The Official Western Rails Schedules Index News Page
The Official Western Rails Schedules Index News Page
Boarding Restrictions and Other Information:
EFFECTIVE SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2008
Schedules Index News Page Links
This Web Site is the Companion Site to the Southern California Train Travel Meetup Group which generally meets on the fourth Monday of each calendar month. In addition to the monthly meetings at the Slidebar Cafe Restaurant in downtown Fullerton, this group has four quarterly rail outings that are announced three weeks prior to each outing, with information as where the quarter's train travel outing will go to and where to meet.
Some information used to prepare this, and other pages is derived from Eugene Poon, Rohnert Park, CA who moderates the All_Aboard and Amtrak news groups.
Coaster Renovation Inforamtion is provided coutesy of Rosalia Martinez. San Diego Trolley Paint Update List Information is provided by Walter Clack. Train Travel Meetup Information is provided courtesy Of Steve Grande.
A new Maratime Movements News Group pertaining to the movements of ships and other vessels in Puget Sound has been placed in service by Michael Gitlin of Seattle, Washington. To join this group, please visit Mike 1 In Sea-Tac and click the "Join This Group" Button.
A New Railroad related news group has been placed in service by Michael Gitlin of Seattle, Washington, that pertains to the railroad movements between Eugene, Oregon and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. To join this group, please go to Washington State Railroad Enthusiasts and click on the "Join This Group" Button located in the upper right hand corner of the front page.
Route Highlighting is derived from the California Numbered Exit Uniform System Classic Pages by Brian Alconcel circa 2001, revised by Donald Howe and Sunny Kals, October 4, 2007.
The newest feature of the Schedules Indices, the Route Coding System is derived from Caltrans Operating Timetable 35 by Steve Miller, May 21, 2007 with both new and revised Codes added by Peter Warner October 2, 2007.
Western Rails at Trainweb - Schedules Index Division Links
1. The California Superliners Page has been split into two pages. One page is for Northern California Service while the other is for Pacific Surfliner Service. 2. San Diego is introducing new PCC Trolley Service that will take effect sometime during the life of either the Spring, or Summer 2008 timetables that will run arould San Diego Trolley's downtown San Diego Loop in a clockwise direction. 3. Several Chicago Hub Route trains have moved into the Western Rails Site, as noted by the index. These trains have atleast one common stop (other than the obvious choices of Chicago or San Antonio) with a through-service train that operates to, or from the western origination hubs of Los Angeles, Emeryville, Portland, or Seattle. 4. Three "Free-Standing" Routes which do not directly service Chicago, but provide connections to or from the West Coast at secondary hubs of service in Fort Worth, Saint Louis, and Kansas City, Respectively, are included in the Western Rails Site. 5. There is a slight change in the way Altamont Commuter Express trains are displayed on this site. As five of the eight trains are also considdered to be Amtrak "Thruway" Trains, they are now listed as Amtrak Trains, since both carrier's tickets are now honored on these trips that have replaced some of the thruway buses on this route on weekdays. The five affected trips are now displayed in the Amtrak Service "arm" of the site and are shown with the Amtrak Train Number in addition to the ACE Train Number. The 3 morning peak hour westbound trips are displayed in the commuter services arm of the site. 6. As Amtrak provides limited service to Old Towm Station on selected Surfliners on weekends, those connections are now included. 7. All variations of service on the Texas Eagle and Empire Builder routes is listed on this site for simplicity purposes. 8. Surfliner Service is broken into two groups to make the San Luis Obispo trains stand out better. For this reason, therefore, there are two route codes. General Pacific Surfliner Service has the code PS, while the Central Coast Service is assigned to the code CR, indicating it operates on the "Coast Route". 9. Southwest Chief is assigned SC instead of SW, so that SW can be used to designate Metra Southwest Service on the Commuter Train Index Page. 10. Coast Starlight Pacific Parlour Car #39973 has been returned to service as of September 30. 11. A New Page Listing the Names for the Original Pacific Surfliner Cars has been Created. The page lists the cars by order of when the name was applied to the cars. 12. Wine and Cheese Tasting is available on the Coast Starlight,in the Pacific Parlour Car as well as in the Dining Car on the Empire Builder Route for SLEEPING CAR PASSENGERS only. 13. Business Class is available on Pacific Surfliner, Ann Rutledge, Missouri Mule, Lincoln Service, Illinois Zephyr, and Carl Sandburg Route Trains. 14. Rail-2-Rail Program between Amtrak and Coaster has been Discontinued. The Metrolink Rail-2-Rail program remains in effect. 15. Sleepers are available on the Coast Starlight, Empire Builder, California Zephyr, Texas Eagle, Sunset Limited, and Southwest Chief routes. 16. At-seat Cart Food Service is available on selected Hiawatha Service Trains. 17. Amtrak's Metropolitan Lounge is available in Miami, FL, Raleigh, NC, Portland, OR., Minneapolis, MN., Chicago, IL., and New Orleans, LA. for Sleeping Car Passengers and for those passengers with Amtrak Guest Rewars Select Plus/Club Acela Cards only. 18. Surflner trains terminating at Goleta do not carry local passengers between Santa Barbara and Goleta. 19. San Joaquin Trains terminating at oakland stop in Emeryville to discharge passengers only, local traffic is not handled between Emeryville and Oakland. 