Boarding @ BWI Rail Station Today....

[rrdude]

With family, to NYP, 3:45pm-ish Regional. Busy travel (Holiday/Friday) period, any advice on best chance of finding open seats, so we can be near each other? Quiet car is not an option. Back of train? Middle? Front? (Other than boarding in DC, which is NOT an option) Anyone? Buehler? Anyone? I'm thinking it's a crap shoot.

 

[Ryan]

Yer hosed.

I'd try front of the train, since it's farther from the station in WAS and people are lazy.

 

[Dovecote]

From personal experience I would say the back of the train. I have always have seen at least a sprinkle of empty seats in the last car of Regional trains on my trips from WAS to NYP regardless of the time. Also, RyanS point is well taken and at BWI the walk to the back is train is the farthest from the station. Good luck.

 

[afigg]

Yer hosed.

I'd try front of the train, since it's farther from the station in WAS and people are lazy.

The problem is that there is only 1 non-quiet car Amfleet I coach car ahead of the cafe car. The normal NE Regional consist is business class car, quiet car, coach car, cafe car, followed by 3 to 5 coach cars. Chances are better of finding clusters of open seats in the run of coach cars behind the cafe car. Depending on how much luggage they are dragging along, could get on the coach car behind the cafe car, check seats in that car, and then send someone as a scout to walk towards the back end of the train looking for a cluster of open seats. If the scout finds them, he/she holds the seats and calls the base camp party with luggage to come to the seats.

However, this is a mid Friday afternoon Regional so it is likely to depart WAS and NCR with a lot of passengers. It will be pot luck on seats.

 

[rrdude]

Yer hosed.

I'd try front of the train, since it's farther from the station in WAS and people are lazy.

Tht's what I figured too, ah well. We's takes ours chances..........

Think I'm gonna try to the first coach behind the cafe.

 

[Ryan]

That's where I would try.

 

[rrdude]

In the words of the Three Stooges, "if at first you don't succeed, keeping on sucking 'til you do suck seed...."

I positioned my family just shy of 1/2 way down the platform at BWI, (we got our ticket to enter the parking garage at 3:49, three minutes later we parked the car, got the elevator down four levels, and the five of us waltzed over to the northbound platform JUST as 134 was rounding the bend south of us at BWI Airport...... For an on-time arrival of 3:54pm, I don't like "waiting" for my train...) i counted what I thought wud be, 1 engine, 1 biz class, 1 quiet car, 1 coach, 1 cafe, and BAM! Planted my family there. You could NOT have scripted it any better. The train stopped DIRECTLY, not a "few feet this way, or that way", but DIRECTLY in front of us! We let the pax alight, and then boarded and turned left, or away, from the cafe. Guess what? First four, THE FIRST four seats, with window view, were open for us!

Thanks for the tips!

Now, what subway do I take from NYP to Times Square?

 

[SarahZ]

That's awesome!

I'll let the New Yorkers advise you on the subway directions.

 

[Andrew]

In the words of the Three Stooges, "if at first you don't succeed, keeping on sucking 'til you do suck seed...."

I positioned my family just shy of 1/2 way down the platform at BWI, (we got our ticket to enter the parking garage at 3:49, three minutes later we parked the car, got the elevator down four levels, and the five of us waltzed over to the northbound platform JUST as 134 was rounding the bend south of us at BWI Airport...... For an on-time arrival of 3:54pm, I don't like "waiting" for my train...) i counted what I thought wud be, 1 engine, 1 biz class, 1 quiet car, 1 coach, 1 cafe, and BAM! Planted my family there. You could NOT have scripted it any better. The train stopped DIRECTLY, not a "few feet this way, or that way", but DIRECTLY in front of us! We let the pax alight, and then boarded and turned left, or away, from the cafe. Guess what? First four, THE FIRST four seats, with window view, were open for us!

Thanks for the tips!

Now, what subway do I take from NYP to Times Square?

Uptown 1, 2, or 3 train ONE STOP to Times Square.

 

[gmushial]

In the words of the Three Stooges, "if at first you don't succeed, keeping on sucking 'til you do suck seed...."

I positioned my family just shy of 1/2 way down the platform at BWI, (we got our ticket to enter the parking garage at 3:49, three minutes later we parked the car, got the elevator down four levels, and the five of us waltzed over to the northbound platform JUST as 134 was rounding the bend south of us at BWI Airport...... For an on-time arrival of 3:54pm, I don't like "waiting" for my train...) i counted what I thought wud be, 1 engine, 1 biz class, 1 quiet car, 1 coach, 1 cafe, and BAM! Planted my family there. You could NOT have scripted it any better. The train stopped DIRECTLY, not a "few feet this way, or that way", but DIRECTLY in front of us! We let the pax alight, and then boarded and turned left, or away, from the cafe. Guess what? First four, THE FIRST four seats, with window view, were open for us!

Thanks for the tips!

Now, what subway do I take from NYP to Times Square?

As the expression goes: sometimes good things happen to good people

 

[rrdude]

In the words of the Three Stooges, "if at first you don't succeed, keeping on sucking 'til you do suck seed...."

I positioned my family just shy of 1/2 way down the platform at BWI, (we got our ticket to enter the parking garage at 3:49, three minutes later we parked the car, got the elevator down four levels, and the five of us waltzed over to the northbound platform JUST as 134 was rounding the bend south of us at BWI Airport...... For an on-time arrival of 3:54pm, I don't like "waiting" for my train...) i counted what I thought wud be, 1 engine, 1 biz class, 1 quiet car, 1 coach, 1 cafe, and BAM! Planted my family there. You could NOT have scripted it any better. The train stopped DIRECTLY, not a "few feet this way, or that way", but DIRECTLY in front of us! We let the pax alight, and then boarded and turned left, or away, from the cafe. Guess what? First four, THE FIRST four seats, with window view, were open for us!

Thanks for the tips!

Now, what subway do I take from NYP to Times Square?

As the expression goes: sometimes good things happen to good people

Wel, BROKE that old rule..... Just ask anyone

 

[tp49]

If the subway stops at Penn Station you can take it to Times Square. A, C, E, 1, 2, 3 on either the 7th or 8th Avenue side.

 

[PRR 60]

The 7th Avenue side (the 1, 2 & 3 trains) will save you a little walking at the 42nd Street end, but either will work just fine.

 

[SubwayNut]

It's also only a half mile walk. A subway ride I wouldn't bother to take.

 

[SanAntonioClyde]

I have a BWI question about how you get from trackside into terminal. Passed by it this spring on train to Philly and site looked remote from airport.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Shuttle bus w/luggage rack inside.