Biting the bullet: Amtrak from Philly to NYC (Philadelphia, York: fit in, credit card)

[comingtopa]

Hello all,

My DH and I are moving from NY to Philly, and I'm planning on commuting via Amtrak to my job in New York. We want to avoid the Philadelphia city tax, so we're looking at the first few stops on the R5 main line outside Philly (Merion Station, Ardmore, etc). Can anyone who currently does this commute tell me, firsthand, how hellish/not hellish it is? I'm pretty hardy, and I like reading on trains. But I'm planning on doing this long-term (for at least a few years), since I LOVE my job in NY and have no desire to leave it.

Thanks for your input!

[LibraGirl123]

You'd be better off staying in Bucks county (north of Philly)...communities like Newtown, Yardley, Morrisville, Doylestown. Way closer than commuting from Ardmore or Merion Station (west of Philly).

There are a number of other threads on City-Data on this very topic. Do a search here, or on Google.

[comingtopa]

I've looked for similar threads to no avail, which is why I started my own thread--can you post links if you know where they are?

We looked at those Bucks county towns, but it doesn't make sense for us--my husband will be working in Philly and we'd have to get another car. This way at least one of us is close to work, and with the Amtrak it's not that much longer than commuting from Bucks County.

[pman]

merion is not pedestrian friendly, ardmore is. ardmore is also a sometimes stop on amtrak. Paoli is always a stop on the Amtrak trains.

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by comingtopa

I've looked for similar threads to no avail, which is why I started my own thread--can you post links if you know where they are?

We looked at those Bucks county towns, but it doesn't make sense for us--my husband will be working in Philly and we'd have to get another car. This way at least one of us is close to work, and with the Amtrak it's not that much longer than commuting from Bucks County.

I went to find what I thought was a similar thread only to find out it was yours.

To expound on what I said on there: a commute from 30th Street to Penn Station would be just over 2 hours via SEPTA/NJ Transit. Knock off a half hour for a regular Amtrak train and maybe another 15 minutes for Amtrak Acela. That does not include what would be an average 20-30 minute commute into the city via SEPTA's R5 train and whatever amount of time it takes to get to downtown Brooklyn from Penn Center... let's say a half hour, for the sake of discussion.

I would also guesstimate that a monthly pass on SEPTA and NJ Transit would be at least $300 combined. I wouldn't be surprised if it's at least double that on "regular" Amtrak let alone Acela.

So it's either $300 a month for a six-hour daily commute... or perhaps $600 (or more?) a month for a four-hour daily commute.

On the other hand, living in Bucks County would allow both of you to take the R7 train: you to transfer to NJ Transit or Amtrak in Trenton, him to downtown Philly. You would save two hours a day in commuting by not having to come in and go back out of Philly on the train... not to mention a couple hundred dollars. As you may already know, some NJT trains have express routes which would make the Amtrak advantage neglible. And assuming your husband is working in Center City (downtown Philly), he could get there in less than an hour.

[PeeAye Native]

Also, Merion is not an Amtrak stop, you'll have to take Septa from Merion into 30th St Station and catch Amtrak there. The tradeoff is the morning Amtrak to NYC has a scheduled 15 or 20 minute wait at 30th St. So if you catch it at Ardmore, you sit in the train and wait that whole time, which is OK if you're busy with work. Another point is they frown on cell phone conversations in the Amtrak cars. It's been a while since I did it, this may have changed.

[pman]

Originally Posted by Tone509

To expound on what I said on there: a commute from 30th Street to Penn Station would be just over 2 hours via SEPTA/NJ Transit. Knock off a half hour for a regular Amtrak train and maybe another 15 minutes for Amtrak Acela. That does not include what would be an average 20-30 minute commute into the city via SEPTA's R5 train and whatever amount of time it takes to get to downtown Brooklyn from Penn Center... let's say a half hour, for the sake of discussion.

actually, it's a 40 minute savings and it's quite substantial. moreover, Amtrak is more pleasant to surf the internet with plugs and drop down tables as well as a cafe car in case you forgot your coffee. AFAIK, SEPTA/NJT is $500/mo and Amtrak double that. If you do do Amtrak, get the credit card and rack up rewards. Paoli is the only stop that is always a stop on all Keystone trains. there's a 15 min layover at 30th st

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by pman

actually, it's a 40 minute savings and it's quite substantial. moreover, Amtrak is more pleasant to surf the internet with plugs and drop down tables as well as a cafe car in case you forgot your coffee. AFAIK, SEPTA/NJT is $500/mo and Amtrak double that. If you do do Amtrak, get the credit card and rack up rewards. Paoli is the only stop that is always a stop on all Keystone trains. there's a 15 min layover at 30th st

Thanks for that correction, pman!

$1000/month for transportation? Wow!

[pman]

Originally Posted by Tone509

Thanks for that correction, pman!

$1000/month for transportation? Wow!

a few years ago the powers that be in congress decided Amtrak was too generous and passed a law requiring no fare be less than 50%(?) of the list fare (kind of like MSRP) which meant a hike on commuters. the powers that be at Amtrak, in all their DC based glory, decided to screw Philly and not only double the fares but eliminate the clockers. It's ridiculous but worth it if you do the commute, though a lot of people make the trek to Trenton...for me, either the job is worth tine $1k or it's not worth doing. that said, it's overpriced and it unnecessarily puts people on 95.

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by pman

a few years ago the powers that be in congress decided Amtrak was too generous and passed a law requiring no fare be less than 50%(?) of the list fare (kind of like MSRP) which meant a hike on commuters. the powers that be at Amtrak, in all their DC based glory, decided to screw Philly and not only double the fares but eliminate the clockers. It's ridiculous but worth it if you do the commute, though a lot of people make the trek to Trenton...for me, either the job is worth tine $1k or it's not worth doing. that said, it's overpriced and it unnecessarily puts people on 95.

Perhaps with the Amtrak Rider-In-Chief occupying the Vice-President's Office, perhaps that will change for the commuters' benefit in the not too distant future.