta is equipped with a useable wye or a turntable, trains running on the Pacific Surfliner are arranged so that the last car (the cab car) is one equipped with engineer controls, so that the train can be operated in either direction, allowing for a quick turnaround. This is known as a "Push-pull" configuration. Before the cab cars were used on the line, the trains were wyed in San Diego for their return trip. Los Angeles Union Station is a stub off the mainline which means trains leave Los Angeles facing the opposite direction that they enter. The locomotive is at the rear of the train, "pushing" the train from Goleta to Los Angeles. At Los Angeles, the train "backs into" the station, and, upon departing the locomotive "pulls" the train to San Diego. Currently a project is being prepared for run-through tracks at Union Station.[4]
The entire trip from San Luis Obispo to San Diego is 350 miles (563 kilometers), and takes eight and a half hours. Much of the Pacific Surfliner's scenic route follows the Pacific coast although trains travel inland through industrial backlots and expansive farmlands to traverse the Los Angeles Basin and San Fernando Valley. The Pacific Surfliner operates 11 daily trains each way between Los Angeles and San Diego on weekdays and 12 trains each way on weekends.
Pacific Surfliner trainsets usually consist of an EMD F59PHI locomotive, a business class car, a cafe car with coach seating, two coach cars, and a Cab Control Car equipped with coach seating, a checked baggage space, and engineer controls. During holiday seasons or days of heavy ridership extra cars may be added. As of late, at least one Superliner Coach or Coach/Baggage car will often be added to the Surfliner trainsets just before the Surfliner's Cab Car. All but one of the Pacific Surfliner trains consist of double-decker California (II) Cars which are similar to, but not the same as, Superliner cars; the remaining train uses Amtrak's older single-level Horizon Fleet cars. Amtrak has led many passengers to believe that all routes are operated by the Surfliner trainset, passengers have become upset due to the fact that the Horizon Fleet cars lack many of the services typically found on Surfliner Bi level trains. Most cars are equipped with 120v power outlets for laptops or other electronic devices. All Amtrak California trains, including the Pacific Surfliner, use the same design of cars. The Pacific Surfliner trains are painted in a blue and silver livery that is unique to this line.
The Pacific Surfliner is usually on time however the last train south (Train 796) may be held up to one hour if Train 11 (the Coast Starlight) from Seattle is delayed.
Though operated by Amtrak, the Pacific Surfliner is primarily financed through funds made available by the State of California Department of Transportation and is operated under the Amtrak California brand.
Beginning in March 1938, under the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad, and later under Amtrak until the late 1990s, this same service was called the San Diegan.
[edit] Timetable and route notes
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Amtrak's Thruway Motorcoach connects passengers from Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo to Solvang, Buellton, Atascadero and Paso Robles.[5]
The Pacific Surfliner runs southbound as even-numbered trains and northbound with odd numbers. Trains with numbers beginning in 5 run only between San Diego and Los Angeles; numbers beginning in 7 are assigned to trains that run north to Goleta or San Luis Obispo (most continuing through Los Angeles to San Diego) and are known as Central Coast Pacific Surfliners. Some 700-series trains have numbers which echo their ancestor's numbers. For instance, trains 798 and 799 are so numbered in memory of Southern Pacific Railroad trains 98 and 99, the Coast Daylight. In the early 2000s the Chatsworth stop initially was only served by a few trips. It proved popular and now all trains that go north of Los Angeles serve it.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Amtrak (2006-03-29). Monthly Performance Report for January 2006 (PDF).
- ^ National Railroad Passenger Corporation (October 26, 2006). "Amtrak Ticket Revenue Tops $1.37 Billion Setting a New Record". Press release.
- ^ Bronte, William D. (2007-08-15). FY 2006-07 4th Quarter Rail Operations Report (PDF). State of California Department of Transportation.
- ^ Los Angeles Union Station Run-Through Tracks Project (PDF). Federal Railroad Administration. Retrieved on 2007-10-30.
- ^ Amtrak (2007-04-02). Pacific Surfliner timetable (PDF). Retrieved on 2007-06-15.
[edit] External links
- Amtrak - Pacific Surfliner
- Amtrak California--a partnership of Caltrans and Amtrak
- LOSSAN Board--composed of local elected officials from the Pacific Surfliner corridor that coordinates planning and programs to increase ridership, revenue, reliability, and safety on the coastal rail line
- Amtrak's January 2006 Monthly Performance Report, which lists the ridership of each Amtrak route on page 26
 Northbound Pacific Surfliner Cab Car crosses Carlsbad Village Dr. in Carlsbad. |
 Southbound Pacific Surfliner crosses Agua Hedionda Lagoon in Carlsbad. |
 Northbound Pacific Surfliner in Solana Beach. |
 View from the Pacific Surfliner near Oceanside. |
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