Amtrak Prepared For More Thanksgiving Train Travel In California

Amtrak says it has attached every commuter car it has to its engines in anticipation of Thanksgiving travel.

About 846,000 people rode Amtrak last Thanksgiving week nationwide, which was the most ever for that time period. But ridership in Sacramento was actually down over that time by about 25 percent. Amtrak says some of that was likely due to last year’s fire season and expects ridership to rebound this year. 

Marcia Tos is taking the train this Thanksgiving for the first time. 

"We're doing a bucket list of one of my husband's items, going through the Rockies and seeing our daughter in Denver."

And from there, it's on to Buffalo.

Amtrak spokesman David Lipari says last year traffic the day before Thanksgiving increased by more than half compared to the typical Wednesday.

"If you're thinking about taking the train, it's pretty essential that you book now because departures will be sold out soon," Lipari said.

Ronny and Sylvia Payton are from Alabama and made their Thanksgiving trip a couple of weeks early to see the grandkids. The Paytons were at the Sacramento Valley Station Monday morning waiting for the train to take them back home. 

"I've got the observation car up there on the super liner,” Ronny Payton says. “It's real nice being able to see things and see parts of the world you never see."

It took them six days to go from Alabama to Redding. For people headed to southern California, the trip is about eight hours. One option is to take the train to Bakersfield and then a bus to Los Angeles.