Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Poorest Americans Dealt Biggest Blow Under Senate Republican Tax Package

12 hours ago

Trump Vowed to Dismantle MS-13. His Deal With Bukele Threatens That Effort.

15 hours ago

Ukraine Voices Concern as US Halts Some Missile Shipments

16 hours ago

Poll: Most Americans Say National Divide, Political Violence Threaten Democracy

16 hours ago

Paramount Settles With Trump Over ‘60 Minutes’ Interview for $16 Million

16 hours ago

Republicans Tee up House Vote on Trump Bill, Outcome Uncertain

16 hours ago

What’s Next for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs After His Sex Trafficking Trial?

16 hours ago

Dalai Lama Says He Will Be Reincarnated, Trust Will Identify Successor

17 hours ago
High-Speed Rail Deniers Have It All Wrong
Joe-Mathews
By Joe Mathews
Published 7 years ago on
February 22, 2018

Share

If California’s train deniers are right—that no one ever rides trains here, that Californians prefer to drive or fly, and that high-speed rail is a boondoggle that won’t attract riders — then how do you explain my wife’s public humiliation?


Opinion
Joe Mathews
Recently, our family was on Amtrak from San Diego to L.A., when an announcement came over the sound system: “Mrs. Mathews, we have two of your children here in the café car. Mrs. Mathews, you should never let your children walk unaccompanied on an Amtrak train.”
Mrs. Mathews, upset at the scolding, looked for someone to blame: me.
Her accusation was based on an overly limited reading of the facts. True, I had been in charge of our two older children when they went to the café car. But she missed the larger context, which both absolves me and debunks the idea that Californians are train-phobic.

California Amtrak Routes Are Jammed

The Pacific Surfliner that day was mobbed: with every seat taken and passengers standing in the aisles and stairwells. So when I took those two hungry boys in the direction of the café car, the crowds were so thick I couldn’t squeeze through.  The boys, now nine and seven,  are very skinny and insisted on continuing on, despite my pleas, beginning a memorable adventure.
Our story may be singular, but the situation is not. Crammed Amtrak trains are commonplace in California. California is now home to three of the busiest intercity train lines outside the Northeast Corridor of the United States. The Pacific Surfliner has three million riders annually on trains from San Luis Obispo to San Diego, America’s second busiest passenger rail corridor.
Two others are in the top ten:  Capitol Corridor, from San Jose to Sacramento, has 1.6 million yearly riders, and the San Joaquins, serving Central Valley cities that train deniers claim have no taste for rail, tops 1.1 million annually.
All told, Amtrak carries 12 million riders in California each year. Amtrak would like to accommodate more of us, but service is limited by the lack of tracks and the fact that Amtrak must share tracks with commuter rail and freight. Amtrak even publishes guidance on its website on how to avoid overcrowding. Among the advice issued on the Pacific Surfliner: avoid riding on Fridays and Sundays, when trains are especially crowded.

High-Speed Rail Would Be Popular

The sardine-like state of Amtrak California suggests that, contrary to claims of train deniers, high-speed rail would be popular. Studies in other countries suggest high-speed rail draws people from driving and flying, and inspires people to take trips they otherwise wouldn’t. And why not, given California’s scenery? Take the Capitol Corridor across the Delta, or peer up to the Sierra from the San Joaquins. Over the holidays, I was on a Pacific Surfliner along the Ventura County coast as the sun set over the Channel Islands. Even the off-shore oil platforms looked beautiful.


“Don’t let the train deniers win. More train service — including high-speed rail — can’t get here fast enough.” — Joe Mathews
Amtrak is not perfect; the cars could be cleaner, the trains faster, the Wi-Fi more reliable, and then there are those crowds. But that argues for more rail infrastructure, not less.
After being shamed, Mrs. Mathews ordered me to retrieve her children from the café car. But I couldn’t reach it through it all the passengers in the aisles and stairwells. I found a conductor, but he couldn’t get through the crowds either. He had me wait until the next stop, where I could get off the train and re-board directly into the café car.
I asked the conductor how often the train was this crowded; he said this was standard for evening trains on weekends. And on late summer weekends when the horses race at Del Mar, things are even more jammed, he said.
The next station was only 10 minutes away, but then the train stopped because we were approaching a stretch of single track, where we waited for two trains to pass before us. After all that, it was a half-hour before we got to the station and I could get to the boys, who I found covered in chocolate chip cookie crumbs. From there, with a conductor’s assistance, we got back off the train again and sprinted up to board at the car where my wife and their little brother were. It took us five minutes to navigate the 40 feet to their seats.
Don’t let the train deniers win. More train service — including high-speed rail — can’t get here fast enough.
About the Author
Joe Mathews writes the Connecting California column for Zócalo Public Square.
 

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

House Republicans Say They Expect to Vote Tonight on Trump’s Tax-Cut Bill

DON'T MISS

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to 8,300 Acres, Prompts Evacuations

DON'T MISS

SLO Deputies Fatally Shoot Man in Los Osos Weeks After US Marshal Impersonation Arrest

DON'T MISS

Madera County Deputy Injured, Wanted Felon Arrested After Violent Struggle

DON'T MISS

San Luis Obispo County Wildfire Burns More Than 3,000 Acres. No Containment Yet

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: Why Is State Lawmaker Taking Aim at Rooftop Solar?

