Questions about Philadelphia 30th street station/Atlantic City

[DKpartyguy]

Greetings all,

I will be taking some trips to Atlantic City this summer, and have decided not to take the Greyhound bus from Port Authority.

Just for a change, I want to take Amtrak down to Philadelphia, then get a NJ transit train over to Atlantic City.

Is this a crazy thing to do? I always prefer the train to the bus.....

Also, in the Philadelphia 30th street station, are there "sit-down" restaurants as opposed to fast food/food court places?

I did a lot of web-searching and couldn't find a restaurant list anywhere for this train station.

We wanted to grab lunch there before heading to AC.

I have been through Philadelphia many times but have never gotten off there and seen inside the station.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!!!!

Dave

 

[pennyk]

Bridgewater's Pub is a sit-down restaurant in the station

http://www.thepubin30thstreetstation.com/

Slainte is an Irish Pub across the street from the station (where I ate lunch a couple of weeks ago)

http://www.slaintephilly.com/

BTW, in my opinion taking a train rather than a bus, is never crazy.

 

[JoeBas]

Taking the train over the bus? Not crazy at all.

Going to Atlantic City in the first place... now THAT'S crazy!!! :huh: (I keed, I keed).

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

I agree, don't take the bus. Greyhound uses torture machines on the New York City-Atlantic City route. Well, it's only a short ride, but the bus would be very uncomfortable.

I used to live in Philadelphia. 30th Street is one of my favorite terminals. You shouldn't have a problem with food there. Even the food court is much nicer than one you would find in a typical mall.

 

[philabos]

If you have never been there, worth doing.

IMHO the most impressive railroad station in the country, and one of the busiest.

 

[fairviewroad]

It's not a crazy thing to do unless you value your time. It's definitely not the fastest way to get from NYC to AC.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

You're right, it's not. I guess NJT's commuter train is not much better than Greyhound's torture machine. But a torture machine is still a torture machine. There's also the NJT 319, which is definitely better than the Greyhound and possibly better than the commuter train since it has reclining seats. But the reclining seats are still American Seating, the worst seat brand in the industry.

 

[Acela150]

As Penny said Bridgewaters is in 30th Street and some choices are around the area. I personally wish that the food selection was better at PHL. But I'm not in charge of that. The ride from PHL-ACY is about 90 minutes. Not really a scenic ride but it's better then dealing with traffic out of Philly and onto the AC Expressway.

 

[Jld]

If you are willing to walk 15 mins SE of the station to rittenhouse area, some of the best restaurants in any major U.S. city are available at a range of price points. Also a 7 min taxi ride. I do a multi city fare to do this while traveling past and enjoy the new River trail-pier all the time.

 

[jis]

You're right, it's not. I guess NJT's commuter train is not much better than Greyhound's torture machine. But a torture machine is still a torture machine. There's also the NJT 319, which is definitely better than the Greyhound and possibly better than the commuter train since it has reclining seats. But the reclining seats are still American Seating, the worst seat brand in the industry.

But Amtrak NEC Regional is way more comfortable than any bus that I have come across. Afterall the proposal is to take Amtrak Regional from New York to Philly and only then take NJT. The NJT seats are any day way more spacious than any bus seat I have come across even with their two inch recline.

 

[wolfspirit]

Bridgewater has pretty good food, and decent selection of craft beer (get some Yards and enjoy some made in Philly beer in Philly).

If the weather is decent, and they are open, JG Domestic is a couple of blocks away, make sure to get the duck fat french fries if you visit!

 

[JoeRids]

Another option to shake up your routing is to take an NJ Transit train from New York Penn to Trenton, then switch to the Riverline light rail, which is located right outside of the Trenton station. Take this to the new Pennsauken transit center, and then connect with the NJ transit Atlantic City line which is right above the river line tracks. You can use the NJ transit website trip planner to plan your trip as the Riverline and Atlantic City schedules only sometimes mesh; at Trenton, however, there is usually a good, direct connection. I would say do this one way and your original routing the other. Enjoy!