Amtrak from Reno to Emeryville

Last Friday I took the Amtrak train, The California Zephyr, from Reno to Emeryville just across the bay from San Francisco. On Sunday I took the California Zephyr for the return trip. I was going down to Oakland to celebrate my daughter's birthday with her. I have been wanting to make this trip for some time. The round trip cost for the train was $92. The driving distance is about 420 miles. At 20 miles per gallon and with gas costing $3.85 driving would have cost me $80.

The route over the Sierras is basically the same route that the first transcontinental railroad took. The trip was incredibly scenic, very relaxing and comfortable. I enjoyed the trip immensely.

This train has a reputation for rarely being on time and often being hours late. I don't know if that is an accurate representation of its record but for my trip we were only about an hour late on Friday and coming home we were only a few minutes late. Since the  trip takes about six hours I just relaxed and didn't worry about any schedules.

Next time I am going to try another train route. Amtrak offers bus service from Reno to Sacramento where you can catch the Capitol Corridor train. The cost is the same.

Comments

[Marion]

1.

I imagine you are right they will probably raise the cost to account for higher fuel costs. My husband and I hiked through the old snow sheds on Donner Pass last year but have not gone through any old tunnels. It sound like fun.
http://marionvermazen.blogs.com/marions_blog/2007/11/sierra-canyon-m.html

[Duane Stevens]

2.

I'm really surprised about the cost... probably AMTRAK will be increasing prices with a fuel surcharge, don't you think?

One of the original transcontinental tunnels near Donner Pass (across from Sugar Bowl) was replaced in recent times with a 'better' tunnel... so the original tunnel is unused. My wife and I hiked through it a few years ago, although I now understand it may be blocked off.