Originally Posted by
CDTraveler
Did you know the Coast Starlight has a pretty bad on-time record? That has to do with old laws/regulations giving priority to freight trains on certain lines. To give you an idea of what I mean by "pretty bad": the last time my brother took it on that route it arrived 14 hours late. We've had other experiences with it being just 4 to 6 hours late.
But if it is on time, switching to CalTrain in San Jose would have you in San Francisco before Amtrak gets to Emeryville: Coast Starlight scheduled to arrive SJC at 8:11, CalTrain to SF leaves at 8:30 from the next platform. Once in SF cab or Uber to your hotel will cost less than taking one across the bridge.
As for luggage on CalTrain, I've never found it to be a problem, especially in off peak hours.
Yes I am aware of delays but had no idea 14 or even 4-6 was expected. We're taking Amtrak because we want to enjoy the countryside and not just fly over it so I'm ok with some delay, but that much that late at night would be a deal breaker. The lack of sleep would ruin the one full day we have in SF the next day. Now I need to rethink this.
We fell in love with train travel in Europe and, while I know Amtrak is supposed to be really different, wanted to give it a try. Plus I have Amtrak points. It's been really hard to make it work as these few days in CA are part of a bigger trip and we are on a tight schedule.