Train-ing Days: My Great, Comfortable Amtrak Business Class Ride Between Los Angeles and San Diego!

I needed to visit San Diego for an airport lounge review and opted to take Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner train from Los Angeles.

I’ve traveled Amtrak two and a half times between L.A. and San Diego (the “half” included meeting my wife for a wedding in La Jolla). It’s not the “express” one might assume. There are plenty of stops along the way and it’s not like this is a bullet train.

Still, I really enjoy and recommend this trip. I was relaxed and happy after both legs.

Why Did I Decide to Take the Train?

Several factors influenced my decision to ride Amtrak from the L.A. area to San Diego:

• Cost
  • The business class fare cost me $116 roundtrip. That’s about as much as hotel parking downtown and gas would’ve run me.
    • I wouldn’t necessarily spend this for a family trip, depending on where we stayed and for how long. Then it gets a little more cost-prohibitive.
• Time
  • Each way took just over four hours between Chatsworth and San Diego. I’ve made that drive in under three hours before: usually departing after 9:00 PM.
  • But road trips to/from San Diego from my home in the San Fernando Valley are usually three and a half to four hours, depending on traffic — which seems to worsen each year.
  • Not driving meant that I could spend those four hours (eight total roundtrip) working. I basically “gained” an extra work day.
• Transportation Needs in San Diego
  • I didn’t need a car in San Diego. I was in town to review an airport lounge. I could use rideshares from the hotel to the airport and then to the train station. It was the beginning of the month, so I could use rideshare credits from my credit card menagerie. Plus, I love walking in cities, so I hoofed it from the Santa Fe Depot to the hotel. The place featured a Resy restaurant and anything I needed was a quick walk.

Pacific Surfliner Business Class and Amenities

The Chatsworth Train Station (CWT) is the closest Amtrak stop to my home.

Chatsworth may sound familiar. Plenty of mainstream (and, ahem, other) movies and TV shows have been filmed on location in that neighborhood. (Yes, it’s infamous for its adult entertainment industry roots.) Chatsworth is also where Charles Manson’s “Family” kicked their heels at the Spahn Movie Ranch.

Charming, huh?

I boarded the train just after 11:00 AM. Seating is open — there are no assigned seats. Just like Southwest.

Make sure to board the correct car; there are fewer business class cars than coach. I didn’t and ended up walking through several cars.

At long last, I found the business class car! I opted to sit upstairs. (There are a few seats on the lower level, too.) Seating is arranged in a 2×2 configuration. These seats were dated and featured cloth upholstery. Some Surfliner cars I saw online had leather seats. But these were very comfortable!

I’m about 6’1″ and found plenty of legroom.

I had no problem fitting my rollaboard suitcase in the overhead rack.

Each seat has a 120V power outlet near the window. That can get interesting if two people sit in the row. I didn’t encounter that issue on either ride.

I guess these extend and retract footrests. Mine didn’t work.

Amtrak offers free Wi-Fi.

The speed is OK.

I used my Verizon Wireless hotspot service during most of the rides. That came in especially handy on the way back when I had a bunch of pictures to upload. 3.4 up is a little slow for images.

Business class passengers are offered complimentary beer, wine, soda, coffee, or bottled water. Attendants gave us these snack boxes.

Beware: there are self-serve Edna’s Bakery pastries! They’re so good and it’s easy to eat more than one! 🙂

Passengers may also visit the Marketplace (commissary and bar) to purchase snacks, beverages, and other food.

Amtrak Pacific Surfliner Ride Between Chatsworth (CWT) and San Diego Santa Fe (SAN)

My itinerary to America’s Finest City included these stops:

• Northridge (San Fernando Valley – Los Angeles)
• Van Nuys (San Fernando Valley – Los Angeles)
• Burbank Airport (San Fernando Valley – Los Angeles area)
  • This is across the street from the Hollywood-Burbank Airport (BUR)
• Burbank Downtown (San Fernando Valley – Los Angeles area)
• Glendale (Valley-ish – Los Angeles area)
• Los Angeles Union Station Downtown
• Fullerton (Orange County)
• Anaheim (Orange County – closest to Disneyland Resort and Angels Stadium)
• Santa Ana (Orange County)
• Irvine (Orange County)
• San Juan Capistrano (Orange County)
• San Clemente (Orange County)
• Oceanside (San Diego County)
• Solana Beach (San Diego County)
• San Diego – Old Town
• San Diego – Downtown (Santa Fe Station, end of the line)

The train waits about a minute or two at most stops.

My train departed around 11:05 AM.

The train’s windows have a filter or film producing a sort of yellowish tint. I opted not to color-correct my pictures to provide a more accurate representation of what the ride is like.

The ride through Los Angeles is fairly meh.

Restrooms are on the lower level. (At least, that’s where I found them.)

Get your cameras ready, true crime fans! That’s right: it’s the Twin Towers Correctional Facility! The famous jail complex has hosted some of California’s most notorious serial killers, gang members, politicians, and Hollywood celebrities. (Yes, that’s where O.J. Simpson was housed.)

About 20 minutes before stopping at Union Station, an Amtrak attendant and passenger got into a little tiff. The attendant asked several of us to move forward two or three rows to accommodate a large group boarding downtown.

All of us, except one lady, were fine. She insisted on staying put. But the attendant was adamant.

“Geez, lady, you’ll be fine!” the attendant snapped. Ew. That was a little uncalled for. Nonetheless, the passenger moved a minute later. Life went on.

The L.A. Union Station stop is about a 15-20 minute “layover.” You can get off the train if you wish.

The group that boarded was a bunch of developmentally disabled adults and their caretakers. They had so much fun! They loved the train ride and shared group home gossip with anyone who’d listen. (Boyfriends, girlfriends, who eats extra dessert, who listens to Olivia Rodrigo, etc. All way more interesting topics than the usual business class discussions.)

Graffiti and homeless encampment enthusiasts will enjoy the ride out of Los Angeles. Not surprisingly, the scenery improves once you cross into Orange County.

Try to dedicate some time to window-gazing once you hit San Clemente.

There are miles of ocean view. And it’s simply gorgeous.

Based on the several rides I’ve taken to/from San Diego, here’s the side with the better ocean views:

Remember, the train itself doesn’t physically “turn around” at the end point. It just travels the opposite direction.

The train arrived in downtown San Diego at about 3:10 PM. There are plenty of hotels within walking distance. San Diego’s Trolley (light rail system) is also nearby.

After both my rides to/from San Diego, I was quite relaxed after getting a bunch of work done. I didn’t need to battle traffic only to end up spending four or five hours working afterwards. I took a nice, long walk through downtown San Diego after I arrived. When I got back home, I spent time with my family.

Final Approach

I’m a big fan of taking the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner from Los Angeles to San Diego. It’s not necessarily the time-saver you might think. The train doesn’t get there in 90 minutes like you might think. In some cases, it’s more time than driving.

But the ride can be very scenic. The train is also nice for people who want to work during the ride.

Have you taken the train between L.A. and San Diego?