EWR to New Haven via Amtrak
 

We're considering an SWA flight that arrives in EWR at 12:20 pm and plan to take Amtrak to New Haven, ideally with a 1:20 pm departure. That seems like a very tight connection, but the next train doesn't depart until 4:59. Would appreciate any advice about the likelihood of making 1:20 work. We probably will have checked luggage with the SWA flight.

NJ transit says to allow about 15 minutes for the connection between air terminal and train, assuming you catch one right away, but I'd say that is cutting it very close, even without checked luggage. You might consider connecting in Penn Station, NYC, which I think has more trains, or perhaps crossing to Grand Central and taking Metro North.

I would check the on-time record of your incoming flight to see how often it is late.

Agree that this is a very tight connection. You can take the train to Penn Station in NYC and find probably 2 Amtrak trains an hour to New Haven.

The next AMTRAK train from EWR after the 1:20 is at 4:05.
There are 3 New Jersey Transit trains that will get you to NYP before 4PM. From NYP take Metro North to get to New Haven.
http://www.njtransit.com/sf/sf_servl...nSchedulesFrom

One correction to the post above is Metro North does not run from NYP - you would have to get to Grand Central Station.

Thanks to all for the help!

I'm not sure where this schedule is coming from. There are actually no Amtrak trains that will take you directly from EWR to New Haven. You always have to go into New York Penn regardless and then transfer; perhaps the schedule is showing this because that same train continues to New Haven after stopping in New York Penn. Then you'll layover and stay on the same train instead of transferring. But that's not worth the hassle.

Also, weekend schedules are quite different from weekdays, especially if you want to take Metro North commuter service, so keep that in mind.

Trains definitely run more frequently than what you've been told. You may just have to change. Take the Airtrain and then hop on whatever train arrives next. You shouldn't have to wait more than 15 minutes for NJ Transit, and perhaps less. On a typical weekday, there's a train from NY Penn to New Haven about every 60 to 80 minutes (all Boston trains stop in New Haven as well as others). You will not have to wait 3 hours, but you might have to wait one. Plus, it's much cheaper to take NJ Transit to NY Penn instead of Amtrak.

It's also considerably cheaper (usually less than half) to take Metro North from Grand Central, but it also takes considerably longer. So there's always a trade-off. But trains run fairly frequently during the day. I'd check both Amtrak from NY Penn and Metro North from Grand Central to see what's better for you. You can take a taxi to Grand Central, but you have to allow a full half-hour because of traffic and taxi lines.

If you aren't checking bags and arrive on time, an hour is usually enough time to make the connection you were quoted.

<<It's also considerably cheaper (usually less than half) to take Metro North from Grand Central, but it also takes considerably longer.>>

It's not that bad if you get the express - about 20 minutes longer than the fastest amtrak from Penn Station. But you do have to go to Grand Central first (which is two stops on the subway - to 42nd on the 1, 2, or 3 and then change for the shuttle).