What the Hell is Wrong wih the 784? Making the case for the 582

A guest post by DLD

Now I don’t consider myself an investigative reporter (so this should be considered one of the investigative report series), but I would like to give anecdotal support to GNS’s premise that the 784 is going downhill and the 582 is now the preferred train. I am the ex-daily hour-each-way commuter that is now a some-weeks Monday north, Friday south commuter that is also in the hall of fame. Can you follow that? If not, go find my previous guest post to figure what it all means.

A year or more ago (back when I was a daily regular) I would argue with GNS that the 582 was a better choice than the 784 on Friday nights. We did some experiments, and Greg was unconvinced. I will admit that we had some bad experiences on the 582 and some good ones on the 784. But now it looks like I was right after all.

Recently my schedule has pretty much required that I take the 784 from LA to my normal stop in San Diego County. But today I got to LA in time to catch the 582, and what a joyous experience it has been. My good friend ALH was on, which was a pleasant surprise. Plus the rest of the people hanging in the Café were a hoot.

Let’s compare:

It looks to me like GNS’s premise is correct. The 582 is a better choice. I hope I can start making it more often.

Social Rejects on the Train

Most of the train passengers are made up of ordinary tourists and commuters. But it unfortunately attracts a small set of people with "issues". These are people that have a hard time interacting in society without confrontations. Perhaps once every three months these escalate to a point where the problem person gets evicted from the train. Today we saw two of these cases occur within just one hour! On the 784 of course.

Case #1. So this guy is flirting with the LSA. Its quiet conversation and most of us regulars don't notice much except that he's standing at the cafe counter for maybe 15 minutes chatting. He walks away and we hear "CONDUCTOR TO THE CAFE CAR" - the distress call of an LSA needing security assistance. Apparently he punched the next male customer that walked up to the counter (jealous?). And tried to kiss the LSA twice. They threw him off. Strange guy. He looked nervous as the conductor explained this was a "federal train" and he was lucky the guy he punched wasn't pressing charges.


Case #2: This one (photo below) is  a more typical (social reject). Guy walks up to the LSA and asks for information including how many cars are on the train. She knows the Cafe car is #2 but not the exact number of cars.He gets belligerent and throws out the word "bitch".  "CONDUCTOR TO THE CAFE CAR - AGAIN". He's gone.

Case #2: (guy with glasses and shorts)

The good news? 784 was actually on time today.

Good Job Amtrak

Lest one think all we do is complain on this blog, I thought it only fair to point out some positive news. The 784 has been on time pretty much the last couple of weeks. (I hope this doesn't jinx it). This photo shows the train flying into the Irvine station at 6:09 pm.today.

And another thing to appreciate - as gas rapidly approaches $5/gallon, Surfliner tickets have not gone up one cent. With any luck Amtrak corporate won't have time to react before fuel prices start going down again.

Increased Ridership Can Be Bad For Business

Amtrak is on pace to set a new ridership record this year based on it's latest press release. This is good news from the standpoint of overall interest in the rail system. Hopefully it spurs a new era of track improvements and system efficiency. In the meantime, it means more crowded trains and complaints from both regular riders and tourists.

The following photos document a rare, but increasing problem. This is the record of my horrific ride home on 3/18/11.

Picture #1 could be a shot of a Tokyo commuter train (not actually, but you get the point). There were not enough seats for riders. There was not enough standing room either.

Picture #2 shows the riders who were fortunate to make it on the train, but unfortunate enough to have been stranded on the stairwell.  I was shocked to see a conductor make his way through this to punch tickets.  So were some of these people who voiced their displeasure.

Then to add insult to injury, I made my way to the bar only to find it had no beer!

Not a happy commuter...

This particular train did not accept new passengers till Irvine, so I am sure the next one (2.5 hours behind it) was just as joyful.

How Will Amtrak Be Impacted By A Government Shutdown?

With all of the news floating around about the potential for a federal government shutdown, a question came to mind. How will Amtrak be impacted by a government shutdown?

Although Amtrak receives significant government subsidies, the expectation based on a brief article in the USA Today is that the system will continue to operate as normal with ticket revenue providing adequate operating cash flow for a short period of time.

Good news for commuters who want to get to work, but you may want to share this information selectively if you plan on using the shutdown as an excuse to "work" from home.

It's Back!

I am shocked to find out that the ridiculously good tasting Jalapeño Burger (I also understand that it is ridiculously good for you) has found its way back into the refrigerator of the Sea View Cafe. I am not sure if this is the result of Amtrak actually listening to the voice of the customer, or if they are simply trying to unload stock prior to expiration. I don't really care what the reason is, all that matters is that it is back.

