This is a followup to its a rough ride!

On March 1, I rode San Joaquins 719 from Bakersfield (4:12PM) to Stockton (8:55PM). The 719 continues on to Oakland Jack London, but there is a bus connection to Sacramento from Stockton. I had picked that schedule specifically to experience the new Siemens Venture trainset used on that route.

The official page is Welcome Aboard Amtrak San Joaquins New Venture Cars. I did not know until observing the cars more closely, that Sumitomo Corporations of America is actually the lead contractor, and Siemens is the subcontractor who built the cars. Roger Rudick wrote Review: Amtrak California Passengers are Starving for New Trains on StreetsblogSF. Though the trainsets have been in service since December, I haven’t found any other reviews that have details.

Seats: Roger talked about narrow seats. They are indeed narrower than those in the California Cars (I don’t have measurements; an online source says 19.1 inches for the new seats), though I did not find them uncomfortable. Others may.

No food or water: As noted, there is no food service on the train. The announcements said ‘snack packs’ and water were available for free, but what was actually offered was Cheez-Its. Though there are rumors of eventual vending machines, none were present, and it is not clear where they might be placed, perhaps in vestibules. No water dispenser is available on the trainset, only bottled water.

Bikes: One of the luggage racks in each car has three bicycle hooks, but the luggage racks were fully occupied by luggage, so not available to bicycles. A conductor told a bicyclist to take his bike to the baggage car rather than on board. I don’t know if that is policy. Given that there is not space set aside for bicycles, I’d have to say these new track sets have zero bicycle capacity. The baggage car is a false locomotive that has been used on San Joaquins for years, not part of the new trainset. Bicycle use on the San Joaquins has always been low. It will be a long time before these trainsets are used on the Capitol Corridor – San Joaquins and Pacific Surfliner first, with California Cars moved to Capitol Corridor and prolonging that. But the bicycle configuration would be totally unacceptable on Capitol Corridor, where bicycle use is moderate and sometimes high.

Automation: Many things are automated: the doors between the passenger seating and vestibules; standard announcements; restrooms doors. The toilet, water, soap and dryer are no-touch.

Power: There are two power receptacles and two USB-A receptacles between each seat. Hello! This is 2024, and few people use USB-A anymore, but actually most people use plug-in chargers, so the USB-A is irrelevant.

Display: There are three display signs overhead in each car. At this time, the only useful information they carry is which of the six coach cars you are in. The destination was shown as Bakersfield, when the train was northbound with destination Oakland Jack London. I imagine they will have useful information in the future, otherwise they are a waste.

Access: On the train I was on, three doors were opened at each stop, between 2/3, 4/5 and 5/6, with a staff member at each (two conductors and one attendant, I believe). If one of the wheelchair doors were being used, then either staff would not be at one of the other doors, or one of the others would not be opened. Apparently they are never opening all doors.

ADA Access: One door at each end of the train is for wheelchair and device loading. I did not observe this in operation. One person with a wheelchair was on board for part of the trip. The aisles are wide enough for most wheelchairs, and each car has a wide aisle though only those two cars out of six have the loading door.

The Ride (the big question): Is the ride smoother? Yes. It is still a little rough, but much smoother than the California Cars. I did not feel unsafe standing up and walking around, though it is still too rough to write. So tracks condition continues to be a problem on the San Joaquins route (and everywhere else).