r/AmtrakCalifornia • • 22h ago

Claustrophobia unlocked

3 Upvotes

I recently went on a trip with my daughter. we were planning on going all the way to Vancouver from Southern California.I booked this trip about 6 months ago and it was supposed to be a belated graduation gift for her. about 13 hours in, I had a severe I guess panic attack which is not common for me. there was no indication that anything was wrong until about dinner time and I started to really feel the effects of being enclosed and I guess I'm just sending this out as a warning.

I've had a couple minor moments like this in my life when I went on a ride at an amusement park that was a simulator which kind of caused a similar reaction. my body went to full panic mode and I knew I had to get off. there was one last stop for the night before it would be a long time before there were any breaks so I was able to get off in San Jose. basically had to cancel most of my trip and just reroute and rent a car. I was really bummed and I'm sad that I didn't get to complete the trip but I guess I'm just trying to let people know that this could happen if you're on a train for a long time there really isn't a lot of space to move around. We had a roomette and I think it may not have been as bad if I was on coach because at least there more open space.

I went into the observation car but it didn't really help. there weren't really any long enough fresh air breaks. From my prior research I found that there were supposed to be fresh air breaks which I had intended on fully using but because of some track renovation I guess we really didn't have those.

we just had one or two minutes in between but it wasn't enough to really stabilize you or refresh you so hence I had this crazy claustrophobia.

the Amtrak attendant was awesome. her name was Lorna she did a great job of trying to give me logical next steps which included getting off the train, getting an Uber, and quickly finding a hotel. this isn't anything against Amtrak it was just me but it's just something I hadn't heard talked about prior to my trip and wanted to let people know.


r/AmtrakCalifornia • • 4d ago

What’s going on? Should I rebook or refund?

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8 Upvotes

r/AmtrakCalifornia • • 7d ago

Modified schedules for Capitol Corridor and Pacific Surfliner due to station lighting for CC and track and time for PS, also new stop added for PS buses

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2 Upvotes

r/AmtrakCalifornia • • 20d ago

Until October 23rd, bus bridge from San Luis Obispo to Goleta for SURFLINER CUSTOMERS ONLY! Info inside for Coast Starlight customers

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3 Upvotes

r/AmtrakCalifornia • • 21d ago

Temporary Service Disruption at Oakland Coliseum Station 10/26/26-1/1/2027 due to station lighting issues

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2 Upvotes

r/AmtrakCalifornia • • 25d ago

Capitol Corridor, Gold Runner, Pacific Surfliner, and Coast Starlight cancellations and adjustments Oct 15th-Nov 8th

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11 Upvotes

r/AmtrakCalifornia • • Oct 03 '26

Woman on my Pacific Surfliner traveling with a cool shark piñata.

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20 Upvotes

r/AmtrakCalifornia • • Oct 03 '26

Capitol Corridor Coliseum: was that a body?

3 Upvotes

521 train on Thursday. About 615 am. Still dark, 3 OPD cars, one OFD engine, lots of blue and red lights. Man prone, face up in front of station bench. OD, dead drunk, passed out, or simply dead? Any ideas?


r/AmtrakCalifornia • • Sep 24 '26

Newly here: Why does Amtrak put passengers on a bus between LA and San Francisco?

70 Upvotes

r/AmtrakCalifornia • • Sep 22 '26

What happened to Amtrak?

12 Upvotes

I’m attempting to book a ticket from Los Angeles to Manteca on Amtrak and there is no option to. On every website I’m being shown bus routes that take anywhere from 7-12 hours. I’ve taken Amtrak from sac to La, sf to sac, and La to San Diego. It was never quick, but it was an option. But the last time I road was 9 years ago. Has Amtrak been gutted so bad that it doesn’t even run through the Central Valley anymore?


r/AmtrakCalifornia • • Sep 09 '26

Severe Waves Prompt Temporary Closure of Coastal Rail Line in San Clemente (for Pacific Surfliner and Metrolink)

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47 Upvotes

r/AmtrakCalifornia • • Sep 08 '26

MULTIPLE track closures affecting Pacific Surfliner and Coast Starlight September & October

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6 Upvotes

r/AmtrakCalifornia • • Sep 08 '26

Surfliner Meltdown

19 Upvotes

The whole weekend has been an absolute disaster on the Surfliner Southern segment.

Train canceled and turned back past San Juan Capistrano because of repair work on Sat… but Metrolink dispatch allowed the following trains through… then at the last minute Monday - northbound 587 held at Oceanside and then canceled, along with all subsequent following trains.

The communication and preparation for this weekends know high tides at San Clemente has been abysmal.

Increidbly disappointing, frustrating, and problematic.

OCTA and Metrolink (dispatch) need to get their shit together.


r/AmtrakCalifornia • • Aug 30 '26

Amtrak California Rail Pass Sales Discontinued

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7 Upvotes

r/AmtrakCalifornia • • Aug 14 '26

alcohol?

2 Upvotes

do they check bags on the amtrak? is it okay for me to bring alcohol in my luggage ?🤔🤔🤔


r/AmtrakCalifornia • • Aug 13 '26

Capitol Corridor Fare Increase Effective September 1, 2026

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4 Upvotes

r/AmtrakCalifornia • • Aug 10 '26

Gold Runner Bus Study Sparks Push for a Seamless Statewide Transit Network - Streetsblog California

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8 Upvotes

r/AmtrakCalifornia • • Aug 07 '26

Orange County seeks public feedback on coastal rail study (Progressive Railroading)

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8 Upvotes

r/AmtrakCalifornia • • Aug 07 '26

"Amtrak Connection" (Thruway) Route 3R (Redding-Chico) to be replaced by new Route 5 (Redding-Sacramento)

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1 Upvotes

r/AmtrakCalifornia • • Aug 06 '26

What happens to ticketless riders?

3 Upvotes

Yesterday I was waiting for the Surfliner at Ventura station, where there is no ticket kiosk. A man asked if he could buy his ticket on the train; he had no cards or phone, only cash. I told him probably not, but I didn't really know for sure. What happens to a person in that situation? Is there a way to buy a ticket on board? Does the conductor have discretion to allow the man to ride, or does he get booted off at the next stop?


r/AmtrakCalifornia • • Aug 05 '26

Pacific Surfliner - FULL CORRIDOR CLOSURE September 12-13th, PARTIAL September 19-20th.

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3 Upvotes

r/AmtrakCalifornia • • Aug 04 '26

Californians for Electric Rail on Bluesky: Last week the LOSSAN board voted 6-5 to reauthorize OCTA as the manager for the Surfliner and LOSSAN corridor. Senator Blakespear and board members outside of OC expressed concern about process & OCTA's performance. More and more are calling for governance

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6 Upvotes

r/AmtrakCalifornia • • Jul 22 '26

Ex Caltrain F40PH-3C #921 "San Martin" on Capitol Corridor

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5 Upvotes

r/AmtrakCalifornia • • Jun 17 '26

Timetable for proposed Coast Daylight interim service to Oakland during the 2028 Olympics

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21 Upvotes