On Feb. 15, Amtrak will be trying something new: a morning express train from San Diego to Los Angeles Union Station that will make the journey in two hours and 28 minutes — about 12 to 17 minutes faster than regular travel times that typically take two hours, 40 minutes. Downtown L.A. and San Diego are 120 miles apart.
Here’s the announcement, via Amtrak’s website:
With less stopping and more going, Amtrak California’s new Pacific Surfliner San Diego to Los Angeles Express (SD to LA) service will help make your commute a little easier to take.
The new SD to LA Express Train (563) begins pulling out of the station on Tuesday, February 15, 2011, and will operate Monday through Friday.
Express Train 563 replaces weekday Train 565 with fewer stops along the corridor. The Express Train departs San Diego’s Santa Fe Depot at 7:05 a.m. with stops in Solana Beach, Oceanside, Irvine, and Anaheim, before arriving at Los Angeles Union Station at 9:33 a.m.
Please note: Unlike Train 565, the new Express Train will no longer stop in San Juan Capistrano, Laguna Niguel-Mission Viejo, Santa Ana, Orange and Fullerton. Train 565 will continue to operate on Saturdays and Sundays (only) with no change in service.
In addition, Metrolink Orange County Line Train 687 will depart Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo at 8:33 a.m. instead of 8:20 a.m., arriving at Los Angeles Union Station at 9:55 a.m.
As the website notes, the express train is a pilot program being overseen by Amtrak, Caltrans (which funds Amtrak in California) and the transportation agencies along the route.
It will be very interesting to see how riders respond. The L.A.-San Diego corridor is one of Amtrak’s busiest in the country, but Amtrak trains have to share the corridor with freight trains and commuter rail and there are long stretches of single track.
17 minutes?! Wow!!! This is huge!
Now THAT’S what I call a major improvement!
Ok,
Away from sarcasm – 17 minutes “savings” is pitiful. 2 hours 30 minutes (total trip) is still much longer than driving in perfect conditions which currently takes under 2 hours (in perfect conditions).
I agree with most commenters on this blog; investing in high-speed rail, and being serious about it, is much more prudent than making a big deal out of a tiny 17-minute savings.
If Amtrak truly wants to impress passengers, and attract more choice riders, the LA-SD trip should take no more than 2 hours.
i just check their site, prices are the same $31,
W00T W00T a whole 12 minutes!
Why not get rid of all routes or just stop at Oceanside or Irvine which ever has more passengers.
SD to LA on a train. Now the same speed as ..driving.
Everybody insists on ‘investing’ in HSR instead of this limited-stop service. This new service costs relatively nothing. It actually saves fuel. There is no ‘investment’ Amtrak has made by removing some of the stops.
Everybody insists on making the point of ‘capital improvements’ and other expenditures that are quite costly. This costs nothing to implement and it saves commuters time. Where is the downside?
This should be called “limited service.” An “express service” should only by LA-Irvine-San Diego.
Start doing three different runs just like the Tokaido Shinkansen service. Kodama is regular service taking 4 hrs for the Osaka-Tokyo route. Hikari service is “limited service” which takes fewer stops. The fastest Nozomi only stops at the major stations along the way completing the 350 mi journey in just a bit over 2.5 hrs.
Until the Pacific Surfliner has its own tracks, or double-tracking through Capistrano, or a faster entrance to San Diego (tunneling, perhaps?) 17 minutes is probably about as good as they can do.
I do agree with Ken: This is Limited at best. The people making comments are expecting Nozomi service.
the REAL solution is gondolas… lots of them.
Ride ABOVE the fray in your own air-conditioned tram car and enjoy the scenic views !!! coffee service in the morning, cocktails at night. special sunset service for young lovers !!!
This train always ran at least 20 minutes late into LA, while many metrolink trains often arrive 10 min early, so this isn’t really much savings if you’re starting Oceanside or north. I tried to take this today out of Irvine, and the train never came. I took the next metrolink into LA instead. I never saw the Amtrak pass us either.
It seems likes Amtrak has a train that always gets held up in freight-related traffic, so they decided to stop at only a hand-full of stations to compensate and then marketed it as “express.”