Train from Philly to NYC and back for single woman - stations and safety?
 

My step-daughter is coming in for the day to visit us while we are in NYC this week.
She has a car and lives in Philly area - approx. 10 minutes NE of Philly City Center. What is the best and safest way for her to come in and back? We would meet her at Penn Station. She could drive her car to X, park it there for the day and of course pick it up upon her return. I just want to ensure that since she is a young lady traveling alone, she is in a safe environment.

Thanks

I can't imagine why you think this isn't a safe thing for a normally intelligent adult to do. For a 12 year old perhaps - but an adult? Thousands of people do this trip everyday with no problem whatsoever.

I assume she would hop a cab to 30th St Station and take Amtrak to Penn Station. This sounds like it would be cheaper than driving and finding a place to put the car and parking it for the whole day in Philly..

Faster and simpler.

no offense intended, nytraveler. There are spotty areas in Philly.

I agree with nytraveler's instructions, but not her attitude. Yes, perfectly safe.

~Liz

I would think that if she lives in the Philly area, she would know this info.

She just moved to Philly!... wow, I did not expect such responses on this question.
Thank you Liz for your nice email.
Over and out.

Is there any way she could take public transport to 30th Street which would eliminate some parking issues.

And to the OP, there are plenty of "spotty areas" in New York, also.

"Spotty" areas are not usually in the middle of a city's main train station - with tens of thousands of people in and out every day.

Sorry if you are offended - but it all sounds very over the top to me. Is it dangerous? You will go to her train to meet her??? It does sound like sending a 12 year old off to camp.

Let me find some middle ground here.
I live in the Philly area. I often walk around Center City and ride the subway at about midnight, and always felt perfectly safe. I've also felt scared driving through some parts of Philly in broad daylight. I also got freaked out when, months after the fact, I found I had once parked my car in the dark just two blocks from the location of the Lex Street Massacre
http://www.southphillyreview.com/new.../79678342.html
So I'm fully cognizant of the fact that there are parts of the city that are safe and parts that are not safe. If someone is new to this city, it's a perfectly legitimate question to ask which parts are where.
The place to start is here:
https://www.crimereports.com/agency/philadelphia
A glance should show that reported Assaults ("A") and Robberies ("R") are pretty rare in the area around 30th Street Station. If she parks her car at the official Amtrak garage, she'll be as safe as she can be in any large city.

I should mention that, in almost every area of Philadelphia, the drivers are a FAR greater threat to you than criminals.

There are a couple of Philly fodorites that take the train ...hopefully they will see this question.

I DO take the train--from the western suburbs to 30 St. station, and from there to NYC. The only issue for the poster is getting to 30th st station. That depends on exactly where she's starting from. I would check the trip planner at www.septa.org if not driving.

~Liz

She might also consider using the NJTransit train from Hamilton station in New Jersey. Depending on where she lives (and depending on how comfortable she is getting around in Philadelphia), she may find the location of the station to be convenient. Parking for the day will be about $9; round trip ticket will be $27, I believe.

Been discussed before, but best bet is to drive to Hamilton township, NJ about 35 minutes North of Philly and one stop north of Trenton on NJ transit Northeast Corridor line.
Plenty of parking (especially weekends) and one seat ride to NY Penn station and half the fare than on Amtrak.
Check out njtransit.com

Or there's the option of Megabus: cheap, easy-peasy, and the New York one stops at 6th and Market, easily accessible by loads of public transportation from just about anywhere in Philadelphia.

I've been traveling this way for, oh, at least 40 years with no problem.

It does depend on where she is starting from. How does she ordinarily get to Center City?

I got lots of good info on this thread, but I was looking for alternatives to Amtrak out of 30th st. station since the starting point was Blue Bell. Amtrak was $200/rt, NJTransit $30. NJTransit does add on at least 1/2 hour to the trip.

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...rom-philly.cfm

I'd also vote for the Hamilton NJ Transit station. That line runs often during the rush and takes about 50 minutes to get into Manhattan. And it's cheaper, and she won't have to pay to park in Center City (or deal with that traffic). It's going to be a slightly longer drive than Philadelphia itself, but I'd guess with rush hour traffic to deal with it won't be much harder to reach.