Amtrak Station IRV

Came in on the Pacific Surf liner from San Diego and got off here. It wasn’t very crowded I’m guessing since it was the weekend but there were still a few families here and there taking the train home or to Orange County for the weekend. The station itself has an inside waiting area and some tables outside with various vending machines and what looked like one connected restaurant, but it seemed it was closed for the weekend. There is a sizable parking structure nearby so I’m guessing this station does get a fair amount of use. Guess it serves its purpose though you can tell it’s no longer new and seen its share of wear.

Really convenient, safe and beautiful transit station. Antrak, Metrolink, bus and taxi service available.
Two restaurants: StarWok and Strawberry’s Coffee and Bakery, but neither were open on the Sunday morning I was at the station.
Ample FREE parking in the adjacent parking garage, but also curbside pick-​up/​drop-​off nearer the tracks.
Very modern well-​appointed station. Stairs and elevators available to cross tracks to get to northbound trains.
The only negative I found was that the elevator windows were so dirty it was not possible to see out; layers of dirt covered them. It’s spring now so I’m hoping this will be a priority. Other than that one small picky thing I found this to be a lovely station.

Pretty convenient way to travel to Orange County. Nice station with free parking, not too crowded. The train is the way to travel!

Train system is not as great as in Europe, but for California… It real nice train station. The parking is easy. There is a structure but it’s best to park in the lot right in front of the station and the tracks. The parking is free and I think you can leave your car there for several days at a time.
The waiting area outside has plenty of tables and the inside room is extremely comfortable and they have several vending machines if you want to get a snack before your train comes. There are also very well kept bathrooms outside of the waiting room.

Nicely kept train station and very convienent for traveling to and from San Diego. I’m alot happier when my journey starts here vs. driving to SD and putting up with all the Aholes on the I-​5 south.

The people here are really really nice and they’re super helpful. Very clean and worth the money

Definitely a must for people that are heading to San Diego for a day trip. The station is easy to find. The parking was close with plenty of open spots for a Friday morning. We paid the extra money and upgraded to Business Class. The seating was spacious, the car clean and the employees very friendly. On our trip down we had complimentary coffee and muffins. Our trip home we were treated to wine and a bag of munchies (chips, trail mix, cookies). We made a point of catching the later afternoon train home and enjoyed the sunset over the ocean as our complimentary view.
A great experience!

I’ve been to a few Amtrak train stations (Union station, oceanside, solana beach, and old town) and I would say this is one of the nicer stations. It has covered parking and a very nice and clean waiting area. There are also lots of seating outside on the southbound side so you don’t have to stand while waiting for the train. Overall, I like this station. :)

Clean train station, easy to find off Barranca Pkwy & close the Irvine Spectrum if you have a lot waiting time! Only have to be at this place a handful of times to get from OC to SD and SD to OC. Try not to purchase anything from the vending machine while waiting if you don’t have cash. There are charges, but I was dehydrated and desperate. I asked the front desk person for help, and she wasn’t all that nice, but still helpful. It’s hard to fully review a train station stop, almost kind of weird. BUT — there are plenty of spots to sit and wait. Not super phone-​charging-​outlet friendly btw.

My first time here and am I ever impressed! I had no idea how nice and convenient this amtrack station is!
Staff is really helpful and parking is a breeze.
No food on sue other than vending machines but no big deal.
Restrooms are clean!
Go ride the train!

Amtrak is a great way to get around. I just wish they went more places and had greater frequency.

Easy to park at this location. In terms of food at the station, I wasn’t too happy. They have a chinese/​donut place. The place was out of rice (how can that be at a chinese food place)
The train ride was fantastic. Love that there are power outlets and wifi on the train. Wish I could take the train more often.

Im the Duke of this Amtrak station for a good reason. Its a fantastic station.
I am back and forth from this station to SD pretty much all the time and I have the utmost confidence when I travel from here.
The parking is amazing. There is a structure but I always choose to park in the lot right in front of the station and the tracks. The parking is free and I have left my car there for several days at a time.
The waiting room is extremely comfortable and they have several vending machines if you want to get a snack before your train comes. There are also very well kept bathrooms outside of the waiting room.

