# Commuter rail to an Amtrak station



## Joe from PA (Aug 25, 2022)

In our Philadelphia local news was the recent addition of track about 5 miles long to a new station offering a 600 car parking garage, as well as a raised station platforms. Most of the stations along our Media line have parking lots way too small for the number of commuters wanting to use them, and only a few stations have raised platforms for old folks, like myself, to have a easy entrance/exit to the train. This line has a stop for the Amtrak Philadelphia 30th Street Station.
Do you have rail service to a Amtrak station?


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## AmtrakBlue (Aug 25, 2022)

Wilmington, DE
Washington DC
Baltimore
New York City
Dallas
San Jose, CA

To name a few


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## joelkfla (Aug 25, 2022)

I regularly use KIS south of Orlando because it's shared with SunRail commuter service, which has a free city-owned parking ramp. The Amtrak ticket agent gives passengers a dashboard pass allowing overnight parking. I've never gone to the upper levels of the garage, but I think SunRail ridership is low enough that the garage doesn't fill up.

The Orlando and Winter Park stations are also shared, but don't have as extensive parking available for overnight use.


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## Metra Electric Rider (Aug 25, 2022)

In theory I could take my train to Homewood to board Amtrak, since there isn't direct service to CUS by my line or rapid transit.


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## Bob Dylan (Aug 25, 2022)

AmtrakBlue said:


> Wilmington, DE
> Washington DC
> Baltimore
> New York City
> ...


Fort Worth
LAX
San Diego 
Sacramento 
Portland
Seattle
Salt Lake
Denver
St Louis
Boston


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## MisterUptempo (Aug 25, 2022)

I have taken Metra-Rock Island from my regular stop to Joliet to board Lincoln Service trains, when they synch up time-wise, and have the option to take Metra-Southwest Service trains to Chicago Union Station for Amtrak routes there.

Once the Lincoln Service starts to roll on the Rock between Chicago and Joliet, I might be able to pick it up at my home station, depending on which station along the line they designate as a stop.


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## BCL (Aug 25, 2022)

In the San Francisco Bay Area there's:

FMT: ACE
GAC: ACE
SCC: ACE and Caltrain
SJC: ACE and Caltrain

There used to be even more ways to tap into the Amtrak network, such as the bus stop at the 4th and King Caltrain station in San Francisco.

I've recently been to the LA/OC area where Metrolink and Amtrak (especially Pacific Surfliner) use the same tracks and stations. Then there's the San Diego area with Coaster and Sprinter.


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## PVD (Aug 25, 2022)

Metro North certainly overlaps with Amtrak on the NEC through New Haven, and along the Hudson through Poughkeepsie. CT Rail along the Hartford routes, A bunch of MBTA routes can get you to Amtrak in a few spots, as can NJT in NJ. There are so many others. But on a personal level, there is a bus on my corner that will take me to the subway $2.75 and an hour 20 mins or so gets me to NYP. But if it is a busy hour, or if I have bags, car service to LIRR Jamaica station gets me there in about 40 mins total but $$$. Coming home on a train that arrives later in the evening, and the LIRR is 20 mins to Jamaica, and I can usually get a friend to drive me home....


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## pennyk (Aug 25, 2022)

joelkfla said:


> I regularly use KIS south of Orlando because it's shared with SunRail commuter service, which has a free city-owned parking ramp. The Amtrak ticket agent gives passengers a dashboard pass allowing overnight parking. I've never gone to the upper levels of the garage, but I think SunRail ridership is low enough that the garage doesn't fill up.
> 
> The Orlando and Winter Park stations are also shared, but don't have as extensive parking available for overnight use.


I often take SunRail to ORL to start an Amtrak trip. I live fairly close to a SunRail station so (weather permitting), I can walk and not have to worry about parking (which there is none at the downtown SunRail station I use).


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## blueman271 (Aug 25, 2022)

Every Amtrak stop between Hollywood and West Palm Beach Florida is also a Tri-Rail stop.


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## Joe from PA (Aug 26, 2022)

blueman271 said:


> Every Amtrak stop between Hollywood and West Palm Beach Florida is also a Tri-Rail stop.


