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Re: The Last SP Train #75, The Lark April 8, 1968 at LA
Author: Sgt. Joe Friday
Date: 12-31-2009 - 21:52
A service such as the Lark or Spirit of California might find a market, under a certain set of circumstances:
- Oil shoots back up, with gasoline at $4/gal or more indefinitely
- Continued traffic congestion, making the current 6-7 LA-Bay Area I-5 trip more like 9-10 hours
- High real estate prices at the end points (SF & LA) affecting both home prices and in-town hotel rates
- A continued terrorism threat with increased security necessary that renders short-haul (i.e. < 500 mile) airline travel too much of a hassle and negates, at least partially, its speed advantage
Strangely enough, the most likely route that would make sense to revive would be the old Owl/West Coast route. There would be substantial suburban pickup/dropoff traffic at both ends (Glendale-Santa Clarita-Palmdale-Lancaster at the south end, Stockton and points west on the north end), as well as the possibility for LA-Sacto service.
A 12 hour service, scheduled 8:30 PM to 8:30 AM at both ends would provide convenient service at the end points, while having reasonable departure and arrival times at the suburban stations that might atrract traffic, e.g. 8:30 LAUPT departure = 10:35 PM departure Lancaster. This could also attract Orange County to Bay Area/Sacramento business as well.
This is predicated on a lot of "ifs," of course. If airline travel becomes too difficult, if hotels close to where business needs to be done become too expensive, if it becomes too expensive to drive one's own vehicle, and if train service that's priced well, convenient, and a reasonable alternative to a night in hotel is available, then yes, people will use the train.
- Oil shoots back up, with gasoline at $4/gal or more indefinitely
- Continued traffic congestion, making the current 6-7 LA-Bay Area I-5 trip more like 9-10 hours
- High real estate prices at the end points (SF & LA) affecting both home prices and in-town hotel rates
- A continued terrorism threat with increased security necessary that renders short-haul (i.e. < 500 mile) airline travel too much of a hassle and negates, at least partially, its speed advantage
Strangely enough, the most likely route that would make sense to revive would be the old Owl/West Coast route. There would be substantial suburban pickup/dropoff traffic at both ends (Glendale-Santa Clarita-Palmdale-Lancaster at the south end, Stockton and points west on the north end), as well as the possibility for LA-Sacto service.
A 12 hour service, scheduled 8:30 PM to 8:30 AM at both ends would provide convenient service at the end points, while having reasonable departure and arrival times at the suburban stations that might atrract traffic, e.g. 8:30 LAUPT departure = 10:35 PM departure Lancaster. This could also attract Orange County to Bay Area/Sacramento business as well.
This is predicated on a lot of "ifs," of course. If airline travel becomes too difficult, if hotels close to where business needs to be done become too expensive, if it becomes too expensive to drive one's own vehicle, and if train service that's priced well, convenient, and a reasonable alternative to a night in hotel is available, then yes, people will use the train.
