Help Me Hack The Rail
March 23, 2011 8:58 AM Subscribe
I know about how to get from New York City to Philadelphia via commuter rail (NJ Transit to Trenton, connecting with SEPTA to Philadelphia). Are there any similar "connections" on other commuter rail lines I could get to?
This was something I toyed with checking out in college; at the time there was talk of extending SEPTA out to connect with Washington DC's commuter rail, but I can't find whether that's been done yet. Or if there's any connection with Metro-North to anywhere in Rhode Island or Massachusetts.
I know such a trip would take longer than just jumping on Amtrak, but $30 for a round-trip ticket to Philadelphia via NJT/SEPTA versus $100-plus on Amtrak is no contest. I'm wondering if there are any other little-known "connections" I can make to other cities, with New York City as a starting point.
Or, anywhere - if I have a lengthier vacation and know I can fly to Chicago, say, and get from there to Cleveland via connecting trains, that'd also be fun to know. Thanks.
This was something I toyed with checking out in college; at the time there was talk of extending SEPTA out to connect with Washington DC's commuter rail, but I can't find whether that's been done yet. Or if there's any connection with Metro-North to anywhere in Rhode Island or Massachusetts.
I know such a trip would take longer than just jumping on Amtrak, but $30 for a round-trip ticket to Philadelphia via NJT/SEPTA versus $100-plus on Amtrak is no contest. I'm wondering if there are any other little-known "connections" I can make to other cities, with New York City as a starting point.
Or, anywhere - if I have a lengthier vacation and know I can fly to Chicago, say, and get from there to Cleveland via connecting trains, that'd also be fun to know. Thanks.
Response by poster: No, I know about Bolt/Chinatown buses (and actually had a piss-poor experience with Bolt myself once). Those aren't quite commuter rail, though, and I'd prefer to stick to that -- more out of curiosity than anything else (although, it strikes me they'd be a bit more reliable; the "Chinatown buses" are going through a bit of a rough patch right now).
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:20 AM on March 23, 2011
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:20 AM on March 23, 2011
The SEPTA connection with MARC from Newark, Delaware is still just a proposal right now. They're still working on it, but it will be at the very least 5-10 years away.
posted by inturnaround at 9:34 AM on March 23, 2011
posted by inturnaround at 9:34 AM on March 23, 2011
From Philadelphia, you can get to Newark, Delaware using SEPTA. From Trenton there is also the (link to pdf)Riverline which will get you to Camden, NJ.
< href=http://www.njtransit.com/sf/sf_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=TrainSchedulesMapTo>NJtransit will get you to Port Jervis or, if you catch it from 30th St Station in Philly, to Atlantic City.
Maryland's commuter rail can get you from Baltimore down to DC and on the north end to Perryville.
Metro North will get you to Port Jervis as well as Poughkeepsie, NY. Not to mention Danbury and Waterbury, CT and New Haven.
I've wished for connecting commuter rail things for years. To be able to get to Boston from NY or to DC/Baltimore from Philly would have been awesome.
posted by sciencegeek at 9:35 AM on March 23, 2011
< href=http://www.njtransit.com/sf/sf_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=TrainSchedulesMapTo>NJtransit will get you to Port Jervis or, if you catch it from 30th St Station in Philly, to Atlantic City.
Maryland's commuter rail can get you from Baltimore down to DC and on the north end to Perryville.
Metro North will get you to Port Jervis as well as Poughkeepsie, NY. Not to mention Danbury and Waterbury, CT and New Haven.
I've wished for connecting commuter rail things for years. To be able to get to Boston from NY or to DC/Baltimore from Philly would have been awesome.
posted by sciencegeek at 9:35 AM on March 23, 2011
There's a lot of bus talk in this MeFi thread, but I think there's also plenty of rail info. The subject is epic transit journeys, but no distinction is made regarding mode. I assume you can still learn a lot by following the discussed routes to the point where they begin to rely on a bus.
posted by stuart_s at 9:41 AM on March 23, 2011
posted by stuart_s at 9:41 AM on March 23, 2011
Response by poster: Stuart: I saw that thread, but it seems like the wiki in question focuses on California now; interesting, but I'm also looking for East-Coast data.
Sciencegeek: Thanks for that, but I'm more wondering: once I get to Poughkeepsie, NY on Metro North, can I then transfer to something else that would get me to Syracuse, say? And from there, switch on to something else that would let me get to Buffalo?
Or more to the point -- is there a connection between SEPTA and Maryland's commuter rail at Newark, Delaware? (To my knowledge, there isn't, but my point is that this isn't as simple a matter as "what is the end point of each of these lines" so much as it's "here's a place where the endpoint of this line overlaps with the beginning of THAT one so you can go even further").
