Need assistance

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This is my 1st train ride - I will be traveling from Philadelphia to Grand Rapids, MI - any special helpful hints. Are the trains usually on time? It appears that I would have a 7 hour lay over in Chicago, so I thought I would catch the bus from there to Grand Rapids, but it would only give me 25 minutes to catch the bus, is that possible? Is there somewhere that I can see all the routes for a 3 day period of time? Please advise. Thank you so much. :blink:

 

[battalion51]

Daisy, well a 25 minute connection is just aboput impossible to make. Amtrak requires that you have at least 90 minutes between segments in order to guarantee the connection (meaning they will hold your connection, fly you, or in some fashion accomodate you and get you to your destination). Amtrak does have timetables on line here. I would say your best bet though is to put your origin and destination into the reservations system and see what you come up with.

 

[pismobum]

I ass-u-me you mean 3 rivers to Pere Marquette. Looks like International to Kalamazoo and Thruway Bus Kalamazoo to Grand Rapids would get you there 7 hours earlier, and if 3 Rivers was late, then you could take the original routing.

 

[Amfleet]

Well, if you don't mind playing tourist in Chicago for the day, then I would go with the Three Rivers/Pere Marquette combination. If you are not up for a 10 layover then I would consider booking the Three Rivers from Philadelphia to Chicago through Amtrak, then book the segement from Chicago to Grand Rapids through Greyhound (if you are one of the daring to ride the hounds). Now I would still leave 2-3 hours between arrival and departure in Chicago as the Three Rivers is likely to run late and I also believe the Greyhound terminal is not in Union Station, but a few blocks up the street at another transportation center.

In my opinion, I would go with the Three Rivers/Pere Marquette option as it is though ticketing with Amtrak and you are 99.9% garanteed to make your connection and if not Amtrak will re-accomodate you. During the long layover you could head down to Navy Pier or check out on of the museums. It is also worth mentioning that if you travel by sleeper on the Three Rivers you have access to the Metropolitan Lounge where you can relax with free drinks and store your luggage. As you are comming from the Platfrom area, the Metropolitan Lounge will be on the right, opposite the ticket counters. There are signs and Amtrak personell to guide you so you can't miss it. If you are not travelling by sleeper, you can always store your luggage in one of the many luggage lockers. However, that does with a fee. Hope this helps.

 

[battalion51]

Even if you don't book the sleeper on line you can upgrade on board (space available) and still get the same benefits at a 50% discount on the lowest fare between Philly and Chicago.

 

[Guest_sutton8596]

Hi Daisybelle,

I would urge you to take the layover in Chicago. It's likely that it will be shorter because Amtrak is usually late. The station is right downtown Chicago, a wonderful place. I always spend layovers there, just walking around, going to the coffee shops. It's safe and fun. You can store the luggage. Enjoy Chicago!

Scott

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

There are a lot of neat things to do in Chicago, near the train. There are museums like the Field Museum of Natural History, the Art Museum, the Shedd Aquariam. There is the Sears Tower, just a block or two from the station.It is the tallest building in the world. There is neat shopping. Beautfiul views of Lake Michigan.

Further, check around other posts on this forum, I believe the subject of things to do in Chicago has been covered on other recent posts, I think one called "Chicago and St. Louis".

 

[gswager]

There are a lot of neat things to do in Chicago, near the train. There are museums like the Field Museum of Natural History, the Art Museum, the Shedd Aquariam. There is the Sears Tower, just a block or two from the station.It is the tallest building in the world.  There is neat shopping. Beautfiul views of Lake Michigan.

Oops. You just flunked geography test! It's a tallest building in US. Tallest one is in Kuala Lumpur. I had to check on internet to make sure that I spelled it correctly. :lol:

You can check it out on tallest building website.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Oops, ok gswager. Thanks for the notation. But wasn't it probably the tallest when it was built, even though no longer?

 

[seajay]

Oops, ok gswager. Thanks for the notation. But wasn't it probably the tallest when it was built, even though no longer?

Yes, it was and it held that title for many years.

seajay