Central Coast TRAIN DAY, July 18, 2009
Link to Larry Nimmer's video of Central Coast Train Day, which includes the return train ride from Carpinteria
And Below are Photos and Report by Carl Morrison, Carl@TrainWeb.com
You may wonder why this event did not take place May 9 with other Train Day celebrations. At that time, Santa Barbara, CA, was having the Jesusita Fire, and their minds were occupied with the fires with little to celebrate at the time. This event date actually allowed many of us to attend today where we were not able to attend in May, since we were at celebrations in other cities. Most of the TrainWeb.com staff were at the Los Angeles Celebration. The following report and photos were by me, Carl@TrainWeb.com, as I enjoyed a nice trip on the Pacific Surfliner from Fullerton, CA, to Santa Barbara, through Los Angeles.
Train Day Festivities in Santa Barbara
The activities in Santa Barbara started with a ride on a southbound Pacific Surfliner to Carpenteria, detraining, and reboarding the northbound Pacific Surfliner #799, on which I was travelling, back to Santa Barbara. During the ride, and during the festivities, guests were entertained by Master Magician Mark Collier.
Dennis Story, Chair of Coastal Rail Now, had the only prepared information
which was in the Press Release provided by KK Holland. He mentioned:
May 9, 2009, Amtrak used National Train Day to highlight the growing
popularity of trains as convenient, energy efficient, environmentally sound
ways to travel. We're here today talking to families in attendance about
the importance of our work, and using the unprecedented support for
passenger trains shown by President Obama to expand our membership.
We are also here today to talk about he importance of regional
transportation in addressing the congestion and environmental challenges we
face here in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. If we are serious about
giving people choices to get around, addressing congestion, and responding
to state environmen tal legislation such as SB 375 and AB 32, we are going
to need to work together. We are here today, as elected reporesentatives
from Ventura and Santa Barbara counties to rise to that challenge and
demonstrate that we have the resolve to address transportation issues on a
regional level. We are going to need a solution that can take into account
the challenges of the region as a whole, while helping individual
communities find solutions to connect residents to the region at large.
People recognize on all levels that addressing transportation is critically
important. Whether it's families dealing with the price of gas or just
dealing with the economic pressures facing all of us right now, or the
voters of Santa Barbara County approving measure A last fall to take the
first steps toward addressing regional tranportation challenges with money
for buses and trains, the need for a more comprehensive solution is obvious.
Certain major funding sources are only available to regional cooperation
efforts. If we are to be successful, we will need a multimodal approach
with solutions for everyone.
For more information, please visit CRN at CoastalRailNow.org, and ASERT at
CoastalCommuter.org.
Grant House, Councilmember, City of Santa Barbara.
Mr. House read the press release composed by Dennis Story that I have
printed above.
Mayor Marty Blum
City of Santa Barbara
The Mayor mentioned the new railcar west of the station, pictured here:
Restored railcar west of the station.
Kathleen Reddington, Carpenteria Councilmember.
"We need commuter transportation that makes sense so the workforce in Santa
Barbara can commute from Carpenteria."
Supervisor Salud Carbajal First District Supervisor
Paul Dyson, President of Rail PAC.
Paul had some thoughtful comments: All we need is more rail coaches and
track (sidings). Compared to adding a lane of a freeway, this is not a
costly proposition. There have been no new rail cars built in the last 15
years.
Television, Internet, and Print Media were interviewing speakers all around
the station and on the train.
View all photos at trainweb.org
Video clip from KEYT Channel 3 News coverage of Central Coast
Train Day
Central Coast Train Day rescheduled at Santa Barbara Train Station
Same event, same train ride, different date! Saturday, July 18th from 9AM till Noon
Southbound 774 train leaves Santa Barbara at 9:20, and Northbound 799 leaves Oxnard at 9:20
"Central Coast Train Day" plans include elected officials and others catching the 799 Surfliner north from the Ventura area, and picking up elected officials and others from the Santa Barbara area who rode the 774 south to Carpinteria. The trains schedule offers a unique opportunity for event participants to have a quick and easy train ride which will ultimately bring everyone to the Santa Barbara station at 10:12 AM for the Train Day events that will go till noon and begins with a press conference. Activities will go till noon, and includes Master Magician Mark Collier, a train cookie decorating contest, and food catered by Omni-Fresco Catering. See ticketing options below.