20. Capitol Trains terminating at the Oakland Coliseum station stop at Jack London Square to discharge passengers only, local traffic is not handled between Oakland and the Coliseum station. 21. Checked baggage is available on all long-distance trains between any two staffed stations. It is also available on Surfliners on selected trips including those trains operating north of Los Angeles and on all Hiawatha and San Joaquin trains. 22. Checked baggage is available on all Amtrak Cascades Service Trains. Availability of Baggage Service at some locations may be limited. 23. Westbound Train #5, the California Zephyr makes stops at Sacramento, Davis, and Martinez to discharge passengers only. Local traffic between Sacramento and Emeryville is not handled on this train. 24. Westbound Trains #1 and #421, the Sunset Limited and Texas Eagle make stops at Ontario and Pomona to discharge passengers only. Local traffic between Ontario and Los Angeles is not handled on these trains. 25. Westbound Train #3, the Southwest Chief stops at Fullerton to discharge passengers only. Local Traffic between Fullerton and Los Angeles is not handled on this train. 26. Southbound Train #11, the Coast Starlight stops at Simi Valley and Van Nuys to discharge passengers only. Local Traffic is not handled on this train between Simi Valley and Los Angeles. 27. Northbound Trains #22, #322, and #422 stop at Joliet to discharge passengers only, local traffic is not handled between Joliet and Chicago on these trains. 28. Trains 3 the Southwest Chief, and #5 the California Zephyr stop at Naperville to Receive Passengers only. Trains 4, the Southwest Chief, 6, the California Zephyr, and 382 the Carl Sandburg Stop at Naperville to Discharge Passengers Only. Train 382 also also stops at LaGrange Road to discharge passengers only. Local travel is not permitted on these trains between these stations and Chicago. Local Traffic is still handled on trains 380, 381, and 383 only if making connections with other Amtrak Trains in Chicago. Metra offers frequent Burlington Northern/Santa Fe Line Commuter Service between these stations and Chicago Union Station. 29. Eastbound trains #8, #28, and #808, the Empire Builder make stops at Milwaukee and Glenveiw to discharge passengers only. Local traffic is not handled on this train between Milwaukee and Chicago. 30. The Great America stop on Southbound Capitol Corridor Weekday Trains #521 and #523 is an "L" Stop. These trains may depart the station up to five minutes early, when station work is completed at this station. 31. The Roseville and Rocklin stops Northbound Capitol Corridor Weekday Train #536 are "L" Stops. This train may depart these stops up to five minutes ahead of schedule when station work is completed. 32. Passengers travelling to Canada MUST have a valid passport. 33. Amtrak Trains servicing the Old Town Station will board and detrain on track #4 (the track farhtest from the station)..
34. RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED ON ALL PACIFIC SURFLINER TRAINS FROM THE TUESDAY PRIOR TO THANKSGIVING AND THE MONDAY FOLLOWING THANKSGIVING. METROLINK PASSES ARE NOT VALID FOR TRAVEL ON WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, AND SUNDAY, BUT MAY BE USED ON ANY OTHER DAY DURING THIS TRAVEL PERIOD. 35. NEW!! - Announcements Index Page 36. NEW!! - A Superliner Cross-Country Cafe Car Page is Now Available for viewing on Western Rails. There are now sixteen Cross-Country Cafes in Service. The page includes the original as manufactured Dining Car number and the new Amtrak Diner/Lounge Conversion Number. Please visit Western Rails Superliner Cross Country Cafe Car Conversions Page for more details. 37. NEW!! - Pacific Parlour Car Page detailing Parlour Car Refurbishments is introudced. 38. NEW!! - Coast Starlight Arcade Cars Page has been created, since All five Kiddie Cars have been converted into Arcade Cars. 39. New!! - Front Runner Commuter Rail Service between Salt Lake City and Ogden is now in service. 40. Weekend Service is now available on four Metrolink Routes, serving the San Gabriel, Pomona, eastern San Fernando, Santa Clarita, and Antelope Valleys, the Inland Empire, and Orange County. 41. Metrolink Service at SAN CLEMENTE PIER is limited to INLAND EMPIRE LINE weekend trains only. 42. Carlsbad Village Station is an "L" Stop on northbound Coaster Trains. All trains may depart this station up to three minutes ahead of schedule when their station work is completed. 43. Old Town Station is an "L" stop on Southbound Coaster Trains. All trains may depart this station up to three minutes ahead of schedule when station work is completed. NOTE: Some Weekday trains board and detrain on track #4 (the track farthest from the station). 44. Metrolink Train #119 on the Ventura Line stops at CAMARILLO and OXNARD to DICHARGE PASSENGERS ONLY. Local Travel between Camarillo and Montalvo is not handled on this train. This is the only train in the entire Metrolink system which has a "D" stop instead of their more traditional "L" stop. 45. Regular Metrolink Tickets are valid on TRAINS 768 AND 799, BETWEEN OXNARD AND LOS ANGELES ONLY. On all Other Amtrak Trains, the ONLY Metrolink Generated Fare Media that is ACCEPTABLE is the MONTHLY PASS, per Rail-2-Rail Fare Agreements. 46. Transit Television On-Board Entertainment Service is available aboard These San Diego Trolley Cars: A. U-2 #1005B. SD-100 #2001 These Cars alternate between the Blue (Old Town-San Ysidro) and Orange (Downtown San Diego-Gillespie Field) routes. 47. The Traxx Bar in Los Angeles Union Station is available for pre-boarding ammenities for SLEEPING CAR PASSENGERS ONLY for train #14, the COAST STARLIGHT. 48. The New Mexico Rail Runner Service timetables have been consolidated from several separate pages to form one page for northward trains and one page for southward trains. 49. Front Runner is now part of the Western Rails at Trainweb Family. This service, operated by the Utah Transit Authority, operates between Salt Lake City or Woods Cross and Ogden, Utah.
