Shortest Amtrak Round Trip?

[rrdude]

Baltimore to Baltimore......Washington-International. Not truly that short, but did it for double-points a few years ago. Felt kinda silly and a waste of time when done.

Also did the Chicago-Glenview trip with some other AU'ers a few Gatherings before, now THAT was fun, 'cause we had a purpose, lunch at Grandpa's, or whatever the name of the bar is right at the Glenview station

 

[NS VIA Fan]

Here’s a roundtrip with all the intrigue of an international border crossing. Niagara Falls ON to Niagara Falls NY. Two miles each way, 16 minutes going and 5 minutes returning with less than 6 hours there.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Baltimore to Baltimore......Washington-International. Not truly that short, but did it for double-points a few years ago. Felt kinda silly and a waste of time when done.

Also did the Chicago-Glenview trip with some other AU'ers a few Gatherings before, now THAT was fun, 'cause we had a purpose, lunch at Grandpa's, or whatever the name of the bar is right at the Glenview station

But, being AUers, some of us took the long way from Chicago - via Milwaukee.

 

[MARC Rider]

WAS - BWI

Phildalephia to Paoli, and the last time I checked, it was a $6 fare. I think a lot of Keystones also stop at Ardmore, which is even closer to Philly than Paoli.

At the Gathering the year before last, we did a run to Joliet from Chicago. That was about a 45 minute ride, but only a $6 fare, Also, Glenview-Chicago after the dinner.

Baltimore to Aberdeen, but I'm not sure how long you have to hang around Aberdeen for the round trip, as not a lot of NER stop there.

 

[George K]

You can also so CHI-JOL which cost only $6.50 one way.

Yes, but SMT-JOL is doable - catch the 9:48 in Summit. Arrive JOL at 10:15. Spend an hour in beautiful Joliet, and return to SMT on the 11:19. That entire trip would take me 2 hours - plus the 15 minute auto ride to Summit!

 

[BCL]

I can't think of anything shorter than Berkeley-Emeryville-Berkeley. I haven't quite done it round trip, the shortest one-way I've done is Emeryville-Oakland Jack London.

Santa Clara-San Jose Diridon might be pretty close. I think it's maybe 2.5 train miles. Oceanside to Carlsbad is also under 3 miles. I think San Diego-Town to San Diego might be about the same distance, but it doesn't look like it can be booked.

 

[jis]

I have done Emeryville - Berkeley - Emeryville.

 

[Railroad Bill]

So, either tonight/tomorrow or next weekend I am taking a train from Toledo to Sandusky and back, From around 12 AM pick up on the Capitol Limited, getting there at 12:40, then coming back on the westbound Lake Shore limited around 5 AM. All for the sake that I want to ride a train. I've only ridden the Capitol Limited to Chicago, then the Empire Builder to Seattle. I love trains but I wish more trains would come out of Toledo, which from what I hear get the most revenue than any other Amtrak station in Ohio. Round Trip costing around 25 Dollars. What's the shortest trip you've been on an Amtrak Train?

Considering that Sandusky is not a manned station and is not very close to civilization, I hope you have enough to keep you occupied for the 5-6 hour wait on the platform. Lots of trains to watch in the middle of the night but they usually only open the restroom at the station for a brief period before the trains arrive and sometimes only if you call the SPD to come open it up..

 

[TylerP42]

So, either tonight/tomorrow or next weekend I am taking a train from Toledo to Sandusky and back, From around 12 AM pick up on the Capitol Limited, getting there at 12:40, then coming back on the westbound Lake Shore limited around 5 AM. All for the sake that I want to ride a train. I've only ridden the Capitol Limited to Chicago, then the Empire Builder to Seattle. I love trains but I wish more trains would come out of Toledo, which from what I hear get the most revenue than any other Amtrak station in Ohio. Round Trip costing around 25 Dollars. What's the shortest trip you've been on an Amtrak Train?

Considering that Sandusky is not a manned station and is not very close to civilization, I hope you have enough to keep you occupied for the 5-6 hour wait on the platform. Lots of trains to watch in the middle of the night but they usually only open the restroom at the station for a brief period before the trains arrive and sometimes only if you call the SPD to come open it up..

Which is why I am considering driving up to Michigan and taking the Wolverine from Ann Arbor to Detroit and back, and that way I can eat in the diner car since it will be more during the day/evening.

 

[Bob Dylan]

The Wolverine doesn't have a Diner, only a Cafe Car! Only LD Trains have Diners and they're only open during certain specified hours for meals!

You'd be better off eating in Detroit ( great Hot Dog places!) Or Ann Arbor or taking food and drink with you since you're driving!

 

[wolfspirit]

Phildalephia to Paoli, and the last time I checked, it was a $6 fare. I think a lot of Keystones also stop at Ardmore, which is even closer to Philly than Paoli.

