Originally Posted by
Alan Mendelson
goldtc thank you for joining us and for taking the time to write this post. I really appreciate it. Going from Union Station to Fullerton will make sense for some people but not for those of us on the west side of Los Angeles (including the South Bay and Santa Monica, and it will make absolutely no sense for those living in the San Fernando Valley. Any way you cut it the ride to Union Station will take at least a half hour (probably longer), you have the cost of parking there (I think it's about $10-$20 for a weekend), and then you have the train trip to Fullerton and allow time to make your connection with the X Train. I am going to estimate that it tacks on an extra two hours. Heck, that's almost half the car ride to Vegas from along the 405.
I think Fullerton is a great departure point for everyone in Orange County and yes there are plenty of potential travelers living in the OC. It's just not going to be a "first choice" for LA west siders and those living in the San Fernando Valley. Too bad, I was looking forward to it.
I'm not sure if it is really going to be a "party train." We'll have to see what plans they come up with. I know that in discussions with management ideas about comics and magicians and showing movies and having a bar car with sports broadcasts has been mentioned. The casino games have been nixed per the demands of the railroads. Party? I doubt there will be dancing and you will have to pay for cocktails -- so forget about an open bar.
I traveled across Canada and the US by train when I was in school, one summer. No matter what they have planned, there is a limit to what you can do on a train. There just isn't that much space.
The X Train people said on Facebook that they have not ruled out adding a departure from Union Station in downtown LA. I hope they do. I do see a reason to go to Fullerton to catch the train -- when I have to travel alone and I am concerned about fatigue and driving alone, and when there is bad weather.
And thanks for the comments about MegaBus. I had a report on MegaBus on my TV show. I wouldn't mind taking it, but my Vegas buddy (my son) says he gets "bus sick" so we've been driving. One day I will try the bus.