Amtrak is the way to go! I took the train to Los Angeles from Solana Beach, and it was great. Decided to take Pacific Buisness Class, which is another more upgraded option from Coach. The attendents greeted me at the door, took my tickets, and I sat down on the top level. It's really neet to ride 90 MPH trough Carlsbad, and past the stopped cars on the I-5. I had a snack from the Cafe Car, right next to the Buisness Class Car, and just relaxed. Arrived in LA on time. Anyway, great ride and great train. Deffinetely taking it again! read more

Traveling train 768 round trip from Simi valley to San Diego. First trip via Amtrak as retired in January. Very suprised by the bordering on Rude comments by a make conductor that was part of staff changes in Los Angeles. First time via intercom he beretted customers that were coming to cafe car while they were restocking supplies. Next he actually told SRO customers via intercom that if they didn't like standing they should ask themselves Why are they on this train? Simply incredible but not suprising from a public subsidized agency. Must be union job that protects terrible service! Who speaks for the passengers? If less than one star possible I would. read more

Booked our tickets and then was told we can't ride because we had bikes. Attendant was very rude and we were stuck in Oceanside because it was the last train. No questions about bikes until after tickets were purchased... Not even a sorry for the inconvenience from them. Bummed read more

I wouldn't recommend taking Amtrak if you're trying to get somewhere on time. Worse trip ever today taking the train from Chatsworth to Solona Beach. The train was a half hour late, ok bad but not horrible. We get to Union Station they decide to make it another half hour late by turning it into the next train. Ok, now I figure a hour late, this sucks. We end up waiting for other trains to pass and Lord knows what else. Now a hour and a half late for what was supposed to be a 3 hour trip. Train was old and beat up and air conditioning barely worked. Someone in higher management really SUCKS at his job. Save yourself the hassle and drive on the freeway. You would figure with what they charge they would invest in some better trains. read more

Witnessed an employee named Gayle (TICKET COUNTER) arguing with a dispatcher. She was unprofessional and down right rude on the phone, she refused to answer questions and sounded like she was interrogating the operator. She was not helpful. BAD Attitude. Sent a complaint to the company website. I hope I never have an emergency there! read more

the only thing I wish is that we could tell which side of the track to be on! my daughter almost missed the train because the train arrived on the wrong side, this happens a lot it seems! read more

Amtrak doesn't provide clear rules on how BusinessClass and coach tickets are refunded/modified. I was charged an $64/roundrip to go 45 minutes one way. When I missed my return trip and went on another later time, the conductor let me on but didn't explain to me what I need to do to exchange my current ticket. The office was closed. He said to call and when I did they said I had to pay for another $32 return ticket. They couldn't exchange my other ticket. The conductor later said he could have put me on coach and then I wouldn't have to pay. If I had known I had to rebook before the trip started, I would have done so. The website never mentions what the rules are, only that business class is refundable. So $96 to go from Oceanside to Irvine when Metrolink would have only been $10/weekend all day pass. The seats on Amtrak business class were not clean. I had to ask the conductor to put another clean headrest cover on as it was missing. Almost all breakfast was gone by the time I boarded. People talking the whole trip. It was squeaky, old, bumpy ride. Other train systems I have gone on from Boston to Germany cleaner, quieter and cheaper. Total ripoff. Stale snacks, website is often down not working to book trips. Bad service! read more

I was very impressed with comfort of the train and overall adherence to the schedule. Since the last time I did this, years ago, there have been route improvements that have significantly reduced time spent on sidings to wait for freight trains. I was also pleasantly surprised to notice track enhancements like banked curves in a couple of places. Overall track speeds seem to be a lot faster than I remember. On the other hand there are also more stations along the way now, which probably accounts for the overall duration between L.A. and San Diego being about the same as it was before. There's also a lot less stopping and waiting in the spaghettine tangle of tracks and railyards along the river as the train approaches Union Station. The Amtrak counter personnel at Oceanside need to keep better informed about platform assignments. Yesterday I was erroneously told that the northbound Amtrak would be stopping on Track 2 (the seaward one), which you reach by a tunnel that runs underneath the tracks. I had over an hour to wait so I wandered around the Oceanside Pier area for awhile and had coffee at the Pier View Cafe. I got back about ten minutes early and positioned myself on Platform 2. There was a southbound Coaster train waiting there at the time but I expected it would be leaving before the northbound Amtrak arrived. The departure time came just as I noticed the Amtrak train arriving on Track 1. I had to dash back through the tunnel and back up the steps on the landward side, having to raise my voice at some children who were dawdling down the other way holding the handrail at arm's length. I managed to get aboard with about two seconds to spare. Trains never stand very long at intermediate station stops so being on the wrong platform can easily mean a missed train. read more

