Here’s a special treat for you. Amanda Lucidon, just one of the fine photo staff at The Press-Enterprise, went on the Coachella Express Thursday afternoon from Los Angeles to Indio. Oh yeah, and Junkie XL was on the train DJ-ing. How cool is that?
Read her take on the train below:
It was different than any train I’ve ever been on. The Coachella Express was a party on rails. Live electronic DJs in several railroad cars, a 2ft by 4 ft. makeshift dance floor, VIP passes to Coachella Music and Arts festival, ice cream sandwiches, magazines-the perks kept on coming on this 3 hour train ride from L.A. to Indio. And did I mention it was all free?
Goldenvoice, the festival’s producer, and Amtrak partnered to provide transportation for 300 campers from Los Angeles’ Union Station to Indio for the three day music festival in efforts to reduce the event’s carbon footprint.
“What’s the catch?” Several passengers from around the globe asked themselves the same question when they received information about the free train via e-mail.
“I thought it was a great service because until a week ago I didn’t know how I would get down to Coachella. I just assumed it was near L.A. and it’s really not,” said Alex Moore, 18, of Bristol, England.
He said that considering most festivals are trying to add extra costs onto the price of a ticket, a free train ride was a generous offer.
The Coachella Express couldn’t be found on the Union Station departure marquee, but a stream of music fans seemed to know exactly where they were going.
Platforms 11 and 12 marked the passageway to the desert’s largest music festival.
“It was like Harry Potter going to Hogwart’s and we were all going to disappear and go to this special festival,” said Jordan Fulawka , 23 of Manatoba.