June 23, 2008
American Airlines Jet Makes Emergency Landing at LAX
American Flight 442, bound for Miami, made an emergency landing at LAX today after the pilot "reported smoke and the smell of fuel in the cockpit." Egads.
All passengers are safe, according to CBS 5/AP, but it seems that "the plane was carrying hazardous material in its forward cargo area," which... isn't that unusual? Anyway, whether or not the material was the source of the smoke has yet to be confirmed.
This brings up a good question: Amtrak trains, yes or no? We've been meaning to take one down to SoCal, but are the classy? Or, well, klassy? Please advise.
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Amtrak trains = YES! as long as the trip is under 5 hours. Anything more than that and you are crusin for a serious bruising.
Can't wait til we find out who was smuggling the now-very overpriced jet fuel.....
Amtrak trains = NO. They take forever to get anywhere and the food cart costs an arm and a leg for some bunk food. Takes like 8-10 hours to get to LA on Amtrak. We need that damn high speed rail!!
They are only classy if you splurge. Private cabin on the Coast Starlight is very romantic. Regular seats? Why would you want to spend more time than necessary in plain old public transpo?
Fuck that. I was coming back from Riverside and it took THIRTEEN HOURS to get to downtown SF. And that's what was planned; there were no delays or anything. Three hour bus ride to Bakersfield, train the Emeryville, bus back to SF. I got off the bus as soon as it stopped because I couldn't stand it any more. I may have actually kneeled down and kissed Market St.
I'd consider it with the understanding that getting there is part of the trip. I'm considering taking a week or two off and taking the train to or from Chicago next time I go, but I'd flat-out skip a trip to SoCal if I had to take Amtrak.
If I can, I wanna give a shout to the CA High Speed Rail blog. Now THAT's something I could take to LA: http://cahsr.blogspot.com/
Yeah, it really depends on where you're trying to go and where you're leaving from - from here to the LA area it does take ~12hrs, and you may have to get off in Bakersfield and take a bus the rest of the way. However, the train itself is not Greyhound, and that counts for something.
If you're doing Coast Starlight or Pacific Surfliner (neither of which leaves from the Bay Area-proper from what I understand, at least not without taking a bus), then go for it, it's a beautiful ride.
I've taken the Coast Starlight a couple times, and yes, it is a very, very beautiful ride, but it does take about 12 hours. Although, last couple times I drove to LA it took 10 hours because 3 to 4 of those hours were wasted sitting in LA traffic jams. I hear that nowadays, there is no "rush hour" in SoCal because it's ALWAYS jammed. Considering gas prices Amtrak could be a lot cheaper and way less stressful. Just pack your own PB&J sandwich before boarding on the train.
Amtrak = booo
California High Speed Rail = YES!!!
Face it, we Californians do things better. So we owe it to ourselves to build our own friggin superior rail system and stop relying on outdated half subsidized federal government companies.
http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD1QGNsRg74
don't forget to pack a well-concealed bottle of tequila along with those PBJ's, sluggy!
Looks liek the bus voyage via Bakersfield is a few hours shorter (9 hr) than the bus voyage via Santa Barbara:
http://tickets.amtrak.com
Just as if you are going to Venice, Italy, the only proper way is to arrive by water, the only proper way to arrive in Bakersfield is by bus.
Not until high-speed rail coems along. if it's going to take more than 5 hours to get to LA from here, I'd rather be on my own schedule and in my own vehicle. And I allow smoking and drinking in my car!
YES TAKE THE COAST STARLIGHT =D
If you want to go rail the whole way from SF, take Caltrain to Diridon in San Jose and get on the Coast Starlight from there. If you don't mind a short bus trip, you can book on an Amtrak bus from SF, which will take you to the Emeryville station where you can board the Starlight.
The Coast Starlight is the only direct rail service to L.A. from the bay area. All other routes that Amtrak will book for you will involve the San Joaquins to Bakersfield and the bus from there, or bus to San Luis Obispo and the Pacific Surfliner from there.
The latter two are both commuter-style trains. The Coast Starlight, however, is their long-haul Superliner. The seats are *HUGE*, have extending legrests just like first-class airline seats, and are generally super-comfy. The trip takes a long time (several hours longer than driving), but it's very, very comfortable, with a restaurant on board and plenty of places to walk around and drink booze and chat with people. =)
I've ridden the Coast Starlight from Seattle to LA. Takes *FOREVER*. Do it again when I can fly in 2 hours? Absolutely not!
Amtrak is hit or miss. Some lines, like the Cascades line between Eugene, OR and Vancouver, BC totally rock. Others, like the Coast Starlight are fine if you have like 20 extra hours to spare. The Coast Starlight operates much of its route on rails owned by Union Pacific and although under the terms of its contract with Amtrak, UP is supposed to move freight trains out of the way so passenger trains can speed on by, they never do. Coast Starlight is always, always, always late. Late as in hours upon hours late. Like I said, this is fine if you have time to kill. Rail is the most interesting and comfortable way to travel. You can always meet folks and have plenty of drinks while on board. However, as a quick and efficient means of travel between SF and LA - forget it. Not until we build the HSR will there be legitimate direct rail travel between the Bay Area and "The Southland."
