Coast Starlight
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The ''Coast Starlight'' is a
passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self pr ...
operated by
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
on the
West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...
between
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
and
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
via
Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
and the
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...
. The train, which has operated continuously since Amtrak's formation in 1971, was the first to offer direct service between Seattle and Los Angeles. Its name is a combination of two prior
Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...
(SP) trains, the ''
Coast Daylight The ''Coast Daylight'', originally known as the ''Daylight Limited'', was a passenger train on the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) between Los Angeles and San Francisco, California, via SP's Coast Line. It was advertised as the "most beautiful ...
'' and the ''Starlight''. During
fiscal year A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many ...
(FY) 2019, the ''Coast Starlight'' carried 426,029 passengers, an increase of 2.0% from FY 2018. In FY 2016, the train had a total revenue of $40.5 million, a decrease of 1.4% from FY 2015.


History


Background

Before the formation of Amtrak, no passenger train ran the entire length of the
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...
. The closest equivalent was the
Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...
(SP)'s ''
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...
'', which ran via the
San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven c ...
from Los Angeles to Portland from 1924 to 1949, with
through car In rail terminology, a through coach is a passenger car (coach) that is re-marshalled during the course of its journey. It begins the journey attached to one train, and arrives at its destination attached to another train. Through coaches save th ...
s to Seattle via the Great Northern Railway (GN). By 1971, the SP operated just two daily trains between Los Angeles and the
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...
: the Los Angeles–San Francisco ''
Coast Daylight The ''Coast Daylight'', originally known as the ''Daylight Limited'', was a passenger train on the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) between Los Angeles and San Francisco, California, via SP's Coast Line. It was advertised as the "most beautiful ...
'' via the Coast Line, and the Los Angeles–Oakland ''
San Joaquin Daylight The ''San Joaquin Daylight'' was a Southern Pacific passenger train (train numbers 51 and 52) inaugurated between Los Angeles and San Francisco's Oakland Pier by way of the San Joaquin Valley and Tehachapi Pass on July 4, 1941. Travel times wer ...
'' via the Central Valley. The SP also operated the tri-weekly ''
Cascade Cascade, Cascades or Cascading may refer to: Science and technology Science *Cascade waterfalls, or series of waterfalls * Cascade, the CRISPR-associated complex for antiviral defense (a protein complex) * Cascade (grape), a type of fruit * Bioc ...
'' between Oakland and
Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
. The
Burlington Northern Railroad The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States-based railroad company formed from a Mergers and acquisitions, merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1996. Its historical lineage begins in the e ...
(BN) and
Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
ran three daily round trips between Portland and Seattle. The Santa Fe ran the '' San Diegan'' between Los Angeles and San Diego.


