Gothamist: Air Train Up and Running

Dahl

Thu, 18 Dec 2003 10:05:42 -0500

yeah, and if you're in nj, the train to newark doesn't help much unless you're on that line, because otherwise, you need to go into the city to get out again.

Mike

Wed, 17 Dec 2003 20:25:55 -0500

Mike C -- I don't think you can exalt the connection from NJT to Newark Airtrain while being unhappy with the connection from three separate subway lines _and_ the LIRR to the JFK Airtrain; the latter is clearly more convenient. And Jamaica is actually more or less on the way to JFK from Midtown (it's hardly "Northeast Queens").

Mike

Wed, 17 Dec 2003 20:22:38 -0500

Nope, the Howard Beach leg costs too, and they got rid of the free shuttle bus. Ripoff. Amazingly, though, updated signs are already up at Hoyt-Schermerhorn.

Morgan

Wed, 17 Dec 2003 17:15:16 -0500

(for JFK at least)

Morgan

Wed, 17 Dec 2003 17:14:18 -0500

Actually, I believe the Howard Beach leg is free... Only the Jamaica section costs anything.

Frankenstein

Wed, 17 Dec 2003 15:09:49 -0500

Okay, THAT makes sense: $5 for the dinky little distance between Howard Beach and the airport proper? Won't there still be shuttle buses that run out there?

mike c

Wed, 17 Dec 2003 14:53:04 -0500

True Red...but the Newark deal takes you from where it's convenient (NJT) to where you actually want to go. Why take a subway to Northeast Queens which is all the way out of the way? They should have spent a little more money and made the direct connection to Manhattan. NYC still has some of the worst airport transportation in the country. I'd also like to see the 7 train extended to LGA but that's wishful thinking.

dahl

Wed, 17 Dec 2003 14:22:55 -0500

The Newark train is ok if you make it, but it doesn't run that often so if you make the train, you have to wait another 20-30 minutes. And to return, if you flight gets in on a weekend or evening, the trains run even more infrequently. As for the comparison of travel times to DC, I did many similar ones between Boston and NYC - by public transportation, I found the bus to be cheapest and fastest (~4 hrs). Pre Acela, it was about a 5 hr train ride, and 4 times the price, to pretty much the same place in the city. And the plane was about an hour, but you needed to leave at least 1 1/2 hrs ahead of time to make sure you got there on time, and on both ends, it takes quite a while to get back.

990000

Wed, 17 Dec 2003 13:57:40 -0500

I tried the air train to Newark Airport and found it to be very convenient. I took a 20 minute NJTransit ride from Penn to the second stop in NJ. it was about 30 minutes all-in-all. when things work, they work pretty well.