I took the Amtrak Coast Starlight to Albany, Oregon on Tuesday, April 25, 2017. That was the day Murphy caused Amtrak to simply throw in the towel.
Shortly after leaving Los Angeles on the northbound Coast Starlight #14, the conductor announced that a UP freight derailment north of Redding, CA had closed the coastal route and we would likely have to leave the train in Sacramento to ride a bus to Klamath Falls, OR. Amtrak intended us to board the similarly stranded southbound #13 in Klamath Falls where it would be turned in order to return northward as the #14.
The blockage of the line caused several delays and the train pulled into San Jose about two hours late. Up to this point, the trip had been pleasant and the food was very good. I also had the opportunity to meet several people, most pleasant, a couple you wanted to escape from.
As we passed through Alviso, I entered a restroom to prepare to get some sleep prior to the bus in Sacramento. I had just finished removing my contact lenses when the train went into emergency and I hit the restroom wall. Upon leaving the restroom, the car steward reported that the train crew thought we had hit a person on the tracks. After another two hour delay waiting for police and fire crews to investigate, no body was found and we were finally released about 11:30 PM, a total of four hours behind schedule. My later internet searches could find no reports of such an accident so it would appear that this delay was not warranted.
When we finally reached Sacramento, the station was closed with no Amtrak representatives to meet the train. The train crew simply pointed down a ramp and told us to turn left at the bottom and keep walking till we see the buses. Again, there were no Amtrak reps at the buses and the drivers had no idea who (or even how many) should board what bus (multiple destinations). It took a while to sort out and the only seat available by the time I was all