Rail trip from NYC to Philly
 

Hi All-

I am making a quick leisure trip from NYC to Philly this weekend. I am thinking about taking the New Jersey Transit/SEPTA connection rather than Amtrak. I have never done this before,but it seems like a great deal as it is less than 1/3 Amtrak's price and will only take an hour longer.

Can anybody comment on the reliabilty of this line?I usually take Amtrak but this seems like a no brainer given the substantial difference in price.

I don't usually use the Septa portion of the trip, but I've used NJT to NYC ( I drive from Phila. to Hamilton Station), and they are always on time.

The NJ-Transit/SEPTA train is reliable but longer by more than one hour. The number of stops in NJ can be maddening. But if you have the time to spare, it is a no-brainer, especially considering AMTRAK's unreasonable expense, and the fact that you are not even guaranteed a seat (I have sat on the floor of this train more times than I care to remember).

Don't mean to heist someone else's post, but the point about Amtrak's cost and lack of convenience is well taken. Now that Southwest Air has infiltrated much of the NE corridor, who wants to take a train when you can fly for about a third the price?

Personally, I like train travel, but it's hard to justify taking Amtrak.

Southwest flies out of Islip, a good 1 hour away from NYC. It only takes 1.5 hours total to drive to Center City Philadelphia.

Oh, and Southwest doesn't fly from Islip to Philadelphia, Boston, or Washington. All the Islip routes are medium or long haul.

Your suggestion is useless, expensive, and two to three times the time of taking the train.

Wait, I'm mistaken, You CAN fly from Islip to Baltimore. So if you want to go from NY to DC, you can drive 1 hour to Islip, wait 1 hour for security, fly for 40 minutes to Baltimore, and then get on a train for the 40 minute trip to DC.

Instead of walking onto the train at Penn Station and arriving 3.5-4 hours later at Union Station.

I;ve done the route the OP mentioned. It is very reliable, but somewhat slow. If your money is worth more than your time, it is a very good idea.

Agreed that to fly from NY to Philadelphia makes no sense at all - going to Islip takes almost as long as to Philadelphia. And you would be in Philadelphia before you got on the plane given the current security requirements.

The train is a wash in terms of time and cost from NY to DC or Boston vs the plane - the flight is only about 45 minutes but the security lines and advance check-in plus travel from the center city makes the time the same unless you live next to the airport.

The fastest Amtrak (non -Acela) train takes about 1 hr 15 mins as opposed to 2 hr 30 mins via NJT/SEPTA. The price difference is roughly $100 to $30 round trip. The Acela does the trip in about 1 hr 7 mins but costs $175

When traveling for business from NYC to Boston or Washington I always take Amtrak.It is (usually) so much more relaxed and comfortable than having to go through the airports.

Thanks for the input.