I regularly take the Amtrak from San Diego to Irvine and it is honestly the most comfortable way to travel north. If you take it often then you should consider getting a pass. I get the 10 ride pass which is good for 5 round trip rides. Each ride ends up costing $ 16 which not too bad considering the fluctuating gas prices in San Diego.
The train itself is always clean, staff is nice, and there’s free wifi. If you like the scenery then try to find an available window seat so you can enjoy watching the coastline, if you don’t like that the find the seats on the last cart of the train which is meant for those that like to sleep.

I’m a fan of this station. The expensive parking structure has plenty of space, so parking isn’t an issue. The walkways are clean and open so you don’t feel cramp.
I usually pick up my tickets at the machine, which is pretty damn convenient. If you like talking to people, you could speak to the Amtrak employees and have them help you.
The actual train is pretty swank: Relatively comfortable seats, bathrooms, and a beverage/​snack area that serves beer. One thing I would like them to add is some cheap seats to sit on waiting for the train. There is nothing pleasant about sitting on concrete.

I hadn’t taken the train in many many years. A weekend in Ensenada opportunity came up and thought this to be a better bet than driving back on Memorial Day. My buddy was to pick me up at the Downtown San Diego station and we would be off for some south of the border fun.
The Irvine station is nice and clean with a huge parking structure allowing free parking. I left my car for the entire weekend and my tires and rims were still intact. This is one of Americas safest cities for dogs sake. I already had my online confirmation including bar code so check in is super easy at the kiosk. Sure beats all of the modern day BS at airports. Remember when traveling was fun?
I have had some major delays in my past experiences with Amtrak and this looked to be a repeat. Ten minutes before the scheduled arrival comes an announcement that it was delayed getting out of LA and would be 10 – 15 minutes late. Damn public transportation. No wonder SOCALIANS aren’t easily extracted from their urban assault vehicles.
Shockingly the train was no more than the preannounced 15 minutes behind. Made a bee line to the «café car», spread out my newspaper on my private table with a huge window, and settled in with a Stone IPA for a very relaxing trip. A good part of the ride is very picturesque as it hugs the coastline in several spots. As I was sipping my beer I kept thinking how much better this was than the freeway alternative. The café worker on the southbound was hilarious as well with his periodic announcements that he was getting lonely down there and needed some patrons pronto.
The engineer somehow made up most of the time lost and we breezed into DTSD just a few minutes late. A most enjoyable trip. The trip back was also pretty much on time, but not quite as enjoyable because of all of the Yankee fans heading to Angel Stadium for that nights game. Ha ha Yankee Fans! Angels won with a walk off home run. The ride home for the few Angel Fans must have been very sweet indeed.
Hot tip: AAA gets you a discount of around $ 6 off of the Irvine fare making my fare just over $ 50. The non-​holiday round trip is $ 10 less.
All aboard!

This week, while my car was in the shop getting repaired for various issues, I rode Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner from Irvine to Downtown San Diego. My fiancé and I thought it would be an excellent test run to determine whether or not I can handle the commute to work via train when I eventually relocate to Orange County.
At this point, let’s just say I hope telecommuting is an option for me. Otherwise, it’s time to familiarize myself with
.
The positives of riding Amtrak:
–Scenic train ride.
–Reclining seat equipped with foot rest.
–Free Wi-​Fi.
–Opportunity to nap, read the paper, check my e-​mail, and/​or play games on my smartphone.
–Business Class upgrade option.
The negatives of riding Amtrak:
–Frequent delays.
–Passengers who exhibit nuisance behavior (i.e., loudly talking, laptop speakers set to its maximum volume).
–FREQUENT DELAYS.
–Pricey — a single round trip ticket from Irvine to San Diego cost me $ 46; however, Amtrak offers multi-​ride fares and AAA discounts.
The Irvine Station is well-​maintained, clean, and offers free parking. The Amtrak employee who issues tickets behind the counter is very nice and helpful and after two days recognized my tired, but still smiling face. You can also purchase your ticket for either Amtrak or Metrolink at one of the two Kiosks at the front of the station.
If you need to stock up on refreshments/​snacks/​goodies/​fuel there’s a café next door to the waiting room area, I forget the name. Several mornings while D and I waited for my train to arrive, we would grab coffee from there. One time we split a buttermilk doughnut which was slightly stale. There’s also chow mein on the menu if that’s more your flavor.