DON'T MISS

Two Visalia Men Sentenced in 2021 Motel Killing

DON'T MISS

Ex-Jan. 6 Defendant Gets Life in Prison for Plot to Kill FBI Agents

DON'T MISS

Del Monte Files for Bankruptcy. Gets Nearly $1B to Keep Producing Through Process

DON'T MISS

Who is Running for Fresno Area Offices in 2026? An Updated Look

UP NEXT

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to 8,300 Acres, Prompts Evacuations

UP NEXT

SLO Deputies Fatally Shoot Man in Los Osos Weeks After US Marshal Impersonation Arrest

UP NEXT

Madera County Deputy Injured, Wanted Felon Arrested After Violent Struggle

UP NEXT

San Luis Obispo County Wildfire Burns More Than 3,000 Acres. No Containment Yet

UP NEXT

Wired Wednesday: Why Is State Lawmaker Taking Aim at Rooftop Solar?

UP NEXT

Two Visalia Men Sentenced in 2021 Motel Killing

UP NEXT

Ex-Jan. 6 Defendant Gets Life in Prison for Plot to Kill FBI Agents

UP NEXT

Del Monte Files for Bankruptcy. Gets Nearly $1B to Keep Producing Through Process

UP NEXT

Who is Running for Fresno Area Offices in 2026? An Updated Look

UP NEXT

CIA Review Finds Flaws but Does Not Dispute Finding Putin Sought to Sway 2016 Vote to Trump

Madera County Deputy Injured, Wanted Felon Arrested After Violent Struggle

9 hours ago

San Luis Obispo County Wildfire Burns More Than 3,000 Acres. No Containment Yet

9 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: Why Is State Lawmaker Taking Aim at Rooftop Solar?

10 hours ago

Two Visalia Men Sentenced in 2021 Motel Killing

10 hours ago

Ex-Jan. 6 Defendant Gets Life in Prison for Plot to Kill FBI Agents

10 hours ago

Del Monte Files for Bankruptcy. Gets Nearly $1B to Keep Producing Through Process

11 hours ago

Who is Running for Fresno Area Offices in 2026? An Updated Look

11 hours ago

CIA Review Finds Flaws but Does Not Dispute Finding Putin Sought to Sway 2016 Vote to Trump

11 hours ago

Poorest Americans Dealt Biggest Blow Under Senate Republican Tax Package

12 hours ago

Check Out Newest Downtown Mural. It’s a Spectacular Tribute to Fresno Artisans

12 hours ago

House Republicans Say They Expect to Vote Tonight on Trump’s Tax-Cut Bill

WASHINGTON – Republicans in the House of Representatives on Wednesday struggled to pass President Donald Trump’s massive tax-cut...

9 hours ago

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks to the press, as Republican lawmakers struggle to pass U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 2, 2025. (Reuters/Annabelle Gordon)
9 hours ago

House Republicans Say They Expect to Vote Tonight on Trump’s Tax-Cut Bill

The Madre Fire in San Luis Obispo County has rapidly expanded to 8,396 acres with no containment, prompting evacuation orders and warnings near New Cuyama. (CalFire)
9 hours ago

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to 8,300 Acres, Prompts Evacuations

Andrew Biscay, 40, was arrested Friday, June 20, 2025, after deputies found him with a fake U.S. Marshal’s badge, homemade firearm, and law enforcement-style gear during a warrant arrest. (Madera County SO)
9 hours ago

SLO Deputies Fatally Shoot Man in Los Osos Weeks After US Marshal Impersonation Arrest

On Tuesday, July 1, 2025, a Madera County sheriff’s deputy was injured while trying to arrest a wanted felon, Felix Adrian Nucamendi Carrasco, 40, who later fled and was captured near Raymond Road. (Madera County SO)
9 hours ago

Madera County Deputy Injured, Wanted Felon Arrested After Violent Struggle

A wildfire dubbed the Madre Fire has burned over 3,300 acres near New Cuyama with 0% containment, officials said Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (CalFire)
9 hours ago

San Luis Obispo County Wildfire Burns More Than 3,000 Acres. No Containment Yet

10 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: Why Is State Lawmaker Taking Aim at Rooftop Solar?

Jose Luna (left), 33, and Ralph Grajeda, 45, both of Visalia, have been sentenced for their roles in the 2020 shotgun killing of Robert Soto at a local motel. (Tulare County DA)
10 hours ago

Two Visalia Men Sentenced in 2021 Motel Killing

A U.S. Justice Department logo or seal showing Justice Department headquarters, known as "Main Justice," is seen behind the podium in the Department's headquarters briefing room before a news conference with the Attorney General in Washington, January 24, 2023. (Reuters File)
10 hours ago

Ex-Jan. 6 Defendant Gets Life in Prison for Plot to Kill FBI Agents

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend