Written by David Weisman | 30 April 2009
Posted in Environment

Your train has arrived…and all of San Luis County is invited down to the San Luis Obispo train station on Saturday, May 9th, to celebrate the second annual National Train Day. The date celebrates our railroad history and its future and commemorates the 140th anniversary of the driving of the golden spike that linked the east and west coasts of the United States.

The celebration on May 9th will take place from noon to 4 PM at the Amtrak San Luis Obispo Train Station, 1011 Railroad Avenue at Santa Rosa. It’s free and open to the public, with plenty of free parking at the station. There will be refreshments, as well as paper engineer caps for kids of all ages, a scale model railroad exhibit from the San Luis Obispo Model Railroad Association, a railroad photography display by local Rich Hansen, whose photography at the SLO station won second place in Amtrak’s national competition, and musical entertainment by the youth band of the Basin Street Regulars—with some jazzy railroad themed tunes!

Today, whether you are avoiding the fluctuating price of gasoline, frustrating traffic, airline hassles, or simply reducing your greenhouse gas emissions, there’s never been a better time to climb on board and take the train. Trains are more energy efficient than domestic air travel and automobiles, and unlike planes, you can use your tray table, your cell phone, your laptop and recline your seat any time you want! Get up and move about, grab a snack or a full meal, or just take in the beautiful coastal scenery on the trip from San Luis Obispo down the coast to Los Angeles.

Amtrak has three trains each way daily between San Luis Obispo and Los Angeles, plus one train daily to and from the Bay Area and on to Portland and Seattle. In addition, there are frequent, comfortable Amtrak California bus/train connections to the Bay Area and the San Joaquin Valley. Ridership is growing in popularity; last year over 4 million people rode the California Corridor trains—second only to the Northeast corridor in terms of passengers.

Along with the helpful station agents, hosts and volunteers will be available to answer questions and help with trip planning. Real trains will be arriving and departing at 12:45 PM, 2:00 PM, 3:07 PM and 3:30 PM. Amtrak is offering many incentives and special deals for travel between now and train day, visit them on the web at www.amtrak.com or see www.nationaltrainday.com