Amtrak era

The Seattle–San Diego route was initially left out of plans for Railpax (later
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
) until protests from politicians in California, Oregon, and Washington. With the start of Amtrak operations on May 1, 1971, a single train began running between Seattle and San Diego. The unnamed train (#11/12) ran three days a week; on the other four days, another unnamed train (#98/99) ran between Oakland and Los Angeles. On November 14, Amtrak extended the Oakland–Los Angeles train to San Diego, renumbered it to #12/13, and renamed it ''Coast Daylight''. The Seattle–San Diego train became the ''Coast Daylight/Starlight'' (#11-12) northbound and ''Coast Starlight/Daylight'' (#13-14) southbound. Both trains were cut back from San Diego to Los Angeles in April 1972, replaced by a third ''San Diegan''. On June 10, 1973, Amtrak began running the combined ''Coast Daylight/Starlight'' daily for the summer months. Positive response led to Amtrak to retain this service, and the ''Coast Daylight'' name was dropped on May 19, 1974. An additional train, the ''
Spirit of California The ''Spirit of California'' was a passenger train operated by Amtrak between Los Angeles and Sacramento, California. It operated from 1981 to 1983 with financial support from the State of California. It was the first overnight service between ...
'', ran the section of the route between Sacramento and Los Angeles on an overnight schedule from October 25, 1981, to September 30, 1983. From November 10, 1996, to October 25, 1997, through coaches were transferred between the ''Coast Starlight'' and ''San Diegan'' at Los Angeles. The ''Coast Starlight'' originally used the Southern Pacific West Valley Line between Tehama and
Davis Davis may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Davis (Antarctica) * Davis Island (Palmer Archipelago) * Davis Valley, Queen Elizabeth Land Canada * Davis, Saskatchewan, an unincorporated community * Davis Strait, between Nunavut and Gre ...
. That route included a stop at Orland, but bypassed Sacramento. On April 26, 1982, the train was rerouted via Roseville on the Southern Pacific Valley and
Martinez Subdivision The Martinez subdivision is a Union Pacific railway line which runs from Roseville, California to Oakland, California. It is informally referred to as the Cal-P line, after the original California Pacific Railroad, who constructed the line from ...
s, with stops added at Sacramento, Chico, and Marysville, per request from the state. In 1999, the ''Coast Starlight'' was rerouted onto the more direct ex- Western Pacific Sacramento Subdivision between Marysville and Sacramento, with the Marysville stop closed. Ridership declined by 26% between 1999 and 2005 as freight congestion and track maintenance on the
Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
reduced the ''Coast Starlight''s on-time performance to 2%, which Amtrak characterized as "dismal." By mid-summer in 2006 delays of 5–11 hours were common. Critics dubbed the train the ''Star-late''. During early summer 2008, the ''Coast Starlight'' was relaunched with new amenities and refurbished equipment. In July 2008, refurbished Pacific Parlour cars returned to service as part of the relaunch. This was much anticipated, due to the success of Amtrak's relaunch of the ''
Empire Builder The ''Empire Builder'' is an Amtrak long-distance passenger train that operates daily between Chicago and either Seattle or Portland via two sections west of Spokane. Introduced in 1929, it was the flagship passenger train of the Great Northe ...
''. Between FY 2008 and FY 2009, ridership on the ''Coast Starlight'' jumped 15% from 353,657 passengers to 406,398 passengers. Operating conditions on the UP improved as well; by May 2008 on-time performance had reached 86%. Service was suspended north of Sacramento for a month in 2017 after a freight derailment damaged a bridge near
Mount Shasta, California Mount Shasta (also known as Mount Shasta City) is a city in Siskiyou County, California, at about above sea level on the flanks of Mount Shasta, a prominent northern California landmark. The city is less than southwest of the summit of its na ...
. On February 24, 2019, the southbound ''Coast Starlight'' struck a fallen tree near
Oakridge, Oregon Oakridge is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. The population was 3,205 as of the 2010 census. It is located east of Westfir on Oregon Route 58, about east of Eugene and southeast of Portland. Surrounded by the Willamette Nationa ...
after a rare heavy snowstorm. The train was stranded for 36 hours before tracks could be cleared for a Union Pacific locomotive to tow the train back to
Eugene–Springfield Lane County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 382,971, making it the fourth-most populous county in Oregon. The county seat is Eugene. It is named in honor of Joseph Lane, Orego ...
. From October 1, 2020, to May 24, 2021, daily service was reduced to three trains per week due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. On May 24, 2021, as part of its post-COVID service restorations, Amtrak restored the Coast Starlight frequency to daily service in both directions. In late June 2021, the Lava Fire seriously damaged a Union Pacific trestle on the Black Butte Subdivision between
Klamath Falls, Oregon Klamath Falls ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Klamath County, Oregon, United States. The city was originally called ''Linkville'' when George Nurse founded the town in 1867. It was named after the Link River, on whose falls the city was ...
and
Dunsmuir, California Dunsmuir is a city in Siskiyou County, northern California. It is on the upper Sacramento River in the Trinity Mountains. Its population is 1,707 as of the 2020 census, up from 1,650 from the 2010 census. Dunsmuir is currently a hub for tourism ...
. As a result, the Coast Starlight was initially split into two segments: Seattle to Klamath Falls and Sacramento to Los Angeles with a bus replacement service filling the gap between Klamath Falls and Sacramento. However, on July 2, 2021, it was announced that service would be discontinued between Seattle and Sacramento until July 14, 2021, with
Amtrak Cascades The Amtrak ''Cascades'' is a passenger train corridor in the Pacific Northwest, operated by Amtrak in partnership with the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. It is named after the Cascade mountain range that the route parallels. The corr ...
replacing service for passengers booked between Seattle and Eugene. Through service resumed on July 15 using overnight buses between Sacramento and Klamath Falls, and full-route train operation resumed on August 23. A resurgence of the COVID-19 virus caused by the
Omicron variant Omicron (B.1.1.529) is a variant of SARS-CoV-2 first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa on 24 November 2021. It was first detected in Botswana and has spread to become the ...
caused Amtrak to reduce the frequency of this route to five-weekly round trips from January to March 2022. Trains began running over the
Point Defiance Bypass The Point Defiance Bypass (officially the Lakeview Subdivision) is a rail line between the cities of DuPont, Washington, DuPont and Tacoma, Washington, Tacoma in Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County, Washington (state), Washington. It was or ...
between Tacoma and DuPont, Washington starting on November 18, 2021.