True, but are they "shared" stations? What is the difference between Brightline and Tri-Rail?


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## CaptPete 43 (Aug 26, 2022)

Boston has commuter rail into Back Bay Station, South Stain, Route 128 and North Station which are all AMTRAK stations. Further one can take the MBTA Silver Line from South Station to Logan Airport with drop off at each terminal


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## Trollopian (Aug 26, 2022)

Bob Dylan said:


> Fort Worth
> LAX
> San Diego
> Sacramento
> ...


+ Albuquerque (NM's Rail Runner)


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## MARC Rider (Aug 26, 2022)

Joe from PA said:


> True, but are they "shared" stations? What is the difference between Brightline and Tri-Rail?


Amtrak and Tr-Rail share the same stations. Brightline is on a different route and has no interchange with Amtrak. Eventually, there will be some Tri-Rail trains that will operate on the Brightline route, but that hasn't started yet.


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## railiner (Aug 26, 2022)

MARC Rider said:


> Amtrak and Tr-Rail share the same stations. Brightline is on a different route and has no interchange with Amtrak. Eventually, there will be some Tri-Rail trains that will operate on the Brightline route, but that hasn't started yet.


At West Palm Beach, my “home station”, Tri-Rail and Amtrak share the platform, but Amtrak occupies the former SAL station building, waiting room, ticket office, baggage, and restrooms. And the snack bar.
Tri-Rail has their own facilities at the north end of the platform.


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## mitako (Aug 26, 2022)

When we take Amtrak out of Los Angeles Union Station, we ride the Metrolink from Santa Clarita to Union Station. Metrolink is commuter train throughout a great deal of Southern CA. It's quite convenient to get off the Metrolink and be right inside Union Station.


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## joelkfla (Aug 26, 2022)

Joe from PA said:


> True, but are they "shared" stations? What is the difference between Brightline and Tri-Rail?


Brightline is privately-owned intercity rail. Current stops are 30 minutes apart; there are a couple of infill stations under construction. Service to Orlando initially will be several hours non-stop.

Tri-Rail & SunRail are government-operated commuter rail with frequent stops. 

At shared SunRail stations, the platforms are stacked end-to-end, because SunRail platforms are slightly elevated while Amtrak platforms are at ground level. SunRail has no station facilities other than parking. All ticketing is handled by machines on the platforms.


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## zephyr17 (Aug 26, 2022)

AmtrakBlue said:


> Wilmington, DE
> Washington DC
> Baltimore
> New York City
> ...





Bob Dylan said:


> Fort Worth
> LAX
> San Diego
> Sacramento
> ...


Everett
Edmonds
Fullerton
Santa Ana
Van Nuys
(Not including commuter rail owned stations that Amtrak uses like Croton Harmon, Yonkers, Poughkeepsie, Burbank, Tukwila, Naperville, Glenview, etc, etc, etc)


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## blueman271 (Aug 26, 2022)

Joe from PA said:


> True, but are they "shared" stations? What is the difference between Brightline and Tri-Rail?


Bright line and Amtrak/Tri-Rail use different tracks. Brightline tracks run parallel to US-1 through most of South Florida whereas the Amtrak/Tri-Rail tracks run parallel to I-95 from northern Dade County to West Palm Beach. Eventually Tri-Rail will use the southernmost portion of the Brightline tracks (from roughly 71st ST south) to reach MiamiCentral.


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## BCL (Aug 26, 2022)

LA was mentioned, but the map is something else. I do understand that it's slower, but there are some programs that include Amtrak Pacific Surfliner travel on a Metrolink pass or ticket. It's restricted to certain stations and also subject to suspension of the program. Pacific Surfliner is in gray, and many of its stations are also used by the Coast Starlight.







I can't seem to find a good standalone image of the Coaster map that also shows shared Amtrak stations.