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:50 AM on March 23, 2011
Sciencegeek: Thanks for that, but I'm more wondering: once I get to Poughkeepsie, NY on Metro North, can I then transfer to something else that would get me to Syracuse, say? And from there, switch on to something else that would let me get to Buffalo?
Or more to the point -- is there a connection between SEPTA and Maryland's commuter rail at Newark, Delaware? (To my knowledge, there isn't, but my point is that this isn't as simple a matter as "what is the end point of each of these lines" so much as it's "here's a place where the endpoint of this line overlaps with the beginning of THAT one so you can go even further").
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:50 AM on March 23, 2011
I don't know if you've seen this thread yet, but there's additional discussion there, specifically of the northeast corridor.
posted by cacophony at 10:20 AM on March 23, 2011
posted by cacophony at 10:20 AM on March 23, 2011
Response by poster: * stares * How the hell did I miss that in the search?
Thanks, Cacophony. (bookmarks)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:26 AM on March 23, 2011
Thanks, Cacophony. (bookmarks)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:26 AM on March 23, 2011
The problem with taking local transit from Philly to Baltimore/DC is the gap from Newark DE to Perryville MD.
I think it might be theoretically possible to get from Newark DE to Perryville MD by using local buses but I doubt if it is practical. DART has a bus from the Newark train station to Elkton and there is Cecil County MD bus from Elkton to Perryville. But I don't think either one runs very often and I'm not sure how far apart the transfer stops would be.
posted by interplanetjanet at 10:44 AM on March 23, 2011
I think it might be theoretically possible to get from Newark DE to Perryville MD by using local buses but I doubt if it is practical. DART has a bus from the Newark train station to Elkton and there is Cecil County MD bus from Elkton to Perryville. But I don't think either one runs very often and I'm not sure how far apart the transfer stops would be.
posted by interplanetjanet at 10:44 AM on March 23, 2011
My friend and I once spent an evening charting out exactly how far up and down the east coast you could get only taking local transit and commuter rail. This is what we do for fun and for work. We are transportation planners.
A caveat: We do include buses, but only city transit buses, no Bolt or Greyhound or anything like that.
I give you: this. Enjoy. Especially note the portion of the route on Cecil County Maryland's "the bus." They have several buses there, and one is called "the bus." Wow!
posted by millipede at 11:11 AM on March 23, 2011 [4 favorites]
A caveat: We do include buses, but only city transit buses, no Bolt or Greyhound or anything like that.
I give you: this. Enjoy. Especially note the portion of the route on Cecil County Maryland's "the bus." They have several buses there, and one is called "the bus." Wow!
posted by millipede at 11:11 AM on March 23, 2011 [4 favorites]
Good job milipede. I wonder how long it would take to do. You might need to bring a tent.
posted by interplanetjanet at 11:56 AM on March 23, 2011
posted by interplanetjanet at 11:56 AM on March 23, 2011
You could always re-enact that scene from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and take the Long Island Rail Road all the way to Montauk. And if you're feeling really adventurous, it's only 2 miles from the train station to the dock where you can catch a ferry to New London, CT.
posted by Jemstar at 12:06 PM on March 23, 2011
posted by Jemstar at 12:06 PM on March 23, 2011
millipede, I have to go from Springfield to Philly next week and I'm now sorely tempted to take your route. Wonder when I'd have to leave by?
posted by mskyle at 12:16 PM on March 23, 2011
posted by mskyle at 12:16 PM on March 23, 2011
mskyle, i bet it would take all day! if you really want to try it, i would LOVE if you took pictures at every step.
posted by millipede at 12:27 PM on March 23, 2011
posted by millipede at 12:27 PM on March 23, 2011
That's awesome, millipede. And it turns out that DART Route 65 and "The Bus" (Route #2, aka the Perryville Connection, which accepts exact change and "The Bus" passes) intersect, and depending on your trip timing, the wait to transfer could be less than 30 minutes. That's a much better result than I was expecting.
posted by EvaDestruction at 1:49 PM on March 23, 2011
posted by EvaDestruction at 1:49 PM on March 23, 2011
I love to use Google Maps to research this sort of thing (although they always include Amtrak and you can't turn it off). One thing to note is that for some idiotic reason the MTA for DC has elected to exclude its information from Google, so Google Maps is less useful for planning in the DC metro region.
posted by Deathalicious at 9:13 AM on March 24, 2011
posted by Deathalicious at 9:13 AM on March 24, 2011
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posted by sparrow89 at 9:18 AM on March 23, 2011