PAO-PHL is $6.50 outside of peak, $8 on peak (fri&sun). I take that probably 2x a week. On double points days, its nice to take the train into the city, walk across the bridge, take a stroll on the riverpath, and take one of the later trains back.

 

[Paul CHI]

Does Acela count? I did Boston - Providence a while back just to see what it was like, had lunch in Providence, took the train back to Boston. Went back to Providence for dinner because I had left my wallet lying on the table at the restaurant... :wacko:

 

[TylerP42]

The Wolverine doesn't have a Diner, only a Cafe Car! Only LD Trains have Diners and they're only open during certain specified hours for meals!

You'd be better off eating in Detroit ( great Hot Dog places!) Or Ann Arbor or taking food and drink with you since you're driving!

I guess I'd have to do the other one in Ohio, and hope the LSL is extremely late so I can get breakfast

 

[TylerP42]

Which one would you guys suggest? TOL-SKY and hope LSL is late or ARB-DET? Both Round trips... I just want an hour long ride where I can eat on the train and enjoy the ride.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Hmm, my shortest round trip may be been on the Cardinal - IND - IND. We pulled out of the station only to back in to pick up a PV. :giggle:

 

[Anderson]

CHI - GLN. Depart at 8:25 AM on the Hiawatha. Arrive 8:47. $9.50.

GLN - CHI. Depart at 9:06 AM on the Hiawatha. Arrive 9:44, $9.50.

Do it all in 1 hour, 15 minutes for $19.00 - 200 points.

Catch the 10:20 Hiawatha and arrive at 10:42 for another $9.50.

You'll have a 1:20 layover for the 12:01 return to CHI. $9.50.

400 points in 4 hours and $38.

Maybe I'll wait for Double Days this fall.

I've done the Hiawatha trip to kill time during a layover in CHI (0900-1400 can get a little long); I've also done the Hiawatha out and Metra back.

Besides that, the shortest one-way I recall doing was NPN-WBG on graduation day. Traffic was set to be hell and parking even worse, so I took the train to Williamsburg...and lamented that I had not thought to do this years sooner and that there wasn't a particularly good pair of trains either way for various times home or return.

 

[tp49]

I've done SAC-DAV several times. About 15 minutes of train time each way.

 

[haolerider]

WAS-WIL. , many times!

Also boarded the Crescent in ATL and went through the wye to turn the train for a northbound trip! Unofficial experience with myself and the crew, pretty cool short trip....rode on the platform of the end coach!

 

[TylerP42]

I can no longer do the Short trip between TOL-SKY. Parents won't allow it due to the lateness. Guess I will have to go to Michigan and use Michigan services.

 

[aviva_dawn]

RIV to LAX on the SWC. Multiple times.

 

[BCL]

As far as I can tell, between Berkeley, CA and Emeryville is the absolute shortest round trip train travel that can be booked on Amtrak. I have heard that maybe Stockton might have the two closest (less than a mile as the crow flies) train stations together in the Amtrak system, but one is the Altamont Commuter Express station where it can only be booked as a connecting trip on ACE.

 

[VentureForth]

The shortest round trips I've taken are between Salisbury and Kannapolis, NC. $6 one way. 16 miles, 16 minutes. Much shorter than my former indulgence which was articulated earlier by fixj - DAL - FTW. Though it was a much longer ride (almost an hour and a half to go 31 miles!), it was only $6 each way back 10 years ago...now $12. I hated that the conductor would try to tell me I should have taken the TRE instead.

I can have day trips out of Savannah, but no quick turn arounds.

So far, I think the winners are Emeryville, Stockton and Niagara Falls.

 

[BCL]

The shortest round trips I've taken are between Salisbury and Kannapolis, NC. $6 one way. 16 miles, 16 minutes. Much shorter than my former indulgence which was articulated earlier by fixj - DAL - FTW. Though it was a much longer ride (almost an hour and a half to go 31 miles!), it was only $6 each way back 10 years ago...now $12. I hated that the conductor would try to tell me I should have taken the TRE instead.I can have day trips out of Savannah, but no quick turn arounds.So far, I think the winners are Emeryville, Stockton and Niagara Falls.

SKN-SKT Can be booked on Amtrak, but it's a bus ride. It's strange too since it can be booked without a train ride. Doesn't sound like it's Amtrak California. Maybe some regional service that can be booked through Amtrak, like YARTS to Yosemite.

 

[Manny T]

I go same day round-trip from CHI-MKE quite often just to visit the museum or shop.

The fare is $24 each way and the trip takes approx. 1 hour 20 mins.

 

[peconicstation]

Another very short round trip is New York Penn to Newark Penn, 20 minutes each way.

You can't book this on LD trains, or Acela, but you can on many (but not all) of the NEC regional service trains.

Ken