lisabees

Coming from Philly suburb, a few ladies want to go into New York (without driving into the city).

Usually, I go to 30th street and catch Amtrak to Penn Station. The cost is outrageous, though.

Is there a reasonably safe station in Trenton or somewhere we can drive to and then catch train directly into Penn Station?

Going to 30th street, then two trains on NJ Transit just seems too long for the short day we'll have.

Any other ideas?

nstevey

The NE corridor from the Trenton Transit Center. Don't know about safety. Try this:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/new-j...it-center.html

PaulRabe

A couple of options for safe (and relatively easy to get to) stations on the NJ Transit Line:

Princeton Junction (on weekends the parking at the station is cheap and fairly abundant)
MetroPark (parking is abundant for almost every circumstance, and multi-day parking is easily available).

This Philly resident has used both stations with no problems or fears.

Andrew

A couple of years ago, on the recommendation of someone here, I actually parked (weekday) AT Princeton (not Princeton Jct.) for free on the street, walked just a few blocks to the Princeton station, took the quick train to Princeton Jct., then on to NY Penn Station. I forget the road I parked on, but it was a main drag in Princeton. Worked out fine really.

MLTimes

Parking and safety are fine at Hamilton station, which is the first stop past Trenton and easy to get to from PA.

yk

I used to go from Philadelphia to NYC by:
SEPTA from Center City to Trenton,
then change for
NJ Transit from Trenton to NY Penn Station.

I have done this trip at least a dozen times (I used to have the Met Opera subscription).

The SEPTA trains and the NJ transit trains are timed specifically to make the transfer relatively seamless (usu 5-10 minutes between arrival and departure). It's best to buy your NJ transit ticket at 30th street station before you depart, because there are long lines for the ticket machines at the Trenton station, and you might miss your train if you get stuck in a long line.

I think there were 2-3 times the incoming train was very late, and the outgoing train decided not to wait. This ended up with a rather unpleasant wait at Trenton for the next train. It's not UNsafe, as there were plenty of passengers with me on the platform.

If the incoming train is just a few minutes' late, the outgoing train usually waits.

BTW, my info was over 4 years' old, as I moved out of Philly in 2004.

Greenhouse

I park at the Trenton Station without any safety concerns.

I've also done the 3 train route (home to 30th St, 30th to Trenton, Trenton to NYP) and I find it only adds about an hour travel time as opposed to two trains w/Amtrak.

It's well worth the savings, imo.

lolfn

there is a large parking garage at hamilton station. i think it is $6/day.

karens

I live in the northern Phila. suburbs, so I just drive to Trenton instead of going south into 30th St.

During the week, I park at Trenton and it's fine. I go by myself, and I get back into Trenton at around 6pm, and at that time are plenty of commuters getting off the train.

On weekends, I park at Hamilton, one stop up the line. This station is totally safe.

NJT is significantly cheaper than Amtrak, and if you catch an express train, about the same time, too.

sassy27

I went to NYC last Sunday from Hamilton. A round trip ticket cost $20.50 and parking for the day is $6.00. The parking garage had plenty of open spaces and I felt safe using it.

BarryK

And if you drive another 10 minutes up Rte 1 to Princeton Jct., round trip is $20.00 and parking is $4...