Please be sure to enjoy the best food on the Amtrak rail system while it is still here. Just be kind enough to leave one for this friendly commuter on Fridays.

763 Power Spot

The Surfliner Cafe car has 4 tables and seats  11. One of these tables is by far the superior position for the following reasons:
1. Is a single seat with its own table.
2. Has an AC power outlet - the only one available.
3. Good viewing angle  on the coast side of the train.

Like elementary school there is a defacto seating chart on the 763. The power spot goes to a regular with seniority in terms of most miles/year. If that regular is "working from home" on a given day the next senior person  takes it.

One thing that can completely hose this up are non-regulars that get on early in downtown San Diego. Most of us get on in Solana Beach or later. We seldom have the heart to kick out the tourists. Generally speaking they eventually move on their own out of discomfort.

In case you might forget where you are sitting, Amtrak has thoughtfully numbered the 4 tables. And of course the power spot is table # 1. Please respect the seating chart the next time you ride.

 

Amtrak Salad

The menu at the Sea View Cafe is always changing. Most of the changes involve a shift/increase in price, but every now and then you witness a wholesale change to the menu. Case in point is the recent shift to a more fresh menu that eliminated the infamous Jalapeño Burger and inserted such culinary treats as the Spicy Tuna Ball (I think they have sold 2 to date). Here is a link to the old menu, which is oddly still being listed as the official menu on the Amtrak website.

One thing remains constant throughout these changes, and that is the presence of the building blocks of an Amtrak Salad. It isn't on the menu directly, but if you follow these simple steps, you too can enjoy this healthy treat.

Step 1: Procure one of the cardboard boxes used in the Sea View Cafe to transport large food and drink orders. This box is one of the few free items you will find on Amtrak.

Step 2: Purchase at least 3 bags of snack food. You can chose from such delicacies as Lay's Potato Chips, Doritos, salted peanuts, pretzels, or the hugely popular Cheetos Cheese Snacks. Be sure to also pick up the crouton of the Amtrak Salad, otherwise known as the Peanut M&M's.

Step 3: Open all bags and dump the contents into the cardboard box, mix thoroughly, add M&M's. You should end up with a salad similar to the picture below.

Step 4: Enjoy with some friends.

California Seats Not So Cool

Every once in awhile when we board the 763 train at Solana Beach we are greeted by the depressing site of the California seat. Hope you don’t want to relax or stretch out. Instead of reclining, the lower lumbar portion of this seat will thrust your hips forward, pushing your knees into the seat in front of you! There should be a warning when boarding this train; “If you’re taller than a seven year old, we’re sorry; Thanks for riding the Caltrans \ Amtrak experiment.” After doing extensive research the Surf liner blog has learned that this seat was the result of Caltrans spending your tax dollars to improve on what Amtrak has been doing for years. Why would Caltrans by trains for Amtrak? If it was to subsidize; was it really necessary to turn Amtrak into the Metro?

Amtrak Surfliner Goes Green

The Surfliner cafe car is very small. It holds 4 tables and seats 11 people. The rest of the space is occupied by the food storage/selling area and the humongous ADA compliant restroom. Between the restroom and the first table sits a cardboard trash container. This thing is bulky and gets in the way of people and things.

Recently Amtrak decided to add a second bulky container specifically for recycling. Note the care taken to provide special slots for bottles (e.g. Arrogant Bastard), cans, newspapers and magazines. We guessed the concept was to keep item types  separate and minimize the sorting process for the recycler. That's why we were surprised, after lifting the lid, to find that this is the same old big giant box with no separate compartments.This is so silly it had to be done by committee. Reminds me of another classic invention.

Daylight Losing Time - Yet Another Late Train

The 763 train was late this morning. I have a theory about Amtrak. It operates like a very fragile system. In engineering terms it lacks robustness or redundancy. Or put simply it takes very little to put it out of whack. And with the onset of daylight savings time last night I knew that was all it would take to create a delay, for some reason.

The photo to the left shows  the Solana Beach regulars, at 6:43am, about two minutes before scheduled arrival on a normal day. This morning the picture would appear a bit darker both literally and figuratively as we waited anxiously to see if the train would even show up. These late trains seem to occur in spells in which a week or two with several late trains will occur. The good news is the 763 did show at about 7:02 am. Seventeen minutes late is not too bad. It even made up some of the delay by time it hit Irvine. Let's hope we're out of this spell of late trains for now.