How California’s income disparity is showing in our passenger trains | Opinion
At 7:09 on Friday morning, the Amtrak train that travels through the economically struggling San Joaquin Valley left Sacramento and as usual, it did not have a café car to serve passengers, for it could not afford one.
Three hours later, a new luxury train service rolled into the station, with two vintage cars hooked to the back of Amtrak’s line from the Bay Area to Chicago. No more than six passengers are ticketed in these cars, at a cost starting at $18,500 to Denver. It comes with deluxe sleepers, a domed lounge and gourmet meals prepared by the on-board personal chef.
I’m a train geek. I love them all. Peering into these two train cars on Friday in the cold of a Sacramento January morning, it was like glimpsing back into railroad history, these cars built for the Union Pacific Railroad in the 1950s. There was a time in this country when trains designed for true comfort crisscrossed the nation daily
Today, the disparity in trains at the Sacramento Valley Station said something about today’s California. The gap between rich and poor continues to grow. And this manifests itself in big and small ways on our trains as it does everywhere else.
The San Joaquin Valley is the equivalent of California’s Appalachia, the forested eastern region with chronic poverty. Our valley has the lowest percentage of adults with college degrees of any region in the state, for example, and the highest level of unemployment.
It is ironic that the train that connects this valley to Sacramento and the Bay Area (Oakland) is now called the Gold Runner. The previous train, more aptly called the San Joaquin, used to have a café car with a human attendant selling sandwiches and beer. But as of last May, the café car became a thing of the past.
The Gold Runner is funded partly by the state and governed by a joint powers authority of valley elected officials. It is now the longest train in the Amtrak system, more than six hours from Bakersfield to Oakland, without a café car.
“Historically, operating costs for the Gold Runner Food Service program has averaged over $4 million annually,” emailed Ahdel Ahmed, public relations manager for the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority. “For the past seven years, (authority leadership) has worked to reduce the budgetary impact of this amenity; however, challenges remained, and costs were projected to increase even further.”
Funded partly by the state and operated by a joint powers authority of valley governments, the Gold Runner became the longest train in the Amtrak system without such a car. In its place, the train offers limited drinks and snacks, when they are available, for free.
On a November train ride to Fresno, the conductor alerted passengers to head to two places on the train where free sodas and snacks were available. In the mood for a cola and Flaming Hot Cheetos, I found an available can of soda, but no snacks. I did, however, pass a male passenger with five bags of Cheetos on his lap.
“We currently offer a variety of chips, cookies, snacks, soft drinks and water,” Ahmed said. Frankly, most of this is junk food. But for passengers in the valley, the price appears to be right.
“Recent post-trip surveys administered by Amtrak show that our Food and Beverage scores are the highest they have ever been,” Ahmed said.
Meanwhile on Amtrak, the Halloway firm is beginning to offer chartered luxury train service on two California lines. The fare for six passengers in its vintage cars between Los Angeles and Oakland starts at $10,000.
Friday marked the inaugural run of this service between Oakland and Denver. This famed line, called the California Zephyr, conquers three mountain ranges between here and Denver — the Sierra, the Wasatch and the Rockies. The train follows the Colorado River for more than 200 miles.
“All trips are sold out at this time,” emailed Mike Avena, Halloway’s chief executive officer. “As these trips are private charters, all food is made by an onboard chef to the guests’ preferences.”
Two Gold Runner coaches can hold more than 150 passengers. In the two Halloway luxury cars, the six passengers have 18 seating options upstairs in the rear dome, or below, 10 seats in the lounge.
Count me among the envious. I’m also not counting on the economic difference between the rich and the poor in California or anywhere shrinking any time soon.
This story was originally published January 21, 2026 at 5:00 AM.