X Games train service skips the traffic, features local beer
With the specter of May's Strawberry Festival gridlock looming over my planned Friday commute to the X Games in Ventura, I decided to ditch the car altogether.
It was time to hit the tracks.
Both Amtrak and Metrolink announced special X Games schedules for the weekend, with extra trains running Friday night through Sunday as part of plans by the city of Ventura and its partners to ease the load on local roads.
More: Fewer berries, less jams: Traffic chaos at May fest influences plans for Ventura X Games
My train, a 3:13 p.m. Amtrak Surfliner, was the last I could catch from Union Station in downtown Los Angeles and still make it to the Ventura County Fairgrounds in time for the Men's Skateboard Vert final at 6 p.m..
The afternoon train pulled into the station a little after 3 p.m. from its journey north, then left promptly at 3:13.
"We have a fully booked train," a conductor barked over the intercom. "You will be sitting next to someone you don't know."
Fortunately — or unfortunately, depending on your disposition toward strangers — the train was not actually fully booked. The seat next to me remained open for the hour I spent there before moving to another car.
The regular Friday crowd of commuters and weekend trekkers was filled out by an extra dose of travelers decked out in action-sport brands. A few skateboards shared space in the overhead luggage racks with wheeled bags.
We made stops in Glendale, Burbank, Van Nuys and Chatsworth before crossing the county line and stopping in Simi Valley. My Amtrak route also pulled through Moorpark, Camarillo and Oxnard before landing in downtown Ventura to wrap the two-hour ride.
Travelers can also ride Amtrak's Surfliner into town from as far as north as Oakland and as far south as San Diego. Metrolink, a regional Southern California commuter rail system, makes an additional stop on the east side of Ventura.
With my passenger car quite quiet and some laptop work done — both services provide electrical outlets and Amtrak has decent Wi-Fi — I stepped downstairs to the train's café car for a sandwich.
The Surfliner carries local craft beers in its café fridge, and on this ride Ventura was well-represented by two local X Games-themed craft beers going for $7.50 a pop.
The two 16 oz. brews — Rincon Brewery’s “Rodeo Ripa” and Ventura Coast Brew Co.'s “Summer Shredding” — were part of the special eight-can X Games lineup announced by the city earlier this week.
The café car, I learned, is also a great place to meet people. Chip Foster of Yorba Linda and Winn Krozack of Oxnard were locked in a conversation about Krozack's boat, which he carted across the country from Maryland after moving to California a decade ago.
Foster was taking the Surfliner on a weekend trip to Ojai to visit his parents. Krozack, a train regular, was riding the afternoon line home from work.
"You don't have to fight the traffic," Krozack said. "It's colorful. You never know who you're gonna meet."
Just after 5 p.m., about an hour's ride from Simi Valley, our train pulled into Ventura's downtown station, just across the street from the fairgrounds.
A large dirt motocross ramp crested above the fairground's entrance where a Ferris wheel sometimes spins.
At the small station, a few families waited for the southbound train home. Oxnard residents Esteban and Luisa Enriquez claimed a bench in the shade for their three tired kids.
"The BMX was really fun," 13-year-old Jordan Enriquez said.
The family picked the train to skip traffic and parking hassles, Esteban Enriquez said. By the time I met them, they had been at the games since gates opened in the morning.
"This is about it for us," Luisa said.
From the north, the bright headlights of a southbound Surfliner rounded a curve in the tracks. The train was about 10 minutes behind schedule, but still, it was headed home.
Want to take the train?
Tickets and information for Amtrak's service can be found at www.amtrak.com/pacific-surfliner-x-games. Metrolink tickets and information can be found at metrolinktrains.com. Prices vary based on service and distance traveled, though Metrolink offers a special $10 weekend day pass on Saturday and Sunday.
Isaiah Murtaugh covers education for the Ventura County Star in partnership with Report for America. Reach him at isaiah.murtaugh@vcstar.com or 805-437-0236 and follow him on Twitter @isaiahmurtaugh and @vcsschools. You can support this work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: X Games train service to Ventura skips traffic, features local beer
