Sacramento: Amtrak riders must walk 2-block distance to catch trains Options

[KevinKorell]

Sacramento, CA Bee, 2/20/12:

Downtown Sacramento train riders, get ready to take a hike.

Passengers will find themselves walking the equivalent of two blocks across an expanse of dirt this summer when the city opens new passenger platforms in the downtown railyard.

The full story is here.

[KevinKorell]

And now this is strictly a sports story, but the bottom line is that it looks like the planned arena will be built.... and built upon where one now boards the trains at the Sacramento station. Here is the article from AP wire service.

While this location would be a good thing in attracting people to ride Amtrak trains to the games, it's bad news for everyone else. A long walk, possibly now circuitous as well to circumvent the arena, will be necessary to get from the existing station building to the relocated station platforms. So the arena may attract basketball fans, but it may also physically block others from using the train if they don't want to deal with the long hike.

Before they built the light rail line that now ends at the Amtrak station (the city end of the Folsom Gold Line), where was the foresight? Perhaps the light rail could have been built into the Railyards, or there could be a spur off the abuilding Green Line, to bring LRT passengers closer to Amtrak trains.

[KevinKorell]

With the above new venue, Sacramento is already talking about being a player in the Reno-Tahoe area's bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. Now how about improved passenger rail service over the Sierras (above and beyond the current one daily California Zephyr round trip) to carry those athletes and attendees the 100 miles or so between Reno & Sacramento?

[Sloan]

http://www.modbee.com/2012/08/18/2334360/t...fix-issues.html

[KevinKorell]

Sounds like Amtrak needs not only more people to direct passengers between the station and the new platforms, but also a shuttle bus or van, and a cardilogist.

It's all relative. The press spin was that the walk was the equivalent of 1-1/2 blocks. In one of the articles I saw it said 2 blocks. But a "block" by California standards is longer than a block in most other places that travelers will be arriving from.

Locating the platforms at the rear of the railyards was the worst move they could make. It prevents any type of transit other than the golf carts being used to give people a lift, from dropping people off trainside of picking them up there.