Unfortunately the workers on the train can't stay off the microphone making it very unrelaxing with loud interruptions every few minutes. You can travel all over Europe and hours go by with very little interruptions in terms of noise, with the self important workers on Amtrak have to make redundant officious and unnecessary announcements over and over read more

One good thing about the Oceanside train station is the two women behind the ticket counter are super friendly. Bad and I mean huge part is the whole train station looks dirty and abandoned. Its really sad that the city itself cannot do an update on this place like and i mean a huge renovation (I mean big time) but then again I guess money is an issue to. San Diego airport looks cleaner than this place and this is where people travel back and fourth to one place to another. Then again you really cannot complain the good thing about this place is thats its here for conviency Could be better though. read more

3.5--This review is for Amtrak, not a particular station. And for my experience overall (otherwise this particular trip's review would be a lot lower.) I do usually go out of Solana Beach though, and the station attendants are very nice, helpful, and easy to hear and understand on the platform. The actual train service however, is a different story. I took the train a few years ago during a holiday weekend while pregnant and didn't buy business class. I guess that was my fault, and I stood/sat on the floor of the bottom entrance/exit the whole way (with many others). I've taken it since and has an OK experience--nothing special, nothing terrible. Here I am again 8 months pregnant, not able to drive, so I took the 583 train on a holiday week-Tuesday mid afternoon in business class. When I got on, the train attendant did not offer to help with my suitcase, though that would have been the polite thing to do. (Fine, I get it-it's not your job, but it's rude.) Then when I'm sitting down, the same guy comes through and offers only certain people snacks and beverages. Excuse me! The pregnant lady would like some water! I wish I were the type of person who would shout that out. I had to ask for service after a very long absence and the way he treated me and everyone around me was with absolute distaste. I hope Amtrak prides itself on better service than that. read more

