What do you men you will have a "checked bag"? The New Haven line doesn't have checked bags to the best of my knowledge. You just take you suitcase on with your and put it in the rack over the seat, or next to your legs if the train isn't crowded.

There are no porters so you will have to carry your own bags too.

Sorry! I meant "checked bag" by airline standards. Can this bag go on these trains? Are they allowed?

Metro North - New Haven line out of Grand Central will take you to New Haven.

http://www.mta.info/mnr/

This should answer your question

http://tinyurl.com/7pmgysb

Thank you, DebitNM, but the last link does not work. I appreciate your help!

Of course you can take it with you. But you have to carry it - running - down a couple of flights of stairs in Penn Station (train platforms are announced only about 10 to 12 minutes before they pull out). Although if it's Amtrak you can pay a Red Cap to take your bags down on a cart and get you onto the train early (a better chance of getting seats together). But at the other end you need to haul it down, off the train and wherever you are going. Make sure it has working wheels so you don;t have to carry it.

Note - there are Red Caps only for Amtrak - out of Penn Station. Not on Metro North (local commuter trains) out of Grand Central.

Hmmm...sounds challenging. Would we be better off with carry on sized luggage? It's a 7 day trip, but hey! I like packing challenge.
Thanks for your replies!

Yes, much better with carry on sized bags. We do a month of travel with a carry on each!

Try:
http://mta-nyc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/mta_nyc.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=547&p_created=1066686370&p_sid=dxk2XCZk&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_srch=1&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9NSw1JnBfcHJvZHM9MCZwX2NhdHM9JnBfcHY9JnBfY3Y9JnBfcGFnZT0xJnBfc2VhcmNoX3RleHQ9bHVnZ2FnZSBvbiBtbnI!&p_li=&p_topview=1

Sounds like a plan! Now I need your packing tips!

Actually ---

http://www.fodors.com/community/travel-tips-trip-ideas/carry-on-only-how-to-pack.cfm

Niiiiiiiiiiiice! I'll give it a try!

Take Metro North RR from Grand Central Terminal. The trains to CT always run from the same set of tracks, and the train will be there and ready to go at least 30min before departure.

There is no issue bringing luggage on the commuter train. Lots of people do it every day.

If you are taking an off-peak train (any time before about 4pm then the train will NOT be full and there will be room to just leave your large luggage in a row next to you. There are seats at the end of each car that have more space for luggage.

The closer you get to evening rush hour the fuller trains will be.

Two different train companies travel from NYC to New Haven.

Amtrak trains to New Haven depart from New York Penn Station and take about 1 hour 40 minutes. Prices start at $37 depending on the type of train, with departures every hour or so depending on the day.

Metro-North commuter trains to New Haven depart from Grand Central Station and take about 2 hours. Prices are $19.50 during peak hours, $14.75 off peak, with departures every hour or so depending on the day. These trains take long because of all the extra stops.

If you will have a just a carry-on - literally you can take either one. If yo "carry-on" is a small wheelie you will have to deal with 2 flights of stairs at Penn Station. At Grand Central many track are ramps, but some do have a couple of flights of stairs as well. And no Recd Caps.

If you have sizable luggage I would do Amtrak and Red Cap. If you can easily manage your luggage yourself Metro North is cheaper and doesn't take that much longer.

(And GRand Central is much more attractive then Penn Station - which is a hellhole.

Having grown up in the area, Metro North was the one that came to mind as it is what we used to get into the city. I guess I didn't have Amtrak on my radar. I wouldn't pay the extra $$ for a difference of only about 20 mins. Grand Central is SO much nicer than Penn Station, especially for visitors not used public/mass transit.

If you're in search of some place to eat before you board the train, the food court in the lower level of Grand Central has some pretty good options, and the deli/market on the ground floor towards the east side is great to get picnic fixins of all sorts.

Only the 2:40AM train #66 out of NYP has checked baggage service to New Haven. All the other Amtrak trains have no checked baggage service to New Haven.
Learn to pack light so that you can put your 1 bag over your head into the rack.

Learn to pack light so that you can put your 1 bag over your head into the rack.

While that's true for Amtrak, a "carry-on" sized bag won't fit in the overhead rack on Metro North, since the commuter rail line is geared to a different type of customer.

I agree that there's no real reason for you to take Amtrak instead of the Metro North commuter rail. Do take an off-peak train, and do try to take an express. (The local stops every few minutes and takes a lot longer.) You can review schedules here:
http://as0.mta.info/mnr/schedules/sched_form.cfm

You can purchase your tickets at any time during your stay in NYC - make a trip to Grand Central a part of your itinerary and take in a tour of the historic structure. Pick up a printed schedule at the iconic Information Booth in the center of the space. The lower level dining concourse consists of outposts of many NYC restaurants, and you can find good coffee and cute (if not inexpensive) shops throughout the terminal. Plus, if you like seafood, there's the historic Oyster Bar restaurant to check out!
http://www.grandcentralterminal.com/

When you go to purchase your tickets, you don't have to stand in line for the ticket counter. There are a number of self-service machines throughout the station; they're a lot like the ones in the subway and very straightforward to use. For example, there are machines around the corner from the stairs that lead up to Michael Jordan's restaurant, near the Chase ATM.

One last tip: there are two departure boards, and the New Haven departures will only be listed on one - so don't get worried if you don't see any listed on the first board you look at!

// As for packing light, do a search of these forums. There are a ton of threads on this topic, with lots of good tips to pick up. (And I'm a notorious overpacker )

The metro north trains out of GCT to New Haven have a much broader schedule than the trains out of Penn Station. I was staying near Penn Station recently and couldn't reserve a seat on the train as it was full. This has never happened to me in 40 years of traveling to NYC on Metro North. I push for Amtrak if I'm traveling to Hartford rather than into New Haven and make a reservation long in advance to insure availability.

The metro north train will accommodate any size bag you have; we've brought huge suitcases on wheels and little Longchamp overnight bags. If you've got wheels you can easily drag the huge thing down the 2 flights to the train tracks near the food court in Grand Central station. Otherwise, the tracks off the main concourse are stair free, or nearly so.

And there's a huge ramp, rather than stairs, from the street into the grand concourse at GCT.

<<<While that's true for Amtrak, a "carry-on" sized bag won't fit in the overhead rack on Metro North, since the commuter rail line is geared to a different type of customer>>>


We were on the Metro-North New Haven line a couple of weeks ago, and there were a number of wheeled carry-on bags on the overhead rack.

sf7307 is absolutely correct. We've also had carry on bags and larger safely contained in the overhead racks on metro north trains.

The new Metro North trains have bigger overhead racks than the older ones. These trains are a marked improvement over the old ones and have power outlets as well. Now, if they would only run them North through Hartford, as is being discussed...

I must be riding the older trains then. Maybe they don't run the new ones off peak? The two I rode last week had the overhead racks that are much narrower than those on Amtrak.

At any rate, as has been said, there's plenty of room in the seats near the doors. Get to the station ahead of time to secure one of those and you'll be set.

ggreen, I think its still luck of the draw as they havent replaced all of the trains yet.