Amtrak Train Ride from San Jose to Sacramento

Anyone living in California (especially Northern CA) would know that public transportation here sucks.

Ever since I migrated to California from India, I have either walked to places, or taken my car. If I have to travel somewhere far, I take a flight.

I traveled by bus (Greyhound) only once in my life - that is the day I landed in US. It was January 15th, 2000. My friends had come to pick me up, and we took the bus from San Francisco to Sacramento.

I love traveling by trains. Growing up in India, I have extensively traveled in trains throughout my life. During my last visit to India, I had a British friend traveling with me, so we decided to take the train from Ahmedabad to Agra. It was so much fun, and he had a different experience as well.

So, while traveling back from San Jose last weekend, I decided to take the train back to Sacramento. I was excited but a little scared because some friends had warned me about safety issues on the train.

The journey was fantastic. I boarded the train around 6pm, and I sat on the upstairs compartment at a window seat. The train goes along the Pacific coast from San Jose to Fremont to Oakland to Richmond, and then moves inland reaching Sacramento via Fairfield and Davis. I love sunsets, and was blessed to see a spectacular sunset from the train between Oakland and Richmond. With San Francisco and its bridges in the background, I could not have asked for a better view.

A lot of Raiders fans boarded the train from Oakland....after enjoying the Raiders NFL game. There were a lot of UC Davis students as well, traveling back to campus after a weekend in the bay area.

I spent the remainder of my time reading a book, and observing people around me. There were 2 brothers traveling with their grandparents, who were trying to pass their time by playing with an empty water bottle, and eating candy. There was one female who was knitting, while another one was knitting while listening to music. The person right across me worked on his laptop for not more than 5 mins, and then dozed off all the way. And then there were 2 other females who were traveling together, constantly yapping in Spanish.

All in all, I enjoyed my 3 hour journey. The best part was getting to see the sunset. I was very relaxed when I reached Sacramento, which is nice coz I am usually tired if I drive back.

 I am ending this post with the hope that public transportation improves in California and becomes affordable so that I can use it more often :).