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## Cal (Aug 27, 2022)

Joe from PA said:


> In our Philadelphia local news was the recent addition of track about 5 miles long to a new station offering a 600 car parking garage,


Tad bit off topic, but I feel like this is a great example of how American transit isn't very well designed overall. Maybe it's the best we can do in current America, but it's not the way, in my opinion, to get optimal transit. Anyways.. I kind of have commuter rail to my local Amtrak station. The main two local commuter rail stations are both served by Amtrak, with another one closer but with very limited service, and it connects to Amtrak in a way where it would make more sense to just go directly to an Amtrak station.


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## Rambling Robert (Aug 27, 2022)

CaptPete 43 said:


> Boston has commuter rail into Back Bay Station, South Stain, Route 128 and North Station which are all AMTRAK stations. Further one can take the MBTA Silver Line from South Station to Logan Airport with drop off at each terminal


The Amtrak DownEaster is out of BON and served by two Commuter Rail stations: Woburn/Anderson on the Lowell Line and Haverhill on the Haverhill Line.


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## Arctifox (Aug 28, 2022)

Around DC there are some stations served both by commuter rail and Amtrak (besides Washington DC Union Station).

Shared with VRE south of DC:

Alexandria, VA
Burke, VA
Manassas, VA
Quantico, VA
Fredericksburg, VA
Shared with MARC north of DC:

Rockville, MD
Harpers Ferry, WV
Martinsburg, WV
New Carrollton, MD
BWI Airport, MD
Baltimore, MD


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## MARC Rider (Aug 28, 2022)

It seems that most commuter rail systems connect to Amtrak at some point on their network. Thus, using commuter rail as a first or last segment of an Amtrak trip would be definitely possible. The real issue may be that the commuter schedules may not be that well synchronized to Amtrak schedules. On the other hand, Amtrak trains (especially the long-distance one) run behind schedule so frequently that it may not matter that the schedules aren't synchronized, although it increases the chance that the Amtrak train may arrive long after the last commuter train of the day.

I would be more interested in knowing the commuter rail systems that _*don't*_ connect to Amtrak.


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## MARC Rider (Aug 28, 2022)

The Baltimore Light Rail serves Penn Station, but only through a branch off the main line. Thus, if I were to ride light rail from my home station, I would have to get off a Mt. Royal and wait for a train coming in the opposite direction that was heading to Penn Station. Given the frequency pf the Penn Station light rail shuttles, it's usually faster to just walk the couple of blocks. Direct light rail to Penn Station best serves the Inner Harbor, Convention Center, Camden Station, and the stadiums. Getting to any other point on the light rail system requires a transfer. There's also a free circulator bus that also connects Penn Station with the Inner Harbor.


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## PVD (Aug 28, 2022)

Marta in Atlanta would require a bus transfer or a 20-30 min walk


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## MikefromCrete (Aug 28, 2022)

MARC Rider said:


> It seems that most commuter rail systems connect to Amtrak at some point on their network. Thus, using commuter rail as a first or last segment of an Amtrak trip would be definitely possible. The real issue may be that the commuter schedules may not be that well synchronized to Amtrak schedules. On the other hand, Amtrak trains (especially the long-distance one) run behind schedule so frequently that it may not matter that the schedules aren't synchronized, although it increases the chance that the Amtrak train may arrive long after the last commuter train of the day.
> 
> I would be more interested in knowing the commuter rail systems that _*don't*_ connect to Amtrak.



The most obvious one is the Music City Star in Nashville, a city that doesn't have any Amtrak service.


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## Trollopian (Aug 28, 2022)

MARC Rider said:


> The Baltimore Light Rail serves Penn Station, but only through a branch off the main line. Thus, if I were to ride light rail from my home station, I would have to get off a Mt. Royal and wait for a train coming in the opposite direction that was heading to Penn Station. Given the frequency pf the Penn Station light rail shuttles, it's usually faster to just walk the couple of blocks. Direct light rail to Penn Station best serves the Inner Harbor, Convention Center, Camden Station, and the stadiums. Getting to any other point on the light rail system requires a transfer. There's also a free circulator bus that also connects Penn Station with the Inner Harbor.



Of course you're right, MARC. Back B.C. (=Before COVID) I often took MARC or Amtrak from DC to Baltimore for a ballgame or a museum or just a good meal, and I never bothered catching the light rail at Penn Station. Too infrequent. I'd just hoof it a few blocks to Mt. Royal.