I had train ticket to go from Oceanside to Bakersfield. Got to train station in Oceanside with much time to spare as I was unsure of boarding platform. Inquired if I was in the right place from other passengers but they were not sure, so I went to the ticket counter and asked an agent, "Where do I board the train headed to LA?" He answered, "You need to go way down to the end to Platform 3, but stay on this side of the tracks." "It is all the way to the end by the yellow flags." So, luggage in tow, I began the long walk to the end as instructed. Along the way, the loud speaker came on announcing that my train was delayed by about 15 minutes, so I took a deep breath, continuing on at a more leisurely pace until I arrived at Platform 3. Other people waiting to board there so I asked a few and learned that they were waiting for southbound train to San Diego. One guy took this train daily and said, no this rail only goes south, You need to go back. Turning around, a nice man noticed my confusion and when I told him my destination, he said, "No you were told incorrectly and you need to go back to Platform 2 where you started." At that point I felt an urgency to get there so stepped up the pace until I got back to that area, inquired among the waiting passengers who were all LA bound. The train came just a few minutes (only two minute delay from ETD) later. All I could think was WTH! Did that agent take some sort of twisted joy out of seeing a senior citizen haul ass in the wrong direction? Or is he just an idiot? So, I arrive in LA and beat feet up to the bus to take me to Bakersfield with just minutes to spare, no potty break, but assured that there are facilities on board. There are two buses to make the trip due to high volume of travelers. I get in one line, bus driver is standing by luggage compartment and as the suitcases collect, he angrily pushes the handles back in place, shouting at us, "No, I need you to push these down, I cant handle them like this." Then he starts throwing, and I mean throwing the luggage into the compartment while we all look at each other with shared concern for our stuff. So the bus is full and they cut of the last person in line telling the rest of the passengers to take the second bus. When a lady steps out of line to retrieve her luggage, he stands in her way, "What are you doing?" and she says, "I need my luggage." So he has an attitude from the get go. Does he hate his job or just hates people? The coach is crowded, Alot of people way older than I, and they having a real difficulty getting down the isle and into those cramped seats. Smaller leg room than on an airline. and the seats don't recline even a little bit so we are sitting straight up, legs on the floor, unable to move at all. The ride sucks. My back was screaming when we got to Bakersfield and some were obviously really in pain. Shame on Amtrak for cramming us in there like sardines, just so they can sell more seats. The bathroom door would not lock. Try to go in one of those bathrooms while holding the door closed and staying on the seat with the bus lurching from side to side and slowing down and speeding up all the while. Also, no toilet seat covers and no way to wash the hands or even a bottle of sanitizer. Gross. Next the driver makes an issue of making an announcement to us that we are not allowed to use our cell phones for conversation, unless it is to verify our ETA in Bakersfield. Absolutely NO music, and if our phone rings, answer but keep it short. He makes this announcement at three different aisle locations so he is assured that we all heard him, saying that phone conversations would violate driver safety. Immediately underway, he begins a long, loud conversation with the passenger sitting directly behind him, who he had just chewed her out for sitting there as it is designated ADA and that she wasn't allowed there unless he deemed it necessary. Another elderly lady with a cast on her leg tried to sit in the other seat and he had his stuff there so he told her no, sit somewhere else. So this conversation between driver and passenger goes on and on for over an hour (in Spanish), stopping for awhile then starting again and going the duration of the trip. What happened to driver safety? When we arrive, we couldn't get off that bus fast enough. He told us to get our luggage ourselves, so we peeled ourselves out of the bus (some could have used a helping hand getting down the steps) and found a pile (and I mean a PILE) of luggage sitting on the concrete that we had to dig through to find ours. Im still so pissed. I hope this is a word of caution to discourage anyone from taking Amtrak to Bakersfield or any route where a "comfortable" coach is included. Shame on Amtrak. Shame on that rude, inconsiderate, driver. Shame on them if they didn't forward the message I sent them onto the proper personnel and if that Driver isn't called out, written up and fired if this has happened before. read more

I have ridden the train to LA several tines. It has always been a pleasant experience. However, this weekend trip was extra special to me. I am senior citizen and walking a distance is difficult. Plus last week I sprained my wrist. So I was having difficulty this weekend. The porter on the train noticed my difficulty and after helping me remove my suitcase, he then called for a cart to get me to my car. The cart was there very quickly. He loaded my suitcase, drove me to my car. He even loaded my suitcase in my car for me. I feel like they went above and beyond in helping me. I appreciate it very much. read more

Recently my experience on Amtrak was below par. I was on an almost full train going from Oceanside to Orange County area for work and as I was looking for an empty seat I came across a section of 14 empty seats. These 14 empty seats had a sign that read "employees only". I didn't see any employees sitting in these seats, nor did I the reaminder of the train ride, so I decided to sit down to finish some work. The Amtrak employee made me leave despite there being an empty seat on the car I was in. I understand the need to reserve a few seats, but 14 seats is unacceptable. We pay a lot of money to ride Amtrak. read more

My mother came to visit form Stockton and she bought a round trip ticket. The ticket was to return on Sunday night and when she checked in on the 27 of November, we arrived 20 min earlier and the bus driver noticed the return date was wrong. We proceeded to the office to change the ticket and the lady behind the counter was extremely rude. She wanted my mother to buy another ticket even though the mistake was on their part. I let her know that was not going to happen and she made us waste 5 min. a second lady came out to help us and she was going to use the other lady's computer but she said, "not on my computer because I'm not approving it" so, the lady wasted more time by logging in another computer. The Bus driver came in and he was told we were solving the issue and it was going to take just one minute. The bus was still on time and he stepped out of the office and he left not even a minute late without letting the counter lady he was leaving. My mother had to travel the next day in the morning and when she arrived to Bakersfield she had to wait d2 hours for the train at that station. Ironically they couldn't wait for her one minute but she had to wait for them 2 hours. This is not the first time we have a bad experience. Last time she came to visit Amtrak over sold tickets and she had to travel standing from LA to San Juan Capistrano. Needless to say we will never use this transportation again. PS. Their employees need to start wearing name tags. read more