Now let's say that someone wanted to repeat the journey. The only rule is that the journey must only include local public transportation and commuter rail. No taxis, no private cars, no hitchhiking, and certainly no Amtrak, Greyhound, or other carriers that provide similar city-to-city service. I will line up an itinerary for anyone who desires to make such a journey, but I must warn the reader that I cannot be held responsible if you follow it and encounter missed connections, detours, schedule changes, or anything that causes you to deviate from the itinerary. You do this at your own risk and expense. With that out of the way, on to it.
What has changed?
First off, the scheduling for the journey has changed. Mr. Kucera's journey starts with a 7:12 departure from Washington's Union Station, which takes him to Perryville, Maryland. MARC no longer operates train 506, replacing it with train 406, which goes as far as Baltimore Penn Station. The only morning train to Perryville now leaves 55 minutes earlier, at 6:15 AM, arriving at Perryville at 7:54.
Next, fares have gone up. The full breakdown of fares will be provided later on, but it is generally more expensive, in particular the section operated by SEPTA and New Jersey Transit.
Finally, SEPTA's Regional Rail nomenclature has changed. Instead of the R-number system used in the article, the lines are now named for the most distant terminal from Center City Philadelphia served by SRR. So we will be taking the Wilmington/Newark line and changing to the Trenton line.
Let's get to it!
As mentioned earlier, we now take the 6:15 train from Washington Union Station to Perryville, arriving at 7:54. We only have to wait 18 minutes for the bus to Elkton, which leaves the MARC train station at 8:12. The bus arrives at 200 Chesapeake Boulevard in Elkton at 9:00. This is a layover point, so it shouldn't be that hard to miss.
It's only a wait of 27 minutes before the bus to Glasgow, Delaware shows up. Leaving at 9:27, it gets to the DART stop at People's Plaza at 9:35, with five minutes until the bus to Wilmington, on DART route 40, departs, arriving at Wilmington at about 10:30. If you miss that, it's the 10:20 route 55 for you, with a transfer at Christiana Mall for the 11:19 route 33 bus, arriving in Wilmington at about 11:35.
But let's say you do manage to catch the 40 bus. The station is located at Front and French Streets, but the bus loops around downtown Wilmington and ends at 10th & King. Get off at Orange & 2nd then walk along Front Street to French Street where the train station entrance is. So let's say it gets you there at 10:27 (As there isn't a time point for this stop, we'll have to estimate). Walk over to the Wilmington train station, use the bathroom there if you need to, and catch the
Total travel time: 8 hours, 28 minutes (add about two hours if you miss the 40 at People's Plaza). For comparison, Mr. Kucera's trip took 11 hours, 47 minutes.
Cost:
$11.00 for MARC +
$02.00 for Perryville to Elkton +
$02.00 for Elkton to Glasgow +
$01.15 for DART ($2.40 for the Daily Pass if you're unfortunate enough to miss the 40 at People's Plaza) +
$06.25 for Wilmington to 30th Street +
$08.75 for 30th Street to Trenton +
$15.50 for Trenton to New York =
$46.65 total ($47.90 if you miss the 40 at People's Plaza). Again for comparison, his trip cost $38.15.
Extending the Trip
But let's say you wanted to extend the trip towards Boston. How far could you get? From New York Penn Station, the only way up towards Boston is via Amtrak, which is what we're looking to avoid. However, commuter rail service to Connecticut is available at nearby Grand Central Terminal. Take the 1, 2, or 3 subway to the 42nd Street Shuttle (mind the gap). Navigating Penn Station and GCT, and taking the subway to get between the two should not take more than 30 minutes. However, Grand Central Terminal is chock full of amenities, shops, and restaurants. You have some time to kill, so have a snack, use the bathroom, hang out in the Apple Store, whatever, but be sure to board the Metro-North train to Stamford which leaves Grand Central Terminal at 3:52 PM. That will get you to your next train. At Stamford, board the Shore Line East train to New London. You will arrive there at 6:54.
Now you're back to the bus. This time, instead of the 32.7-mile gap in commuter rail service in eastern Maryland and western Delaware, it's a longer 62.2-mile gap in southeast Connecticut and much of Rhode Island. Once you arrive in New London, have a SEAT, wait for about an hour, then take the route 108 bus to Old Mistick Village. You'll get there at 8:25 PM. At this point, you'll need to find a place to stay the night, because you've probably been up since 5 in the morning, you've had fifteen hours of riding trains and buses up the Northeast Corridor, and you need to rest up for the next phase of the journey. Hopefully, you've phoned ahead, you'll have needed it.
Be at Old Mistick Village by 10 AM the next day, then hop on the Route 10 bus at 10:15. Get off at U.S. Route 1 (Broad Street) & Chase Street (arrives 10:58). You will need to walk across the state line into Westerly, Rhode Island. From Route 1 (Broad Street) & Chase Street, continue on Broad Street across the bridge into Rhode Island. Turn left at High Street (Rhode Island route 3). Bear left at Canal Street, then turn right at Railroad Avenue. The walk shouldn't take more than 15 minutes. Your next transit vehicle will be unlike any other transit service you will experience on your way to Boston.
Meet the Westerly Flex, RIPTA route 204. Unlike the fixed routes previously taken, Flex routes freely operate in a specific geographic zone, in this case, the town of Westerly, Rhode Island. Usually, a reservation is made at least two days in advance for use of one of the nine such routes in the state, all in the 200 series. However, the bus does make scheduled pick-ups, including the one I've directed you to, the Westerly, Rhode Island Amtrak station. Wait for the bus there, and when it comes (it's scheduled at 11:20), tell the driver you want to go to Salt Pond Plaza. Though outside the Westerly zone, it is another scheduled stop for the Westerly Flex, so the driver should let you ride. It'll cost you $2, and 50¢ for the transfer, but it should be okay once you've paid. You should arrive at Salt Pond by 12 noon. You might want to check with the people in town before getting on the bus, though.
