Seeking BWI - NER advice

[City of Miami]

I will be flying into BWI on SWA on a Saturday morning in May and transferring to a regional train up to Wilmington. There is a NER 1 hour after ETA and another 2 hrs after ETA. Which one should I buy a ticket for now while Saver Fare is available? Will the ticket be honored on either/both??

 

[Ryan]

Ticket will only be honored on the train it is for.

1 hour may be sufficient if you're not checking a bag and your flight isn't delayed too much. Depending on how long you have to wait for a bus, what time of day are you talking?

 

[Bob Dylan]

I'd go with the 1 hour ticket John.

This assumes an on time arrival on SWA, transfer on the shuttle to the Rail Station and if need be, re booking and catching a later Train if you're later than that!

All NEC Trains are Reserved and subject to Buckets so you may have to pay more if you have to rebook!

Chances are better than 50/50 you'll make the 1 Hour Window train @ the good Fare!

 

[City of Miami]

what time of day are you talking?

~9:45am arrival BWI

not checking anything

 

[fairviewroad]

My first instinct is to book the first train. There's a really good chance you'll make it. And if you don't, there's an Amtrak agent at the BWI station and surely they deal with people who miss trains due to late flights all the time.

 

[Ryan]

what time of day are you talking?

~9:45am arrival BWInot checking anything

Early train for sure.

1) Early flight, less likely that cascading delays will make it late.

2) During business hours, so no crazy long bus head ways.

3) No checked bags.

 

[jebr]

what time of day are you talking?

~9:45am arrival BWInot checking anything

Early train for sure.

1) Early flight, less likely that cascading delays will make it late.

2) During business hours, so no crazy long bus head ways.

3) No checked bags.

Would a Saturday schedule be similar (at least for headways) as a Monday - Friday headway?

 

[Triley]

Just as a thought...you're talking about choosing from 82 or 88, right? 82 originates in Richmond, so there is a chance it could be delayed. 88 originates in Norfolk, so in theory there's a greater chance it'd be delayed (since it would have ran more mileage before arriving at BWI). That being said, book whichever one you are happy dealing with the potential downside to.

82 - risk missing it and spend more for a new ticket.

88 - have the potential to spend an extra hour at the airport, and have to waste time by maybe finding a nice place for breakfast.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Just as a thought...you're talking about choosing from 82 or 88, right? 82 originates in Richmond, so there is a chance it could be delayed. 88 originates in Norfolk, so in theory there's a greater chance it'd be delayed (since it would have ran more mileage before arriving at BWI). That being said, book whichever one you are happy dealing with the potential downside to.

82 - risk missing it and spend more for a new ticket.

88 - have the potential to spend an extra hour at the airport, and have to waste time by maybe finding a nice place for breakfast.

When I flew into BWI a few years ago I booked a later train (I arrived late afternoon) to be safe and had dinner in the airport before retrieving my bag and heading over to the train station. And I still had a bit of a wait. The train station is smallish, but not an Amshack. I eventually went out to the platform and got lucky in that I could watch planes coming into the airport.

 

[fairviewroad]

The BWI station is a fairly decent train watching spot, though you'd see much less action on a Saturday morning than at other times of the week.

Another strategy might be to book the second train and then (if you get there on time), ask the conductor on the first train (before boarding) if they'll accept your ticket.

I'm guessing that absent a sold-out train, they wouldn't have a problem with you joining them for such a short hop. But that's no guarantee, of course.

 

[StriderGDM]

Yeah, honestly, if you're not checking baggage, I'd go with the first train. I've done similar a few times in the past without issues.

 

[Ryan]

Would a Saturday schedule be similar (at least for headways) as a Monday - Friday headway?

I had to go look that one up, because I wasn't sure:

Shuttle buses from the BWI Marshall terminal building to the rail station operate every 12 min from 5:00am to 1:00am daily and every 25 min between 1:00am and 5:00am daily.

I take that to mean it's the same on weekends...

 

[PRR 60]

If you book the earlier train and your flight is running really late, be sure to use the flight wifi and cancel the flight. If you do not cancel your reservation prior to your booked train leaving BWI, your reservation will be canceled with no value toward future travel. As long as you cancel or rebook prior to the departure of your reserved train, the original value will be available toward a new reservation.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

If you book the earlier train and your flight is running really late, be sure to use the flight wifi and cancel the flight. If you do not cancel your reservation prior to your booked train leaving BWI, your reservation will be canceled with no value toward future travel. As long as you cancel or rebook prior to the departure of your reserved train, the original value will be available toward a new reservation.

I hope he doesn't cancel the flight mid-air. :giggle:

 

[Bob Dylan]

Yep, wonder if he'd be put off in mid-air?