posted
As suggested by a member here - I upgraded my BOS/KIS trip to a viewliner on the Silver service trains. I also decided to depart from Springfield (SPG) instead of BOS because it's closer to my house.
Question...the shuttle (493/494) between SPG & NHV arrives in NHV a mere 7 minutes before the Regional departs NHV for NYP! Same thing coming home. What happens if the shuttle runs late? Does the regional wait for the shuttle to arrive or will I have to (ugh) be bussed!
Erik
Posts: 26 | From: southbridge, MA USA | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
According to the website, 493-NHV-93 is a good connection. Accordingly Amtrak has the moral obligation, even if not part of the transportation contract, to "look out for you".
Overall, they do a far better job of such with misconnects than the airlines ever do.
Posts: 9975 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
Barring an accident, mechanical problems, or a passenger needing emergency medical attention along the way, it's unlikely that the shuttle will arrive late in New Haven.
With that said, if the shuttle is running slightly behind schedule (by, say, five minutes or so) the Regional will wait. However, if it's determined that you'll pull in considerably later, Amtrak definitely won't hold up an entire trainload of NEC passengers. Your connection will depart without you, and you'll simply cool your heels in New Haven for the next New York bound train, which will come along in less than an hour.
posted
It's unlikely you will have trouble with this connection; however, if you are worried about this, call Amtrak and tell them you are afraid of missing the FL train because 2 connections are involved, and get Amtrak to put you on an earlier shuttle and Regional. For example, I believe there is a weekday shuttle that leaves Springfield at 7:15AM that will get you to New Haven at 8:35. Hopefully you will then make the 8:45 Regional service, and that is the one they will ticket you for, but if you miss it, you simply get on the next one (don't worry if your ticket is for the first one; people in New Haven will know what happened and put shuttle passengers on the next).
BUT if you want the layover cushion, be careful Amtrak does not change your Florida train from the Silver Meteor to the Silver Star--in fact, be sure they do not change the Florida part of your ticket at all, as the sleeper price could then change and go way up! Tell them you want to keep that part at the price you paid and just get the other things changed.
I am presuming that the Silver Meteor is the Florida train you are traveling on. It's a quicker trip to Kissimee and leaves later in the day, and that's the one with the 7-minute connection in NH (the other is only 10 minutes though).
Note that you can take the Regional from New Haven either to NYC or Washington, DC (I am not sure if you can change, for the same price, where your sleeper starts at this point, but you might be able to--I think the overall sleeper price is the same from DC or NYC to FL, it's just that reticketing you could incur a higher price, you can check) By leaving at 7:15 and taking the Silver Meteor, if all goes well, you will have a nice little layover (4-5 hours?) in one of these two places. With a sleeper ticket, you can go to the ACELA lounge in either NYP or WAS, ring the bell, check in, and leave your luggage there. In New York's Penn Station, the ACELA lounge is in the left corner as you face the Amtrak ticket windows (you will be facing Eighth Avenue) upstairs from the tracks. In Washington DC it's on the back wall near the gate to track C or D--I forget exactly--but I think you'll spot it, or just ask at the Amtrak info desk (it's kind of behind it).
In leaving your luggage, be sure not to leave anything really valuable, like a laptop or an iPOD. But otherwise the ACELA lounges are fairly safe; I leave suitcases with the usual junk (clothing and toiletries) there all the time.
Where you take the layover depends on what you want to do and see. In DC, it's an easy walk from Union Station up to the Mall, where the museums are all free--and even closer to Union Station is impressive Smithsonian National Buildings Museum--just a great building worth bopping into to see, even if you don't see the exhibits--and the fascinating newly restored National Portrait Gallery; there is also just across the streets the National Postal Museum--all of these are part of the Smithsonian system and free too. If it's a nice day, the gardens across the Mall near the Smithsonian's Arts & Industries Museum and Smithsonian Castle are exquisite. There are also the Smithsonian's National Botanical Gardens and smaller outdoor plantings by the new Museum of the Native American closer to the Capitol--and there is a sculpture garden with some weird and in some cases IMO nice stuff, and more plantings, between the Smithsonian's Hirschhorn Museum (again, on the far side of the Mall) and the National Gallery, closer to Unin Station. The National Gallery also often has a nice little special exhibit that you can run in and see in a half hour or so. And remember, all these museums are free. They do make you do the metal detector thing, but that is quick.
