Harrisburg to Philadelphia commute via Amtrak (Daily) (Lancaster: home, train)

[mufc1878]

Anyone do or familiar with a daily Harrisburg to Philly commute via amtrak for work?

How doable and reliable of a service is this? It seems amtrak runs pretty slow on this leg but does it atleast run on time?

Any thoughts appreciated.

[DowntownHarrisburg]

I don't travel Amtrak daily. Maybe several times a year. I've never experienced delayed service. Many people do commute daily to Philly and NY via that line. HOWEVER, there have been times when the Harrisburg-Philly line was suspended due to debris on the line, flooding, inclement weather, etc. If you have an employer who is flexible with your schedule, you should be okay. If arriving late a few days per year will be a problem, then I'd recommend against me.

But just my $.02. As I said, I'm not a daily commuter.

[mufc1878]

Originally Posted by DowntownHarrisburg

I don't travel Amtrak daily. Maybe several times a year. I've never experienced delayed service. Many people do commute daily to Philly and NY via that line. HOWEVER, there have been times when the Harrisburg-Philly line was suspended due to debris on the line, flooding, inclement weather, etc. If you have an employer who is flexible with your schedule, you should be okay. If arriving late a few days per year will be a problem, then I'd recommend against me.

But just my $.02. As I said, I'm not a daily commuter.

Thanks. Much appreciated.

The only people I know that do philly to ny often do acela and unfortunately harrisburg to philly isn't on the acela express line.

[DowntownHarrisburg]

Glad to help. And I just noticed my "recommend against me" typo. Whoops. I think I meant "recommend against it".

[pman]

Originally Posted by DowntownHarrisburg

I don't travel Amtrak daily. Maybe several times a year. I've never experienced delayed service. Many people do commute daily to Philly and NY via that line. HOWEVER, there have been times when the Harrisburg-Philly line was suspended due to debris on the line, flooding, inclement weather, etc. If you have an employer who is flexible with your schedule, you should be okay. If arriving late a few days per year will be a problem, then I'd recommend against me.

But just my $.02. As I said, I'm not a daily commuter.

to be fair, even the turnpike was shut down this year with the once in a generation flooding that occurred. more precipitation this year than any year on record (about 140 years)

[danwxman]

Originally Posted by mufc1878

Thanks. Much appreciated.

The only people I know that do philly to ny often do acela and unfortunately harrisburg to philly isn't on the acela express line.

I travel the HBG-PHL Amtrak line at least once a month and very rarely experience delays. They do a great job of keeping the trains on time. Beware, Friday PM trains out of Philly are usually standing room only until Lancaster.

[kellysc]

I've ridden from Philadephia to Lancaster each weekday for the past 18 months - and have several friends who do the Harrisburg to Philadelphia commute. Riding the train has been so convenient for the long commute.
Amtrak tends to run on time, and very rarely experiences delays longer than 10 minutes. There are times when due to weather, flooding, etc. the trains have been late or cancelled - but in a year and a half, I've only had to be significantly late or work from home twice due to these issues.
The trains are quiet and clean, and Amtrak just added WIFI to the Keystone line, which is nice. I'd definitely recommend it over driving - when you factor in tolls, gas, and the unpredictable but always bad traffic on the Schuykill Expressway (last 10-15 miles into Philly) it's completely worth it.