Newark to Minneapolis

[Joe]

Hello all,

I was hoping I can get options and opinions. I'm looking to go from Newark to Minneapolis and the amtrak website has me going from Newark to Washington and connecting to Capitol limited or the Pennsylvanian to capitol limited.

Any suggestions on the route to take? I also have scene on Google that the Lakeshore Limited goes to Minneapolis also.

I'm not sure which trains/connections anyone would suggest. I am also looking to do a roomette I am looking to leave on a Thursday and be there by Saturday.

Any suggestions appreciated and thank you.

 

[Ryan]

If you go by way of Washington or New York, you change trains before dinnertime and have dinner on the train after you've left DC/NY.

(note that the Capitol Limited and Lake Shore Limited both will no longer offer hot food included in your sleeping car fare, you'll get a "box lunch" style cold meal)

If you're traveling this summer, the LSL will not leave to Penn Station in NY. You'll have to go to Grand Central, and then change trains in Albany. Or you can go all the way to Boston and start from there.

If you go by way of Pittsburgh, you'll change trains after dinner, arriving in Pittsburgh at 8PM, and having to wait until midnight to board and get into your roomette.

Depending on the day of the week you travel, the Cardinal is also an option. You could depart on Friday morning, and get there last Saturday evening.

 

[pennyk]

Whether to take the Capitol Limited (which is what I usually take), the Lake Shore Limited or the Cardinal to Chicago, you will change trains in Chicago and will take the Empire Builder from Chicago to Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP).

If traveling over the summer (when the Lake Shore Limited is not going to NY Penn), I would go from Newark to Washington DC and take the Capitol Limited to Chicago. If you are in a roomette on the Capitol Limited, you are entitled to wait in the Club Acela in WAS. Boarding for the Capitol Limited will be from the Club Acela lounge. If you are in a roomette on either the Capitol Limited or Empire Builder, you should be use the Metropolitan Lounge in Chicago. They announce boarding from that lounge and it is a comfortable place to wait.

If traveling after the summer, I would consider taking the Lake Shore Limited from NYP to CHI. However, generally, the fares on the Lake Shore Limited are more than those on the Capitol Limited (but not always).

 

[ParanoidAndroid]

I'd recommend the Capitol Limited or Cardinal. The Cap has nice scenery through northeastern West Virginia and is cheaper than the Lake Shore Limited.

The Cardinal is expensive (similar to the Lake Shore Limited), and you'd have to wake up earlier, and it's only tri-weekly (leave on Friday morning), but it offers great scenery through central West Virginia along the New River Gorge. The Cardinal will also have a dining car... albeit microwaved food, but IMO it's still pretty good, and better food than the other two (after June 1). Note that currently you will ride the Palmetto #89 from Newark and transfer in DC to the Cardinal, if you want to ride the Cardinal.

 

[cpotisch]

The Cardinal is expensive (similar to the Lake Shore Limited), and you'd have to wake up earlier, and it's only tri-weekly (leave on Friday morning), but it offers great scenery through central West Virginia along the New River Gorge. The Cardinal will also have a dining car... albeit microwaved food, but IMO it's still pretty good, and better food than the other two (after June 1). Note that currently you will ride the Palmetto #89 from Newark and transfer in DC to the Cardinal, if you want to ride the Cardinal.

The Cardinal has the exact same price buckets as the Lake Shore Limited, however since it's a short train and runs thrice-weekly, the buckets are almost always pretty high. If you can get a decent price, though, I would recommend it. After November 14, the Cardinal will be running to NYP again, but even with the current connection in Washington, I'd say it takes the cake. The scenery is fantastic and the food is hot (albeit from a microwave).

I'm pretty split between the Lake Shore and the Capitol, but since the latter is usually cheaper and uses Superliners, I'd probably take the Cap.

 

[Fred Wis.]

The Lake shore limited does NOT go to Minneapolis. You would need to take the Empire Builder from Chicago.

 

[ParanoidAndroid]

Additonally, to get specific, the Empire Builder stops at St. Paul, but not the neighboring city of Minneapolis. You'll have to take light rail from the St. Paul Amtrak to downtown Minneapolis, which takes about 45 minutes, no transfers. The light rail will be operating when the westbound Empire Builder arrives, if it's on-time. The last train is just past 2am.

https://www.metrotransit.org/route/902

 

[the_traveler]

I am getting tired of all the “from a microwave” comments!

Unless the train stops and the chef or LSA goes to a store and uses a microwave, (s)he uses a CONVECTION oven to prepare meals or snacks. NO Amtrak train has a microwave.

 

[PVD]

I though the cafe cars had one, although that one is not the target of the folks to which you refer.

 

[caravanman]

If I wanted to heat a ready made pie in a "conventional or fan assisted" oven it takes around 20 minutes. I would be very surprised to know how Amtrak's hot dogs and burgers are heated in 1 minute without a microwave?

Ed.

 

[jebr]

Additonally, to get specific, the Empire Builder stops at St. Paul, but not the neighboring city of Minneapolis. You'll have to take light rail from the St. Paul Amtrak to downtown Minneapolis, which takes about 45 minutes, no transfers. The light rail will be operating when the westbound Empire Builder arrives, if it's on-time. The last train is just past 2am.

https://www.metrotransit.org/route/902

The Green Line runs 24/7/365 (366 on leap years

) The schedule turns over at 3 AM or so, so while the last train of the day (per the schedule) is just past 2 AM, the first train of the following day is just past 3 AM, so there's no break of service for more than an hour (which is the frequency of that line during overnight hours.)

Most other major bus routes have a span of service between approximately 5 AM and 1 AM, though there's a few with longer hours than that.

 

[the_traveler]

I though the cafe cars had one, although that one is not the target of the folks to which you refer.

No, the ovens you see in the café car is a convection oven.