But at least you're better off than Pittsburgh. Where "T" service from Penn Station is infrequent as in "never." From Where Do The Abandoned Third Set Of Tracks At Steel Plaza Lead?: "Around 2007, Port Authority finally shut down the tunnel route from Penn Station to Steel Plaza due to low ridership. Today, that third track is used as a standby [i.e., "staging"] location for trains on very busy days, like Steelers games and parades. The tracks behind Penn Station are closed to the public, but still visible to people waiting for a ride on the busway."


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## blueman271 (Aug 28, 2022)

WES Commuter Rail doesn’t have a direct connection to Amtrak, but obviously the Tri-Met system does.

In the transit category Miami Metrorail does not have a proper connection to Amtrak. If Amtrak ever moves their station to the airport this will change but until then no direct connection exists.


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## Cal (Aug 28, 2022)

PVD said:


> Marta in Atlanta would require a bus transfer or a 20-30 min walk


MARTA is a rapid-transit system. Personally, I categorize rapid transit separately than commuter rail as there are a handful of differences.


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## PVD (Aug 28, 2022)

True, I agree. I mostly threw it in because others have brought in some local light rails, and it does at least go to the airport.


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## MARC Rider (Aug 28, 2022)

Cal said:


> MARTA is a rapid-transit system. Personally, I categorize rapid transit separately than commuter rail as there are a handful of differences.


Rapid transit systems feed into Amtrak just as commuter rail does. When I was in high school, I took the Market-Frankford Line to catch my train at 30th St. Station. And more recently, I connected from MARC/Amtrak to my job in Washington using the Washington Metro.


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## Bob Dylan (Aug 29, 2022)

MARC Rider said:


> Rapid transit systems feed into Amtrak just as commuter rail does. When I was in high school, I took the Market-Frankford Line to catch my train at 30th St. Station. And more recently, I connected from MARC/Amtrak to my job in Washington using the Washington Metro.


When I lived in the Metro DC Area, I used the Metro extensively to get to/from Work, to Union Station to catch Amtrak, and to National Airport.( I mostly used Amtrak for BWI)

MARC and VRE weren't handy to most of the places where I lived till the last couple of years ( I lived.longest
in Rockville)before I retired and went home to Texas.
,


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## BCL (Aug 30, 2022)

MARC Rider said:


> Rapid transit systems feed into Amtrak just as commuter rail does. When I was in high school, I took the Market-Frankford Line to catch my train at 30th St. Station. And more recently, I connected from MARC/Amtrak to my job in Washington using the Washington Metro.



BART connects at least semi-directly with Amtrak in 3 or 4 places. Richmond, California is the tightest grouped, where it's just down the stairs and you're there. The Oakland Coliseum stop requires using the part of the BART bridge to the Oakland Coliseum stadium or (as I preferred) just crossing the street and walking a half block. Emeryville is somewhat accessible to the Macarthur BART station in Oakland using the free Emery Go Round bus. Once the San Jose and Santa Clara BART stations are done, they will be right next to stations that serve Amtrak.


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## BCL (Aug 30, 2022)

MARC Rider said:


> I would be more interested in knowing the commuter rail systems that _*don't*_ connect to Amtrak.



SMART is kind of stuck in Sonoma and Marin Counties. Now it might get tricky if one considers thruway buses.






Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit







www.sonomamarintrain.org


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## Fat_Panda_Guy (Oct 24, 2022)

joelkfla said:


> I regularly use KIS south of Orlando because it's shared with SunRail commuter service, which has a free city-owned parking ramp. The Amtrak ticket agent gives passengers a dashboard pass allowing overnight parking. I've never gone to the upper levels of the garage, but I think SunRail ridership is low enough that the garage doesn't fill up.
> 
> The Orlando and Winter Park stations are also shared, but don't have as extensive parking available for overnight use.