Future improvements

The 2018 California State Rail Plan, prepared by
Caltrans The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an Executive (government), executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the Government of California#State agencies, cabinet-level California State Tran ...
, outlines a number of planned improvements to rail infrastructure in the state of California. These proposals include near-term plans to create additional stops on the Coast Subdivision at Soledad and King City for use by the Coast Starlight. There is also a proposal in the Capitol Corridor Vision plan to improve the right-of-way shared by the Capitol Corridor and Coast Starlight between Oakland and Martinez. The proposal would re-route the train from along the coastline to a new tunnel through Franklin Canyon and a right-of-way next to
California State Route 4 State Route 4 (SR 4) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California, routed from Interstate 80 in the San Francisco Bay Area to State Route 89 in the Sierra Nevada. It roughly parallels the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, a popular are ...
that would reduce the trip time by several minutes.


Route

Except for two sections, most of the ''Coast Starlight'' route is on former Southern Pacific lines now owned by the Union Pacific Railroad. The ''Coast Starlight'' runs over the following lines: *
BNSF BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...
Seattle Subdivision Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of ...
(ex- NP, later ex- BN): Seattle to Tacoma, Washington *
Sound Transit Sound Transit (ST), officially the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, is a public transit agency serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It operates the Link light rail system in Seattle and Tacoma, r ...
(SDRX)
Point Defiance Bypass The Point Defiance Bypass (officially the Lakeview Subdivision) is a rail line between the cities of DuPont, Washington, DuPont and Tacoma, Washington, Tacoma in Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County, Washington (state), Washington. It was or ...
: Tacoma to DuPont, Washington *BNSF Seattle Subdivision: DuPont to Portland, Oregon * UP Brooklyn Subdivision: Portland to Eugene, Oregon *UP
Cascade Subdivision The Pengra Pass rail route, also known as the Natron Cutoff, the Cascade Subdivision, or the Cascade Line, is a Union Pacific Railroad line (originally a Southern Pacific Railroad line) connecting Eugene, Oregon, with Klamath Falls, Oregon. Constr ...
: Eugene to Klamath Falls, Oregon *UP Black Butte Subdivision: Klamath Falls to Dunsmuir, California *UP
Valley Subdivision A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...
: Dunsmuir to Marysville, California *UP
Sacramento Subdivision The Sacramento Subdivision is a rail line owned and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad in the U.S. state of California. The line begins in Marysville as a continuation of the Canyon Subdivision at a junction with the Valley Subdivision (the ...
(ex- WP): Marysville to Sacramento, California *UP
Martinez Subdivision The Martinez subdivision is a Union Pacific railway line which runs from Roseville, California to Oakland, California. It is informally referred to as the Cal-P line, after the original California Pacific Railroad, who constructed the line from ...
: Sacramento to Oakland *UP Niles Subdivision: Oakland to Elmhurst *UP
Coast Subdivision The Coast Line is a railroad line between Burbank, California and the San Francisco Bay Area, roughly along the Pacific Coast. It is the shortest rail route between Los Angeles and the Bay Area. History Predecessors The San Francisco and San ...
: Elmhurst to San Luis Obispo *UP Santa Barbara Subdivision: San Luis Obispo to Moorpark, California * Metrolink (SCAX) Ventura Subdivision: Moorpark to Taylor Yard, Los Angeles *Metrolink (SCAX) River Subdivision: Taylor Yard to Los Angeles Union Station The ''Coast Starlight'' is occasionally diverted between Oakland and Los Angeles via the Central Valley and
Tehachapi Pass Tehachapi Pass (Kawaiisu: ''Tihachipia'', meaning "hard climb") is a mountain pass crossing the Tehachapi Mountains in Kern County, California. Traditionally, the pass marks the northeast end of the Tehachapis and the south end of the Sierra Nev ...
due to track work or service disruptions on the Coast Line. These rerouted trains are popular with
railfan A railfan, rail buff or train buff (American English), railway enthusiast, railway buff or trainspotter (Australian/British English), or ferroequinologist is a person who is recreationally interested in trains and rail transport systems. Rail ...
s because they use the
Tehachapi Loop The Tehachapi Loop is a long spiral, or helix, on the Union Pacific Railroad Mojave Subdivision through Tehachapi Pass, of the Tehachapi Mountains in Kern County, south-central California. The line connects Bakersfield and the San Joaquin V ...
, which passenger trains have otherwise been rerouted from since 1971.


