Los Angeles to San Francisco on Amtrak-it is necessary to switch trains or take a bus part of the way???

Answer 1

Amtrak's LA to Seattle train, the Coastal Starlight (train number 14), does stop in San Jose, which is close to San Francisco.

That means you can take Amtrak from LA to San Jose, then transfer to Caltrain at the same station (which goes from San Jose to downtown San Fran).

Caltrain is the local commuter line that serves San Jose --> San Fran.

No bus detour to Bakersfield necessary.

Answer 2

Yes. You have three very different choices of route.

The First Class way is the Coast Starlight, a 14 hour (+delays) run from Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal to San Jose, Oakland or Emeryville. Amtrak will bus you free from Emeryville to San Francisco as part of your train ticket.

Faster, but second-class, is the San Joaquins. Start with a bus from any of dozens of locations in the L.A. area. The bus takes you over the Grapevine to Bakersfield, where you take a 6 hour train ride to Richmond, Berkeley, Emeryville or Oakland. At Richmond you can also get BART to all over the Bay Area.

It's also possible to take the Pacific Surfliner from Anaheim, L.A. or Burbank... up to Santa Barbara, then a bus all the way to San Francisco.

K is wrong about Amtrak being always delayed by freights. But the Coast Starlight can encounter SERIOUS delays for a wide variety of reasons. Falling down 10% is quite common. (10% on a train that runs 38 hours end to end = 3.8 hours.) The San Joaquins, Capitols and Pacific Surfliners are much better because their runs are much shorter, 6 hours at worst.

Answer 3

It depends upon the route you choose to use. The once a day Coast Starlight is a direct train from LA to SF but it is slow and can be pricy. A better bet is to use either the Central Coast Surfliner which has a connecting thruway bus from San Luis Obispo into SF Or you can use the San Joaquins which starts off via a Thruway bus from LA to Bakersfield where the connection to the northbound train is made. Good Luck!

Answer 4

Joeschmoe has a good answer, but I caution you - the Amtrak online res system doesn't want to let people onto this train unless you're going farther than the SF area; it will try to divert you to a bus - even if you want to go directly from a point mid-way on the coast (like SLO).

You may have to book in-person at an office, or book through a more northern point and just get off in the bay area anyway.

best of luck!

Answer 5

Amtrak has a beautiful route from LA to SF. It is called the coast starlight and is one of the best train trips ever. A lot of it runs right along the coast. It takes all day to do the trip, but is a great way to travel.

Answer 6

JoeSchmoe has the best answer.

The "Coastal Starlight" (train number 14), (http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Route/Vertical_Route_Page&c=am2Route&cid=1081256321841&ssid=137) DOES stop in San Jose coming up the coast from Los Angeles... then goes on to Emeryville (Oakland) where you could take an Amtrak Bus to San Francisco (5 miles).

OR take CALTRAIN from San Jose's Diridon Station to San Francisco ( http://www.caltrain.com/ )

There ARE the "San Joaquin's"... daily trains running from Bakersfield to Oakland... so BUS from LA to Bakersfield. http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Route/Vertical_Route_Page&c=am2Route&cid=1081442673773&ssid=132

Answer 7

there is no direct train from LA to San Francisco. You have to take a train to Bakersfield, catch train there to emmeryville and then take bus accross the bay to San Francisco.

Answer 8

omg whatever you do don't expect amtrak to be comfortable or fast. the train pulls over for every freight train. every one. despite this being against the law--passenger trains are supposed to have right of way but union pacific does the dispatch.
I would expect a coast starlight trip to be at least 4 hours late if not six hours.

just fly!!!

Answer 9

They don't have a direct line over "the ridge route". You will bus in to Bakersfield, then on the train from there.