Hello, everyone. I use SEPTA extensively in the city and I have also made several trips to NYC via SEPTA to Trenton connecting to NJT to Penn Station in New York. Is there any similar way to get to Baltimore? I have scoured the web and can't find anything! Am I going to end up having to buy an Amtrak ticket? Please help.

no and yes. No there is no similar way and yes you either have to buy an amtrak ticket or Greyhound. You can go to wilmington and switch to amtrak. There has been talk of conencting in the middle to Maryland's MTA but I don't know what the status is. On the plus side, It takes only slightly longer to get to Baltimore on Amtrak than it does to get to Wilmington on SEPTA.

You can actually get a little farther than Wilmington to Newark on the Septa R2, but you still have 20 miles to the closest MTA MARC stop at Perryville, MD. Here's a synopsis of Maryland transit:

http://www.mdarchives.state.md.us/ms...tml/trans.html

BUT, you can;t pick up amtrak there. and it takes longer to get to Newark on SEPTA than Balt on amtrak.

Oh, I see what you mean. I was trying to figure out a way to bypass Amtrak. It looks like Amtrak is the only carrier that goes on the tracks between Newark and Perryville. How much money would one save taking Septa to Wilmington and then Amtrak to Baltimore vs. taking Amtrak straight?

none. keep in mind when booking amtrak you can save 20% with discount code V822.

I would highly recommend taking Greyhound vs. Amtrak. Amtrak is way too expensive. It's a little over 2 hours from Center City to Baltimore by bus. And if I remember correctly, $40 round-trip.

And no, it's not worth riding SEPTA to Wilmington and bussing from there to Baltimore. They're about equally slow modes of transportation and it's the same price from Philly as it is from Wilmington (I guess the price lies solely in the Beltway :shock: )

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Meatwad get the honeys, see.

yes, I calculate that the trip, with dicount code on amtrak should run you $69 RT. not cheap, but definitely fast (about an hour). Greyhound should be cheaper. just a hint, chinatown buses are faster than the SEPTA to NJT connection (at least during non rush hour travel) and cost a mere $20 RT. I go to DC a lot and ride amtrak. Mainly b/c Greyhound is generally 3.5 to 5 hrs to DC. I'm waiting for chrissayer to pop in for the gratuitous "But the chinatown lines are cherry picking the best routes!"

:rolling_:

Agreed. I do not recommend Greyhound to DC unless you're on a shoestring budget.

I also don't recommend Greyhound from Trenton to Erie, PA. Oh my, was that an interesting trip! Can you say 3am transfers? Hah. Worst trip ever.

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Meatwad get the honeys, see.