I urge all you annoying people to vote yes on the bond measure for HSR that will be on the ballot this November. Only a moron would consider HSR to be a bad idea.
TAYM - you had me at annoying.
*swoons*
Why does it take a train 22 hours to go from SF to Seattle?
Why does it cost $135 ONE WAY?
How is Amtrak still in business?
I think after 10hrs or so, I'd be tired of expensive railroad drinks. Unless it's some sort of crazy orgy train, I'm pretty sure I'd be bored. I'd probably even get bored of the Crazy Orgy Train after 15-16 hours too. Plus I guess you're shelling out cash for 2-3 meals while you're there too? I don't know, none of this beats a Southwest flight, even considering the shit you deal with in an airport these days and the increasing fares.
I just did the Coast Starlight to LA last weekend. It is 12 hours, can be late and the food sucks.....BUT I had a great trip. Keys to success?
Go with someone you like, or a great book
I traveled on the longest day of the year- almost all trip in daylight so you can see the beautiful scenery
Have no plans the night you get into LA. We stayed at the Biltmore (LA's version of the Palace) for $118. You can take the subway from Union Station to the hotel. How SF in LA is that?
PACK YOUR OWN PROVISIONS- Wine, snacks, cold roast chicken- buy beer on train when your own booze runs out
Grab seats in the lounge car, under the glass roof and be social
Expect the train to be late- the Starlight is famous for its fate resting in the hands of freight trains
Remember you're going for the experience, not because it's the smartest way to go
FINALLY- Fly home.
This is all about the Starlight. The Capitols to Sacramento are much better, including the cafe car food and beer selection, and the Cascades between Portland and Seattle are a joy.
"Coast Starlate", otherwise known as "the train from hell."
According to NARP, the issues with the Coast Starlight running excessively late has been mostly resolved. Ditto for the Zephyr, which I take 4 or 5 times a year to Reno with few issues each ways.
Most of the delays are actually from track work, which is now done, though being sidetracked by UP may leave your trip a little bit late, but the schedule often buffers for those types of events.
HSR would be nice, but we don't need it right away: conventional diesel trains can go 90+MPH. We just need to improve the tracks to handle this "normal" speed and put in more sidings for the (booming industry!) freight trains.
Vacuum tubes, idiots! A vast system of vacuum tubes! Do I have to draw you a picture? Or catapults, I don't care.
The Zephr is a terrible ride, especially when their on-time rate is like 10%. Blame the owners of the tracks for delaying the system.
Might be useful when going to Reno since it leaves from its starting point in Emeryville, but the return trip... you might want to bring extra cash to gamble at a nearby casino until the train arrives LATE.
As for the food and drinks, if you sleep in a sleeper, your meals is covered.
The "Reno Fun Train" also provides food on some of their group trips.
pdx6:
NARP LIES!!!
Also re: HSR - you don't know what you're talking about.
TAYM: [Citation Required]. Oh yeah, this is the internet, we don't use citations here.
Also, I suggest we forget about HSR and use Maglev tubes:
http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2004-04/trans-atlantic-maglev
Akit: Ontime rate is not 10%. You can check ontime rates for the last week of trains on Amtrak's site.
it's inexcusable, insofar as my personal comfort goes, that the trains should take so long. i was once going to take one from, ugh, oakland to malibu to san juan capistrano, but the quickest route would have taken over 12 hours and started at 1 a.m.
Brock,
This reminds me of Back to the Future III:
[Marty and Doc are asking how fast the train could go]
Marty McFly: Do you think it’s possible to get it up to… 90?
Engineer: Ha! 90? Tarnation, son, who’d ever need to be in such a hurry?
Where are you in such a hurry to be, Brock? Bring a spare battery and blog from the train (or find the super secret outlet in the snack car).
pdx6: Citation for what? I don't need to give you a citation for I am the Angry Young Man. Anyone who asks me for a citation is just bowing down to the patriarchy.
Those trans-Atlantic maglev tubes are INSANE! Why bother? Just bring back the Concorde and round up the NIMBY bitches who whine about the noise and lock them up without proper due process for supporting "the Terror." In fact, round up anyone who opposes major transportation projects I like and accuse them of aiding and abetting "the Terror." Then, ship them off to Guantanamo never to be seen or heard from again. No fuss, no muss! Fast travel across the Atlantic solved, high speed rail across all of California, annoying people dispensed with, I'm totally happy. Yay.
Call me crazy dog lady, but when Amtrak allows me to bring my dog along, like the airlines do, then I'd consider taking a train. Until then, trip sans dog? It's jet fuel for me.
And I can't be the only one.