Advice please, 30th St. or Washington DC

[keelhauled]

There is no sanctuary from the homeless at the stations during the night. You may be safe, but you may be continually hassled.

I have spent many late nights at NYP waiting for 66 and never had a problem in the Amtrak waiting area. I suppose that's another option for OP, take the Pennsylvanian all the way to New York and get on the Cardinal there.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

I agree with the hostel suggestion. I have stayed at the HI hostels in Philly, Baltimore and D.C. All three were clean but I agree that the hostel in D.C. is a large hostel and it can be noisy. The hostel in Philly is quiet and is a one seat ride from the 30th St. Amtrak station, just a couple of short blocks from the 2nd St. station on the Market-Frankford line. The hostel in Baltimore is quiet but not all that convenient by transit to BAL Penn Station. As someone else said, the hostel in D.C. is 5 blocks or so from a Metro station. Some hostels also have private rooms, but they are a lot more expensive than a bunk in a dorm room. Since you just want to crash for the night I would recommend just getting a bunk in the Philly hostel if you want to go the hostel route. You can also shower in a hostel, which you can't do at the train station. I have used a pay shower in a train station in Europe, and I have heard that train stations in this country used to have them too, but not anymore.

Of course another budget option is to rent a room in someone's apartment on AirBnB. They don't have a filter for good transit access, though, and it can be tedious finding a convenient place on AirBnB.

I do understand not wanting to shell out a lot of $ for a hotel just to sleep in overnight between trains, but when traveling it is important to take care of yourself and get adequate rest. That will be not be so easy surrounded by needy strangers in a brightly-lit train station.

What ever you decide, I wish you a happy trip!

Laura

As I recall, the hostel I linked to in D.C. was small. I've only stayed at that one and the one in Chicago. Chicago's was large.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

There is no sanctuary from the homeless at the stations during the night. You may be safe, but you may be continually hassled.

I have spent many late nights at NYP waiting for 66 and never had a problem in the Amtrak waiting area. I suppose that's another option for OP, take the Pennsylvanian all the way to New York and get on the Cardinal there.

Except the Cardinal is not running to NYP for the foreseeable future.

 

[OldCond]

Last June I spent a long night between trains sitting on a hard wooden bench in Boston South Station. A homeless guy hit me up for a few bucks but generally I felt safe as there were security people present as well as the cleaning staff. I was only going to be there for about eight hours so I stayed in the station. I didn't know what 30th St. or WAS would be like though. Also, this time my layover between trains will be much longer, something like eighteen hours combined. I appreciate all the advice from my friends here on the Forum and will probably find lodging in a budget hotel. Thanks again!

Sent from my SM-G930VL using Amtrak Forum mobile app

 

[keelhauled]

Except the Cardinal is not running to NYP for the foreseeable future.

Oh yeah I forgot about that. I suppose you could wait at NYP for 65 but at that point you're pretty much committed to not getting much sleep.

 

[Lonestar648]

Last June I spent a long night between trains sitting on a hard wooden bench in Boston South Station. A homeless guy hit me up for a few bucks but generally I felt safe as there were security people present as well as the cleaning staff. I was only going to be there for about eight hours so I stayed in the station. I didn't know what 30th St. or WAS would be like though. Also, this time my layover between trains will be much longer, something like eighteen hours combined. I appreciate all the advice from my friends here on the Forum and will probably find lodging in a budget hotel. Thanks again!

Sent from my SM-G930VL using Amtrak Forum mobile app

I think that is your best option. Hope you have a good trip.

 

[Gulfwind2]

I would go with the recommendation not to stay in PHL 30th st or WAS union station overnight. As soon as the midnight clock hits twelve the homeless pile into those station by the 100's. That's not a particularly compassionate group and some may try to roll you over. You want to know what its really like? Did you ever watch the Walking Dead?You clearly j

Interesting. I've been at 30th Street Station at 3am and it was nothing like you describe. It was quiet for sure, but I no security issues whatsoever.

I’ve been in there at 4am and it’s nothing like this sorts. It’s quiet and peaceful. Cleaners getting the station ready for the day ahead. I just remember that Dennis has a wild imagination.

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He is talking about rail terminals in the "bygone" era when homeless folks had relatively free roam in such large station halls. Some describe GCT as having been the most notable example of the phenomenon. Of course it ended long ago and by the time 9/11 happened it was unheard of. September 2001 gave way to the time we are in today when terminals like 30th Street are cleared out at around 12-1AM. Another poster mentioned that this is done in part to make it easy for the cleaners to make their rounds in the midst of the nightly silence.

 

[Ryan]

He is talking about rail terminals in the "bygone" era when homeless folks had relatively free roam in such large station halls.

His use of the present tense in a thread giving advice to someone traveling in the future seems to indicate otherwise.