Ridership


Equipment

The train uses double-decker Superliner I & II equipment, including a Sightseer Lounge car that has floor-to-ceiling windows to view the passing scenery. Baggage is placed in one of Amtrak's new Viewliner II single-level baggage cars or in designated coach-class cars. The ''Coast Starlight'' typically uses two
GE P42DC General Electric Genesis (officially trademarked GENESIS) is a series of passenger diesel locomotives produced by GE Transportation, then a subsidiary of General Electric. Between 1992 and 2001, a total of 321 units were built for Amtrak, Metro ...
s for locomotive power. Secondary locomotives that are occasionally utilized are the older GE P32-8BWHs and
GE P40DC General Electric Genesis (officially trademarked GENESIS) is a series of passenger diesel locomotives produced by GE Transportation, then a subsidiary of General Electric. Between 1992 and 2001, a total of 321 units were built for Amtrak, Metro- ...
s. While the length of the train varies, in 2020 the consist comprised a baggage car, Transition sleeper, two sleeping cars, dining car, Sightseer Lounge, one Superliner coach car with Business Class seating, and three standard coaches cars. Prior to February 2018, the ''Coast Starlight'' was unique in that it included a first-class lounge car called the " Pacific Parlour Car". The cars were Budd
Hi-Level The Hi-Level was a type of bilevel intercity railroad passenger car used in the United States. Car types included coaches, dining cars, and lounge cars; a sleeping car variant was considered but never produced. Most passenger spaces were on the ...
Sky Lounge cars, built in 1956 for the Santa Fe's ''
El Capitan El Capitan ( es, El Capitán; "the Captain" or "the Chief") is a vertical Rock formations in the United States, rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The El Capitan Granite, granit ...
'' service. Called a "living room on rails", the Parlour car offered several amenities to first-class sleeping car passengers including wireless Internet access, a full bar, a small library with books and games, an afternoon wine tasting, and a movie theater on the lower level. Sleeping car passengers could also make reservations to dine in the Parlour car, which offered a unique menu not offered in the standard dining car. In February 2018, in a cost-cutting measure, Amtrak discontinued the Pacific Parlour Cars, citing the move as "part of Amtrak's ongoing work to modernize its fleet of equipment."


References

* * * * *


Notes


Further reading

*


External links

* * {{Authority control Amtrak routes Passenger rail transportation in California Passenger rail transportation in Oregon Passenger rail transportation in Washington (state) Public transportation in Southern California Night trains of the United States Railway services introduced in 1971 Long distance Amtrak routes