go to content go to search box go to global site navigation

Thorn Tree Forum

Rail travel - Boston to Newark airport

Replies: 11 - Last Post: Dec 4, 2009 3:17 PM Last Post By: yaguri

jump to
← Back to topic list

itchyfeet71

itchyfeet71 avatar

Nov 26, 2009 6:22 AM
Posts:  1

Rail travel - Boston to Newark airport

Hi guys, can anyone give me advice on how easy it is to travel by rail to Newark airport from Boston, or whether it would be alot easier/cheaper by air. I am interested in journey times, if I would need to change trains anywhere, cost etc. I suspect a stop/change in NYC, but I wonder how easy it is. Or if you can recommend a good website for details, I would be grateful. Thanks in advance.

bzookaj

bzookaj avatar

Nov 26, 2009 6:36 AM
Posts:  5,224

1

Amtrak will take you from Boston's South Station to the EWR rail station on some Northeast Regional lines. No change of trains.
They will also tell you how much it will cost, and how long the journey is.

BubbaK

BubbaK avatar

Nov 26, 2009 8:08 AM
Posts:  1,056

2

Amtrak Web site. will have all the info you need, including schedules, fares and connections. Fares vary by day and time, as do air fares. Once you get to the Newark Airport rail station, you need to take the airport monorail to the terminals. The fare will be included in your train fare, assuming you specify that you want to go all the way to the airport. There are tons of sites, incuding but not limited to Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity, and Kayak, that will giveyou air fares. Nonp-stop flight would obviously be the quickest way to go, but one with connecitons likely much cheaper.

bzookaj

bzookaj avatar

Nov 26, 2009 8:16 AM
Posts:  5,224

3

The fare will be included in your train fare, assuming you specify that you want to go all the way to the airport.
The "assumption" is taken into account by stopping at the station. All Amtrak tickets to and from the EWR station cost $5 more per leg to pay for the AirTrain.

windy

windy avatar

Nov 26, 2009 9:15 AM
Posts:  203

4

I've taken the train from the Newark area to Boston. It's not an unpleasant ride, but my train was an hour late, there wasn't wireless, and the food is poor. It's also not cheap (around $70 for a six hour ride).

If you have time and don't want to fly, suggest you look into buses. Buses from NY to Boston run regularly and very cheaply (as little as $20).

Flying into Boston does have a downside in that the airport isn't that close to downtown.

mrpenney

mrpenney avatar

Nov 26, 2009 9:47 AM
Posts:  6,129

5

Flying into Boston does have a downside in that the airport isn't that close to downtown.

Huh? Of all the major US airports, only DCA is closer to the city's downtown than Logan is. The T takes you into downtown fairly quickly--it's just three stops--or by driving, it's just the length of the Ted Williams Tunnel away.

And in any case, the guy is traveling from Boston.

Since the trains originate at Boston's South Station, there's little likelihood of their being too terribly late, at least at first.

--M.

windy

windy avatar

Nov 26, 2009 11:15 AM
Posts:  203

6

You're right, he or she is starting in Boston. I'd probably still fly if fares are decent, with a cushion for the connection, or take the bus to NYC and then hop on the air train to EWR from Penn Station.

Several years ago, when the T must have been under construction, we ended up spending a small fortune on cabs when our flights were canceled overnight. Glad to know that's not normally the case. I've been back more recently, but with a car.

ralph_cramden

ralph_cramden avatar

Nov 26, 2009 3:44 PM
Posts:  171

7

I'd fly unless the savings was significant taking a train. The train isn't necessarily any cheaper but it probably is. I'd suggest getting prices and make your call from there. If it's even close the choice would be to fly for me.

For a lot of parts of the US (and elsewhere) I'd recommend a train over a plane that's in the same ballpark for price and time like this....but that train ride from Boston south is pretty boring so doesn't hold much site seeing value like it could elsewhere. I should qualify that by noteing I'm from Boston and have taken the train to NY MANY times so maybe it's just being to familiar with it that makes me say it's boring and a tourist would find it interesting. But that's hard to imagine.

yaguri

yaguri avatar

Nov 30, 2009 10:26 AM
Posts:  403

8

Note that many Amtrak trains skip Newark Airport station. If it's inconvenient for you to wait around Boston for a train that serves Newark Airport, you have two options:

1. Take Amtrak to New York (Penn Station) and change to NJ Transit, which runs trains every 15-40 mins from NY to Newark Airport station.
2. Take Amtrak to downtown Newark (also named Penn Station, confusingly enough), where you can catch an NJ Transit bus to the airport. All Amtrak trains serve Newark Penn Sta.

Amtrak is pretty punctual along the northeast corridor -- #4 must have had bad luck. And though it's not a stunningly scenic ride, I still find that I spend most of my time staring out the window rather than reading whatever I've brought with me. There are some beautiful views of coastline (on your left) and salt marshes between Westerly and New Haven.

Websterella

Websterella avatar

Dec 1, 2009 11:41 AM
Posts:  46,891

9

If you chose an Amtrak train that is scheduled to go to Newark Airport then it won't skip.

psw

psw avatar

Dec 2, 2009 12:24 PM
Posts:  5,973

10

As the winter weather approaches, you may be better off on the ground than in the air. You don't give dates. But your instinct to take the train is a good one.

yaguri

yaguri avatar

Dec 4, 2009 3:17 PM
Posts:  403

11

#9: But there's an afternoon gap of 4 hours during which 3 Amtrak trains pass Newark Airport without stopping. If the OP is flying out of Newark at, for example, 7:00 pm, he/she would have to leave Boston at 9:30 am to get a train that would arrive at the airport in time for the flight. Or take a 1:15pm train and change in New York or Newark Penn Sta. (Granted, that one's an expensive Acela train, but you get my point...)
← Back to topic list
ADVERTISEMENT

In our shop

See all shop products

Hotels & Hostels

See all hotels & hostels