Some Ticketing Options
1. By registering at www.santabarbaracarfree.com you'll receive a discount code good for 20% savings on the Pacific Surfliner to/from all eight SBA county stations. Three day advance reservations are required.
2. Another option would be to purchase 10-trip ticket book which provides up to a 30% discount off the regular fare for travel between OXN and Santa Barbara. Five people can travel round-trip on one ten-trip ticket. The 10-trip tickets need to be purchased at a staffed station like Oxnard or Santa Barbara.
3. Amtrak also offers everyday 10% AAA discount (valid membership card required) and kids ages 2-15 always ride at half price. Kids under 2 are free and seniors age 62+ can request a 15% discount.
FYI, Amtrak will be providing the gift bags to the Train Day attendees that were distributed at our four major NTD events on May 9th. The bag will contain a coupon good for 50% off a companion ticket for travel after Labor Day.
Santa Barbara National Train Day May 9th Event POSTPONED
In light of current developments with the Jesusita Fire, the National Train Day event planned for the Santa Barbara Station has been postponed. Details about a new date will be sent out next week. The press conference, children’s activities and station events have also been canceled.
Refunds on train travel are available through Amtrak. There is a 10% fee for returns, but the ticket value can be applied toward future travel at 100% value for up to one year. Please contact AMTRAK at 800-USA-Rail, or online at Amtrak.com
KK Holland, Project Coordinator
ASERT
(310) 980-2192
ASERT@Coast-SantaBarbara.org
Dennis Story, Chair
Coastal Rail Now
(805) 455-2926
DStory@Cox.net
Good News! Measure A 2008 includes $25M for Commuter Rail (read more at the COAST website)
Interesting Viewpoint, CRN would like to know what you think?
GM Must Re-Make the Mass Transit System it Murdered
Bail out General Motors? The people who murdered our mass transit system? First let them remake what they destroyed. ...there is also a trillion-dollar skeleton in GM's closet...In a 1922 memo that will live in infamy, GM President Alfred P. Sloan established a unit aimed at dumping electrified mass transit in favor of gas-burning cars, trucks and buses. [read more]
Train ridership sets records, as travelers seek to avoid traffic hassle, fill-ups
Many are jumping on the train bandwagon
By Scott Hadly
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
With rising gas prices and the high cost of air travel, more and more people are heeding the call of "all aboard." Some lines, including the Pacific Surfliner, which runs through Ventura County, are sometimes so full that there's standing room only. [read more]
County sales tax to pay for roads again being urged
Reading voters' lips and how they cast their ballots on new taxes don't always synch, and that disparity may give Ventura County transportation officials hope. Local voters have twice rejected a county sales tax to pay for fixing roads and improving mass transit. [read more]
Amtrak Rider Joe Biden Pledges 'First-Class' Railroad
"The stars appear to be aligning in a much more favorable fashion than you had for years,'' former Amtrak Chief Executive Officer David Gunn, 71, said in an interview. "Demand for good intercity passenger rail is bubbling below the surface all over the U.S." [read more]
Amtrak Names New Chief Executive
WASHINGTON -- Amtrak on Tuesday tapped the administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration to lead the national passenger railroad for a year. Joseph Boardman succeeds Chief Executive Alex Kummant, who resigned Nov. 14 after two years marked by significant growth in ridership and revenue. [read more]
The Future of Regional Passenger Rail
By Dennis Story
11/15/08
CoastalRailNow's advocacy for commuter rail between Oxnard and Goleta must be on the right track. Recent media coverage about the increasing ridership on Amtrak and Metrolink serves to show how people are rediscovering rail for their regional transportation needs. Even before $4.00 gas, CoastalRailNow spent many Saturdays at the SB and Ventura Farmer's Market...[read more]
NATIONAL TRAIN DAY COMES TO SANTA BARBARA:
ALL ABOARD AT THE SANTA BARBARA AMTRAK STATION
SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2008 FROM 11AM to 1PM!
JOIN YOUR HOSTS – CoastalRailNow and KMGQ 106.3 FM
“I hear the train a comin’…coming round the bend”…and all of Santa Barbara County is invited down to the Santa Barbara Amtrak station on Saturday, May 10 th to celebrate the first National Train Day. Why May 10 th? It commemorates the day back in 1869 when the Golden Spike was driven to connect the first transcontinental railroad. Trains have played an important role in the history of the United States, and their popularity is on the upswing.
DOWNLOAD .PDF for more information. |
