California's train riders rival those of New York, but why?

But if the past is any guide, we'll hear almost nothing about California. Blame that omission on the Beltway mentality and our state's car-crazy image because, in fact, a lot of Amtrak happens here.

More than 9.3 million people each year get on or off an Amtrak train in California, second only to New York's 10.3 million. The Pacific Surfliner, which carries more than 2 million people each year between San Diego and San Luis Obispo, is Amtrak's third-busiest route.

Four long-distance trains originate in California: the Coast Starlight (L.A. to Seattle), the Southwest Chief (L.A. to Chicago), the Sunset Limited (L.A. to Orlando, Fla.) and the California Zephyr (Bay Area to Chicago).

That's not to say that rail is especially popular in this country. Traveling by train in the U.S. is nearly always slower than flying and, on cross-country routes, notorious for long delays. A train ticket also can cost more than airfare.

Only 4% of Americans took a train during vacations in the last 12 months, according to the National Leisure Travel Monitor, an annual survey by marketing consultants Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown & Russell in Orlando, and Yankelovich Partners in Chapel Hill, N.C. By comparison, more than 90% drove and nearly half flew.

So who takes the train in California? And why?

To get some idea, I made a round-trip hop one Saturday this month between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, taking the Pacific Surfliner north and the Coast Starlight back.

The Starlight, slowed by the effects of a sinkhole near San Luis Obispo, was one hour, 38 minutes late into Santa Barbara. The day before, a reservations agent told me, it ran 12 hours late northbound because of a freight train derailment.

"It's late all the time," a ticket taker at the Santa Barbara station told me.

Not quite. It has been late 56% of the time, on average, in the last few months, according to Amtrak statistics. Not as good as the Southwest Chief, tardy fewer than one in four trips, but better than the Sunset Limited, late nearly 98% of the time.

Amtrak blames more than 80% of its delays on commercial railroads, mostly freight, which own virtually all its tracks. Passenger trains stop often to let freight trains go by; there are also breakdowns, track work and other foul-ups to contend with.