I was passing through New Haven, Connecticut the other day, and was pleasantly surprised by the beauty of its train station. Just two hours by Metro-North commuter train from New York City, or just over an hour and half on Amtrak, the station (and city) is easily accessible. And in case, the rails aren’t working or you’re traveling to or from points not on a railroad, the station doubles as a bus station, and there’s a Greyhound ticket counter within the station, in addition to counters for Amtrak and Metro-North. The station is also served by Shoreline East, a commuter rail line running between New Haven to New London, CT. (Metro-North’s service from New York City terminates in New Haven.)
Designed by noted architect Cass Gilbert (think NYC’s Woolworth Bldg, US Supreme Court Bldg, and the Minnesota Capitol), the station opened in 1918, and is the premier gateway to the city, carrying by far more passengers to and from New Haven than the city’s airport, Tweed New Haven. At Tweed, the sole carrier is US Airways, with daily service to/from the airline’s hub at Philadelphia.
Tweed Airport aside, we’re talking about the train station here! And you can indeed earn frequent flier miles getting here. Continental Airlines offers a code-share with Amtrak for service connections at Newark Airport. Thus if you fly into Newark, you can catch an Amtrak train adjacent to the airport, which will take you to New Haven. You must, of course, book the trip through to New Haven, and not Newark/NYC. The “airport” code for the New Haven Train Station is ZVE and you still earn Continental OnePass’ minimum 500 miles per segment on the rail portion.
Sir!
An outstanding glimpse of the “Jewel of New Haven”!
One point: the ride from Grand Central to ZVE on Metro-North is not two hours, bit is under two hours, usually 1:50, to be precise. Thus, it takes just a few minutes more than Amtrak and is a great bargain in comparison.
Also, unlike Amtrak, Metro-North runs on time and is not prone to jumping off the rails. Sir — we must be vigilant with our safety!
Taguba
That is correct. The train can take anywhere from 1:40 to 1:55 depending on stops, express, etc. Needless to say, New Haven is a great mini-hub for train enthusiasts. Ride the best commuter rail line in the country, check out the station, then hop aboard the Vermonter to the Green Mountains… not too shabby