OAKLAND — Amtrak is unveiling a new look on the Coast Starlight just in time for the busy summer travel season, officials said.
This legendary train, which operates daily between Los Angeles and Seattle, features refurbished Parlour Cars, new Arcade rooms and enhanced amenities.
“This is going to be an exciting summer for passengers traveling on board the Coast Starlight,” said Emmett Fremaux, Amtrak’s Vice President, Marketing & Product Development. “The Coast Starlight has long been one of the most popular long-distance trains in our network and we are delighted to bring these upgrades to our dedicated passengers.”
The new features and amenities include at seat meal options for Coach passengers and new arcade rooms equipped with arcade-style video games and board games. Sleeping Car passengers will experience a refurbished Parlour Car with enhanced services such as alternative dining, daily wine tasting with regional wines, a specialty coffee bar and a newly redesigned theater with 50-inch plasma HD monitors.
The redesigned theater features family and classic movies three times a day. Parlour Car menu items include regional cuisine such as Pacific Bay scallops and Santa Maria beef short-ribs. Complimentary library and board games are also available in the Car.
Throughout the 1377-mile, 36-hour route, passengers on board the Coast Starlight enjoy stunningly beautiful vistas — some of which can only be seen via rail — breathtaking shorelines of the Pacific, dense Northern forests and spectacular peaks of the Cascades, to name a few. The train also connects the West Coast’s most popular destination cities, including Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle.
Coach fares are as low as $56 one-way between Los Angeles and Oakland and $92 one- way between Los Angeles and Seattle. Sleeping Car accommodations are in addition to coach fares and start as low as $89 one-way between Los Angeles and Oakland and $196 one-way between Los Angeles and Seattle, subject to availability.
Meals are included in the Sleeping Car accommodation fare.
The Coast Starlight is one of the most recent Amtrak long-distance trains to be upgraded in the past few years. Others include the Empire Builder and City of New Orleans.
The Coast Starlight‘s on-time performance is up 76 percent over the last 12 months.
Train service on the route was disrupted between Los Angeles and Seattle in January due to massive landslides over the railroad north of Chemult, Ore. After the landslides, Union Pacific Railroad suspended all railroad traffic through the area.
“The train is finally operating normally after months of disrupted service and our passengers can now enjoy the many new on board features of this great train,” Fremaux said.
— Special to Railfanning.org News Wire
