Amtrak

10 Free Motorcycle Parking Spots right under the overpass at the station!
No waiting room, but platform is clean. Peet’s coffee is two blocks away.

Started commuting from Berkeley to Davis via the Capitol Corridor line and it’s pretty fabulous! The trains are generally on time and most often, there a plenty of seats you can enjoy all to yourself. Pretty decent and reasonable Café Car with friendly and polite service. The Conductors are equally courteous and sometimes entertaining. There’s plenty of off street parking, without time limits or residential parking permits. My monthly rail pass is fairly reasonable and Amtrak accepts pre-​tax Commuter Checks. All aboard!

Not a lot to say about this little whistle — stop station. There is direct access to AC transit buses to get to Berkeley and Cal. You can also catch a transbay bus nearby to San Francisco as well. There is a restaurant and bar in the old depot and a variety of shopping options nearby. For me personally the best thing about this station is that it is right outside my apartment.

No adequate indoor seating but its an amtrak. My trains always come on time, but I’m always freezing to death to wait for them. So bring proper clothing and don’t come TOO soon.

Berkeley Amtrak is a reasonably safe stop that is actually less convenient than Richmond station for passengers traveling East, especially if one lives closer to a BART station than this one. For people who live up by UC Berkeley, I’d recommend using this station only if you are traveling South toward SJ. Otherwise, just hop on BART and take the train from Richmond. Taking the bus down to this station is way less reliable and convenient than taking BART to the Richmond station.

This is an Amtrak stop. Calling it a station is too generous. There are two kiosks here where you can buy tickets, but no building or anything. I am a fan though because it is easy and convenient. How did I not realize how easy it was to take the train to San Jose? I wish there was a shelter though because it is really windy here. It is also a little hard for a small person like me to climb up on the train when it pulls in (it is a BIG step up).

I took a road trip between Emeryville and Sacramento via Amtrak — Capitol Corridor train service 3 years ago. This is an unstaffed station with no ticket office and restroom. I’ll probably be getting on and off Amtrak at this station if I attended UC Berkeley or Berkeley City College. You are better getting something to eat and drink from a nearby restaurant, coffee shop or other eateries and use the restrooms there prior to coming to the train station. This is definitely the station to get on/​off at if you or anyone you know is going to work in Berkeley, attending Berkeley City College or University of California, Berkeley!
Parking:
— Maybe a bit challenging at times
Nearby college (s):
— Berkeley City College
— University of California, Berkeley
Public Transportation Options:
— AC Transit (refer to the signs at the bus stops nearby to see the routes available)
— Downtown Berkeley BART
— North Berkeley BART
— Ashby BART
For information on Amtrak Train and Bus Stations:
-
Map of staffed and unstaffed stations:
-

I am going to apologize upfront for the boring nature of this review, but really, people, it’s a low-​budget train station… how much can really be said?
OK so from what I remember, the train itself is far better than the station!
You’d probably only know it was a train station because of the tracks and fellow passengers standing around said tracks. It’s kind of ghost-​townish and I’d never want to be there at night!
At least it’s convenient to reach by bus, which I happily rode around for free back when I was a UCB grad student. Oh and there’s one of those discount market/​outlet things a short walk from here in case you need some snacks before your trip.

I just had the weirdest experience with Amtrak. I was on a Capitol Corridor train going to Berkeley, and the conductor on our section of the train was a little creepy. When people were buying tickets, he didn’t speak to them, or smile or anything, he just looked at them stone-​faced. It was unsettling, and he did the same to me when I requested an AC Transit pass.
But the really odd part happened when we arrived at the station. I was reading a book as we were leaving Richmond, so I didn’t get up right away, but the conductor stopped, turned around, and stared at me a bit. I figured he was trying to wordlessly hint that I leave my seat, so I packed up my things and headed downstairs. Someone announced on the overhead that only the doors in cars 2 and 4 would be opening.
So I line up with about 6 other people in Car #2, and wait by the door. The conductor walks right through our waiting group to the other end of the car, but he doesn’t say anything.
The train comes to a stop, the doors don’t open, and after a few seconds the conductor pokes his head around and barks at us, «You’re supposed to be waiting down here!» So we all start heading to that end of the car. In the front of the line was a frail, elderly couple, and then some people with bikes. As we make our way to the end of the car, the train pulls out of the station!
Everyone was furious, and the conductor was acting like a nasty cop, barking at us that we should have listened to the announcement. At no point does he acknowledge that a) the announcement said we were to wait in cars 2 and 4 (which we were doing), and b) he knew we were there long before the train came to a stop. He just treated us like it was all our fault. He wrote us tickets to get on the next train back to Berkeley, but without apology and in the rudest way possible.
I was so livid, I told him I’d report him by name to the company, to which he snappily replied, «FINE!»
This isn’t the first surly Amtrak employee I’ve encountered, but it IS the first one I’ve witnessed to actively take out his nastiness on the customers. Angry that he had to work a holiday, perhaps? The whole thing was just so strange.

This Amtrak station is awkward, wish it was staffed or had a real station not just a platform. Loved the Amtrak train to San Jose. Would definetly recommend it! Seats were comfy, there was a table for us to use and power outlets! The café car is disappointing and the worker was very sassy with me; bring your own goodies!
Unfortunately I cannot recommend the Amtrak bus from San Jose to Monterey. I was expecting a nicer charter style bus with a restroom on board. What we ended up with was a regular city bus similar to AC transit. Stick with the trains!

The Berkeley Amtrak is located below the University Avenue Overpass (just west of Third Street). There is minimal metered parking below the overpass… but you might find parking in neighboring retail/​restaurant lots (though, I wouldn’t recommend leaving overnight).
This is location only has a platform and is not staffed (i.e., no ticket counter/​lobby/​bathroom). However, there are two QUIK TRAK automatic ticketing kiosks and a bulletin board with train arrival times. So… you could reserve your tickets online and print them out at the kiosk or presumably buy them right there.
The Capitol Corridor line (btw San Jose and Sacramento) stops here… the passenger trains are open seating and really nice. Lots of room for bikes, luggage, and tables upstairs WITH OUTLETS for those with laptops or other electronics. A conductor walks through the cars and checks your ticket and then marks your booth with your stop. There’s also food/​drink/​liquor available in the middle cars (though I didn’t check this out).
All in all, a great experience… just wish there were more facilities at the berkeley stop.