Once you've put that curiosity behind you, get on the 12:41 PM Route 66 bus at Salt Pond Plaza. This bus will not make a trip through Kingman, Barstow, and San Bernardino, but it will take you to Providence. Get off at Kennedy Plaza (arrives at 2:13 PM) and walk north along Exchange Street. It should take less than 10 minutes. The building on Railroad Street with the clock tower is the Providence train station. This is where you will make the last leg of the journey, on MBTA Commuter Rail. Your train departs at 4:10 PM so you don't have to be too quick about it.
From there, you can relax. you'll reach Boston's South Station at 5:20 PM. Your total travel time: 35 hours, 5 minutes.
Going the Other Way, Part 1
Then, I thought, "What about going the other way, from New York to Washington? When would I have to leave NY Penn?" I decided to work it backwards.
The last MARC train from Perryville leaves at 6:25 PM and runs to Baltimore Penn. Change trains there and arrive at Union Station at 8:27 PM.
The bus from Elkton to Perryville arrives at the MARC train station at 6:05 PM, having departed from 214 North Street, Elkton at 5:20.
The DART Route 65 bus arrives at 214 North Street, Elkton at 4:58, having departed the Newark station at 4:42 PM.
A SEPTA train from Center City arrives at Newark at 4:30 PM, having departed Market East at 3:12 PM.
A SEPTA train from Trenton arrives at Market East at 2:42 PM, having departed Trenton at 1:45 PM
A New Jersey Transit train arrives at Trenton at 1:40 PM, having departed New York Penn at 12:07 PM.
So in this itinerary, the trip from New York to Washington would take 8 hours, 20 minutes, and costs $2 less since it costs the same to travel to Newark from Center City Philadelphia as it does to Wilmington (despite being in different fare zones), and because only one service operated by Cecil County is used instead of two.
Avoiding the Overnight Stay
Now, what about that northern section, New York to Boston? What if the idea of an overnight layover in Mystic is not too appealing? What if you would prefer an overnight in New York? What if you live in New York and want to go to Boston instead of Washington? Is it possible without the overnight Mystic layover?
Here's the itinerary. We'll time it so we can focus on catching the last Flex Bus at Westerly, which appears to be the most fragile of the connections.
Metro-North train 1506 leaves Grand Central Terminal at 6:23, arrives New Haven Union Station at 8:18.
Shore Line East train 1606 leaves New Haven Union Station at 8:20, arrives Old Saybrook at 8:55.
9 Town Transit Southeast Shuttle leaves Old Saybrook at 9:00 arrives New London at 9:50
The SEAT route 108 leaves New London at 10:00 and arrives at Old Mistick Village at 10:25.
The SEAT route 10 leaves Old Mistick Village at 12:15 and arrives at Route 1 & Chase Street at 12:58.
The 2:00 PM Westerly Flex arrives at Salt Pond at 2:45.
The 2:48 PM Route 66 departs Salt Pond Plaza at 2:48, arrives Providence at 4:21
MBTA train 822 leaves Providence at 5:10, arrives Boston South Station at 6:20 PM.
Total time: 11 hours, 57 minutes.
The Ultimate Southbound Trip
Now, let's start off by saying it won't be possible to make it from Boston to New York Penn by noon to avoid an overnight layover, but here's an itinerary for a southbound trip that puts you in New York in time for an earlier departure to Washington, after an overnight stay, of course.
Day 1
Take the 7:20 AM train from Boston South Station. It arrives at Providence at 8:22.
Walk over to Kennedy Plaza and take the 10:35 AM Route 66 bus bound to Salt Pond Plaza. It gets there at 11:54.
Take the 12:15 Westerly Flex. It should leave you at the Westerly train station by 1:00 PM.
Walk into Connecticut using the reverse of the walking directions listed above. It's a half mile walk which should take no more than 15 minutes. The bus stop is at Broad Street (Route 1) & Chase Street.
Flag down the 1:36 PM Route 10 bus headed to Old Mystick Village, arriving at 4:13.
Take the Route 108 bus leaving Old Mystick Village at 5:27. It arrives at New London at 5:58 PM.
Take the 6:45 PM Shore Line East train to New Haven Union Station, arriving at 7:48 PM.
Take the 7:57 PM Metro-North train to Grand Central Terminal, arriving at 9:42 PM.
Day 2
Be at New York Penn Station by 6 AM.
Take the 6:25 AM New Jersey Transit Northeast Corridor train to Trenton, arriving at 7:55.
Take the 8:17 AM SEPTA Trenton line train to 30th Street station, arriving at 9:12.
Take the 9:26 AM SEPTA Wilmington Line train to Wilmington, arriving at 10:18.
Walk to the bus stop at Market Street & Shipley Street (two blocks west and one block south from the station).
Take the 10:45 AM Route 40 bus to Glasgow, arriving at 11:33.
Take the 11:50 AM Glasgow Connector to 214 North Street in Elkton, arriving at 12:15.
Take the 12:45 PM Perryville Connector to the Perryville MARC station, arriving at 1:18 PM.
Take the 2:30 PM MARC Penn Line train to Washington Union Station, arriving at 4:07 PM.
Travel time: 32 hours, 47 minutes.
In any case, I'd probably stick with Greyhound or Amtrak!
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