On Track to San Luis Obispo

Amtrak’s San Diegan, which normally travels between San Diego and Santa Barbara, today begins making one round trip per day to San Luis Obispo. The extended run will leave San Diego at 12:30 p.m. and arrive in San Luis Obispo at 8:33 p.m. after stops in Santa Ana, Los Angeles (departing at 3:30 p.m.), Oxnard and Santa Barbara. Southbound departure from San Luis Obispo is 7:15 a.m., with arrivals in Los Angeles at 12:10 p.m. and in San Diego at 3:20 p.m. Round-trip fares are $50.

Before the addition of this service, there were no round-trip trains between San Luis Obispo and San Diego, although connecting service was possible.

Tomorrow, Amtrak also will introduce San Diegan Express service, a once-a-day weekday service with limited stops between San Diego and Santa Barbara. Express runs should save riders about 20 minutes between San Diego and L.A., and another 20 minutes between L.A. and Santa Barbara, an Amtrak spokeswoman said. The train will use new double-decker passenger cars, the first time they’ve been used in California.

For more information, call (800) USA-RAIL.