ORANGE, Calif. — Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner is instituting its annual requirement for advance reservations during the Thanksgiving holiday period — and has announced operating plans for the four-day period in late December when trains will be unable to stop at Los Angeles Union Station because of track and signal work.
Reservations will be required Wednesday, Nov. 22, through Monday, Nov. 27, on Surfliner trains and connecting Amtrak Thruway buses. Extra railcars and buses will be in service, but the LOSSAN Corridor Agency, which oversees the Surfliners, strongly recommends booking early to ensure space. The codeshare program with Metrolink and Coaster commuter trains is suspended during this period, but monthly and 10-ride passes are still honored with advance reservations through Amtrak’s RideReserve program.
Also, checked baggage service will be reinstated Nov. 18-28 at staffed Surfliner stations in San Diego, Fullerton, Los Angeles, Van Nuys, Oxnard, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo.
More information and a link to ticket booking are available at this page on the Surfliner website.
Union Station closure
While Union Station is receiving track and signal upgrades Dec. 26-29, Surfliner trains will bypass the station, traveling for the first time on the east bank of the Los Angeles River and on part of the Alameda Corridor. During this period:
— Shuttle-bus connections to and from LA Union Station and Glendale station will be provided for all 700 series trains;
— Shuttle bus connections will be provided to and from LA Union Station and Fullerton station for trains 562, 564, 572, 586, 573, 581, 589, and 595;
— Trains 580 and 591 will be suspended;
— Train 587 will be replaced with train 589, which will operate one hour later.
More information is available at the Surfliner travel advisory page.
Metrolink has already announced it will suspend all operations during the same four-day period [see “LA’s Metrolink plans four-day shutdown …,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 6, 2023].
What about other Amtrak services?
You got to love what these operators are thinking. Do major upgrades to Union Station, causing it to be shut down, just as the area will have an influx of tourist (for the Rose Bowl).
From my experience the day after Christmas, fans start to flock to the cities that host the Major New Year’s day games. In Miami, New Orleans , Dallas, etc. the hotels are full and street traffic is a pain because of the out of town guest’s. LA’s traffic already a bitch and these visitors make it even worse.