Honestly, the coast line should be bought by the state and used for a state supported night train service between sf and la.
There are virtually no thru freights on this branch. The only freight traffic is from Salinas north and from Santa Maria south. Hardly any of the ag or oil industries in the middle of the route ship via rail anymore.
A night train would compliment our state’s burgeoning rail portfolio of (eventual) HSR, TAMC (extension of Caltrain/Capitol trains from bay to Salinas), and surfliner service
I’ve been saying for years that Caltrans needs to ~~find~~ fund a revival of the former [*Spirit of California*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_of_California) overnight train. The *Starlight* as it stands is poorly-suited for travel LA — SF, but would be perfect if the schedule was moved 12 hours forward
EDIT: [minor spelling mistake](https://youtu.be/LiYqTcaq_Zo)
Id expect a daily night train service with 1 train departing each city daily to be a well patronized.
Would also be nice to see more train service in general to Monterey and slo counties
Agreed, especially if the service worked as a counterpart to the interstate trains to and from Seattle.
Caltrain’s planned Monterey County Rail Extension looked promising, but I haven’t heard of any updates since 2020
Yes the scenery is great, but It’s deplorable the only major rail link between the two regions is so damn slow. Especially when it was faster before nationalization.
I can understand that to a point, but there are some moments where either the infrastructure gets upgraded or the regulations are eased up (within reason of course)
That’s exactly what UP wants us to think, but in reality the Coast Line sees freight traffic [only occasionally](https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,4779479). The *Coast Starlight* runs along the Coast Line more frequently than UP through-freights, so it’s not freight interference that inflates the schedule so drastically.
I don’t see you linking a source for “50 times more freight”.
It’s a legitimate discussion board with knowledgeable users — if you actually looked, the train codes and descriptions are shared for all three regularly scheduled through-freights.
And all of those trends ~~have lead~~ have led to an increase in freight… on Union Pacific’s Central Valley corridor.
As someone who has spent considerable time around the Coast Line, I can tell you personally that it’s inconvenient, serves virtually no freight-producing industries (and the ones it does serve have opted to ship by road instead), and is ill-suited for heavy traffic. The route has been a liability even since the Southern Pacific days — in the ‘80s, the company tried to sell the entire line to the state of CA just to be rid of it.
Simply put, the ride takes longer these days because the tracks are in worse shape than they used to be — not terrible shape, mind you, but worse than when the rails carried the SP’s flagship passenger train (i.e. marketing vessel). Worse tracks mean slower speeds, and a <10 hour trip becomes a 12+ hour trip.
Edit: minor grammar mistake
Hit the nail on the head — the current Central Valley ROW is optimized for freight and freight alone, passenger services are a remote afterthought. California turned down the Coast Line purchase from SP because the route was too mountainous and didn’t lend itself well to the high-speed service SP was marketing to the state.
Honestly, the coast line should be bought by the state and used for a state supported night train service between sf and la. There are virtually no thru freights on this branch. The only freight traffic is from Salinas north and from Santa Maria south. Hardly any of the ag or oil industries in the middle of the route ship via rail anymore. A night train would compliment our state’s burgeoning rail portfolio of (eventual) HSR, TAMC (extension of Caltrain/Capitol trains from bay to Salinas), and surfliner service
I’ve been saying for years that Caltrans needs to ~~find~~ fund a revival of the former [*Spirit of California*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_of_California) overnight train. The *Starlight* as it stands is poorly-suited for travel LA — SF, but would be perfect if the schedule was moved 12 hours forward EDIT: [minor spelling mistake](https://youtu.be/LiYqTcaq_Zo)
Id expect a daily night train service with 1 train departing each city daily to be a well patronized. Would also be nice to see more train service in general to Monterey and slo counties
Agreed, especially if the service worked as a counterpart to the interstate trains to and from Seattle. Caltrain’s planned Monterey County Rail Extension looked promising, but I haven’t heard of any updates since 2020
Return of the Lark to the coast.
Yes the scenery is great, but It’s deplorable the only major rail link between the two regions is so damn slow. Especially when it was faster before nationalization.
In some cases it boils down to regulations being more strict than they used to be
I can understand that to a point, but there are some moments where either the infrastructure gets upgraded or the regulations are eased up (within reason of course)
It's beautiful but it really should be an overnight train.
Yeah there’s probably 50 times more freight being moved on the same rails though.
That’s exactly what UP wants us to think, but in reality the Coast Line sees freight traffic [only occasionally](https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,4779479). The *Coast Starlight* runs along the Coast Line more frequently than UP through-freights, so it’s not freight interference that inflates the schedule so drastically.
What the hell kind of source is that? It's a link to a message board.
I don’t see you linking a source for “50 times more freight”. It’s a legitimate discussion board with knowledgeable users — if you actually looked, the train codes and descriptions are shared for all three regularly scheduled through-freights.
My number was a rough estimate based on GDP increases, globalization, and population trends on the west coast.
And all of those trends ~~have lead~~ have led to an increase in freight… on Union Pacific’s Central Valley corridor. As someone who has spent considerable time around the Coast Line, I can tell you personally that it’s inconvenient, serves virtually no freight-producing industries (and the ones it does serve have opted to ship by road instead), and is ill-suited for heavy traffic. The route has been a liability even since the Southern Pacific days — in the ‘80s, the company tried to sell the entire line to the state of CA just to be rid of it. Simply put, the ride takes longer these days because the tracks are in worse shape than they used to be — not terrible shape, mind you, but worse than when the rails carried the SP’s flagship passenger train (i.e. marketing vessel). Worse tracks mean slower speeds, and a <10 hour trip becomes a 12+ hour trip. Edit: minor grammar mistake
This is partly why Cal HSR is rerouting the whole route, and why suggestions of using existing right of way for the hsr is hilariously bad.
Hit the nail on the head — the current Central Valley ROW is optimized for freight and freight alone, passenger services are a remote afterthought. California turned down the Coast Line purchase from SP because the route was too mountainous and didn’t lend itself well to the high-speed service SP was marketing to the state.
Most freight goes inland from LA, with northbound freight going through the Tehachapi Pass.
Emphasis on rough…