I really like this Irvine station, especially when you compare it to Santa Ana and LA. It’s clean — even the bathrooms, safe, and ample free parking. I sometimes train from Irvine to San Diego and back. And, on the second Saturday of every July, the moons of Laguna Niguel light up the train. Southbound, as Amtrak approaches Mugs Away Saloon, many middle age chubby moms and dads drop their drawers and flash where the sun don’t shine. It’s funny, but hardly titillating! Actually, i purposely avoid taking the train that day. God only knows why it’s a tradition.
The rest of the year, it’s a beautiful ride, past several beaches and piers, to downtown San Diego. There are definitely some cool places to Unilocal near the Pier stops, it’s okay to stare at the gorgeous bodies on the beach, though the star really is the beach, landscape, and areas you can’t see in a car. It stops at San Juan Capistrano, San Clemente, Carlsbad, Solana Beach/​Del Mar, Old Town (sometimes), and downtown San Diego in about an hour and 30 minutes. Cost is $ 23 one way in August 2011. I spoil myself, though and take business class for an extra $ 12 each way. For me, it beats driving as the traffic gets nuts and unsafe especially coming back to OC on a Sunday.
Why business class? It means a guaranteed seat –I once had to stand for part of the time in coach. And they offer some snacks. Before noon, it’s just juice, packaged pastries, and coffee/​tea. After noon, the attendant offers soda or wine and a snack pack with nuts, chips, and cookies. The seats have a little more room and a footrest, though the footrest in uncomfortable to use. There’s an electric outlet in every seat. And, the waiting line especially in downtown San Diego northbound is a lot easier.
One caution — be prepared to ride facing backwards. Thankfully, it doesn’t bother me. Be careful walking in a moving train-​almost like surfing. And, standing up in the bathroom is a challenge, right men?. Going northbound, the Irvine stop means you have to either take the crowded elevator up to the walkway over the tracks. Then walk over the tracks, to the elevator or stairs again down to the parking lot/​station. Me? If I’m not on crutches, I’m taking the steps up and back. It’s be good for your heart and fanny.
During the months that Del Mar racetrack is open, expect the train to be full. Swarms of people with race cards are excited as the train stops and drops them off for a bus ride into the track. Caution — you can hear every word people around you are saying. Sadly, much of it is boring or they lost their money at the races. But at least it’s a beautiful train ride back.

It may not be as good as the European train system, but, it is efficient, the workers are friendly, I like the space in business class and I do not have to sit next to a smelly guy like I did in Rome! God that guy was the Michelangelo of Bad BO!
I do miss the frenchman though on the Paris train, who told me a lovely story about World War II in his native language that I only understood a part of as my French sucks…

The Irvine Station offers two train options, Amtrak and Metrolink. Metrolink is mostly a commuter train, though they do have some boardings during some off hours. If you can find a Metrolink schedule that works for you, a few bucks can be saved each way. For all the other times, Amtrak has trains that run north to LA and south to San Diego.
A train ride to LA runs $ 14 one way making it pricey to take. Still, it might be worth it depending on your situation. If you are travelling alone it would be more economical. The station is pretty large. There is good parking capacity here for commuters.
To buy tickets, you can either buy from the ticket machine or directly at the Amtrak counter. For trains travelling south, you board on platform 1. For those headed north to LA, you need to cross a skybridge to get to platform 2. They don’t look at your ticket as you enter to save time. Instead, an attendant goes through each cabin to check.
The ride is pretty smooth. It takes about an hour to get from Irvine to Union Station, which may be more or less the time it would take for you to drive depending on traffic. But without having to drive. If you are looking for a less troublesome commute to LA, Amtrak would be the way to go.