Joel, can you expand on the parking situation at Orlando? Just moved to Tampa and was contemplating a weekend trip to Savannah since we'd never been. However, we'd want to do the Meteor with the earlier arrival time into SAV than the Star, so we'd need to get on in Orlando. Or, we just drive. *shudder*

I see a lot of parking lots close to the station, but can't seem to find too much detail about overnight parking. And while the Amtrak site says there is free overnight parking in Orlando, it may shock some to learn, that no additional details are given. Is it just the 20 or so spots I can see in google maps? Or do they contract with a garage somewhere close by?


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## MARC Rider (Oct 24, 2022)

Fat_Panda_Guy said:


> Joel, can you expand on the parking situation at Orlando? Just moved to Tampa and was contemplating a weekend trip to Savannah since we'd never been. However, we'd want to do the Meteor with the earlier arrival time into SAV than the Star, so we'd need to get on in Orlando. Or, we just drive. *shudder*


Don't they still run a Thruway bus from the Tampa Amtrak station that connects with the Meteor in Orlando?


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## Fat_Panda_Guy (Oct 24, 2022)

MARC Rider said:


> Don't they still run a Thruway bus from the Tampa Amtrak station that connects with the Meteor in Orlando?


Oh, they do. But Thruway busses aren't Mrs. Fat_Panda_Guy's style. I'll be hard pressed to convince her to join me on this trip. Never mind jumping on a Mears bus in Tampa to then go to Orlando to take a train to Savannah to take an Uber to whatever downtown hotel we choose. No. Sadly, Mrs FPG's zest for travel isn't quite where mine is.


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## jis (Oct 24, 2022)

Fat_Panda_Guy said:


> Oh, they do. But Thruway busses aren't Mrs. Fat_Panda_Guy's style. I'll be hard pressed to convince her to join me on this trip. Never mind jumping on a Mears bus in Tampa to then go to Orlando to take a train to Savannah to take an Uber to whatever downtown hotel we choose. No. Sadly, Mrs FPG's zest for travel isn't quite where mine is.


You can always catch the Meteor at Kissimmee which has a nice parking structure where parking is free, registered with Amtrak station agent and patrolled by the Police.


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## Fat_Panda_Guy (Oct 24, 2022)

jis said:


> You can always catch the Meteor at Kissimmee which has a nice parking structure where parking is free, registered with Amtrak station agent and patrolled by the Police.


Yeah, that would be easier. Thank you!!! I don't know how I missed that on the timetable I had saved. For some reason, I thought the Meteor skipped Kissimee. That's a much better answer than what I was trying to conjure up!!!


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## joelkfla (Oct 29, 2022)

Fat_Panda_Guy said:


> Joel, can you expand on the parking situation at Orlando? Just moved to Tampa and was contemplating a weekend trip to Savannah since we'd never been. However, we'd want to do the Meteor with the earlier arrival time into SAV than the Star, so we'd need to get on in Orlando. Or, we just drive. *shudder*
> 
> I see a lot of parking lots close to the station, but can't seem to find too much detail about overnight parking. And while the Amtrak site says there is free overnight parking in Orlando, it may shock some to learn, that no additional details are given. Is it just the 20 or so spots I can see in google maps? Or do they contract with a garage somewhere close by?


Just got back from my trip yesterday, and catching up now.

Orlando does have just the spots in the small parking lot. I've only departed from there twice. Once there was plenty of space, but the other time I grabbed one of the last spots. It's in an industrial area that is gradually transforming to the health industry. The parking is open, and I don't know whether it's actively patrolled after hours.

As @jis said, I usually go to Kissimmee, even though it's an extra 15 minute drive for me. I like that the parking is covered, and there's always plenty of space. I don't know about the police patrol, but it feels like a safer area. Overnight parking is prohibited unless you get a permit from the Amtrak ticket agent.

The garage is across the tracks from the Amtrak station; it's on Google Maps as Kissimmee Intermodal Parking Garage. Or you can stop at the station first and leave the Mrs. with the bags, then get the permit and drive across to the garage. Best way to navigate to the Amtrak station lot is to go to Willy's Wieners on Google; if you navigate to Kissimmee Station, Google may route you on a street that's not open to cars.


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