But NYC is great too, and great for a nice walk stretching your legs. You can go out the 7th Avenue exit of Penn station (you walk with your back facing those Amtrak ticket windows around the main waiting area and all the way down, then take the escalator up outside) and when you get out, turn left on the corner of 7th Ave (sometimes amusingly called Fashion Av on tourist signs) and cross W 34th St and take a right, going past the windows of Macy's walking down to Herald Square and Greeley Square where Broadway (which runs diagonally) meets 6th Ave (now called Ave of the Americas)--the two little squares have benches and flowers; they are on either side of 34th. If you go down one more block to 5th you will be walkig right along the Empire State Building (make sure you look up to see this when you first get out of Penn Station; close up you cannot see the top!). You can then go left, or uptown, on 5th Ave to 42nd and take a right there (it becomes E 42nd when you cross 5th Av) and cross Madison Avenue and go 1 more block to visit Grand Central Station, on the north side of E 42nd--go down Vanderbilt (a little street parallel to Madison) to enter down those Vanderbilt steps, they are neat. Walking back, cross 42nd by the overpass leading into Grand Central and take Park Ave S (it's a little hidden, but just ask anyone where it is) to E 41st and take a right, so you can read all the quotations on the sidewalk as you head for the NY Public Library (on the W side of 5th Av, runs from 42nd to 40th). Visit the library itself if you have time--the main reading room and periodical room are especially wonderful to see--and go out around the back to Bryant Park, which is very nice. Be sure to use the new toilets there, the nicest I've ever seen (when I was there) with fresh flowers! Then walk back down to W 34th on 6th Av(Ave of Americas) and cut back over to Penn Station.
Just be sure you don't miss your train! You'll need to get back around 20-30 minutes early for boarding; they will tell you in the ACELA lounge when you check in.
Posts: 2642 | From: upstate New York | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
I onyl show concern with the 493 - 93 connection in NHV because using the arrival utility found at http://web.peoriadesignweb.com/cgi-bin/amtrak/train.cgi it shows the 493 arriving late in NHV by about 10 minutes each day and the regional 93 arriving early (?) each day.
With the 93 regional scheduled to depart NHV at 12:11 and the shuttle arriving at 12:13 - 12:18 each day this week....I am guessing I will miss the connection. The only two regionals after the 93 heading to NYP before the Meteors departure time are the two Acela Regionals 2163 & 2253.
Argh!
Erik
Posts: 26 | From: southbridge, MA USA | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
What about my suggestion, Erik--tell Amtrak you don't want to take 493 to 93; tell them you want to insure the connection to the Silver Meteor (97) by taking 495 to 95. Then spend the layover, if you make 495, in NYC. If you miss the connection in NH, they'll put you on the next (or next non-ACELA, perhaps) train from NH to NYC and you'll still have plenty of time in NYC before catching the Silver Meteor (97).
This does entail leaving Springfield at 7:15AM--is that a problem for you?
Posts: 2642 | From: upstate New York | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
Well I called Amtrak customer relations and spoke with a delightful woman named Latisha. She informed me that the connection between the 493 and the 93 are guaranteed and in fact the 93 doesn’t leave and will wait until after the 493 arrives in NHV. So it looks like that part is all set.
Thanks for the suggestions about getting the earlier Shuttle from SPG but leaving at 7:10AM is not in the cards due to a few other constraints I have to deal with. Certainly the extra time in New York would have been fun but alas – not to be on this trip.
Erik
Posts: 26 | From: southbridge, MA USA | Registered: Jul 2003
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