Philadelphia Travel Forum

We will be entering the city at Amtrak 30th street station with luggage for a 4 day conference. What is our best way to get to the Downtown Marriott and back to train station afterwards?

At the 30th Street Station, you take the local train to Reading Station (the Convention Center). This trip is free if you show them an Amtrak ticket for the same day.

Get off the local train at Reading Station and go upstairs to the Marriott, which is next door, as I recall.

This should be a problem only if you have too much luggage and you have arrived in morning rush hour...but I've done it a couple of times and if you can handle your luggage, you'll do fine. Of course, there is a taxi queue at the 30th Street Station if you wish; the trip is about one mile due east.

It's actually one of the few examples in the US of actually being able to take a train to a city, and then a local train to the convention center that I know of. Wow! public transit!

Bill

Here I am in Philly almost half of my time, and I had no idea the regional lines were free if you come into 30th St. on Amtrak!

The station that is next to the Marriott is called Market East. Many of SEPTA's Regional Rail trains run between 30th St. and Market East. When you come off your Amtrak train, follow the signs for SEPTA (walk up the ramp that leads off the northwest side of the main waiting area). Ask at the information desk which train you should take--they will have names like R1, R2, etc.--since there may be any one of a number of trains leaving shortly that will work for you. The Regional Rail trains run throughout the day, but they are geared to commuters, so there are fewer trains at non-peak hours.

The Regional Rail option or a taxi will be your best bet if you have luggage. There is also the possibility of taking the Market-Frankford subway line, which also goes between 30th St. and Market East, but to get to it you have to walk out of the train station, across a street, and down some stairs to get back into the subway. Kind of a pain.

"Here I am in Philly almost half of my time, and I had no idea the regional lines were free if you come into 30th St. on Amtrak! "

Yeah, it's one of those things you hear and wonder about, but my wife and her mother did it on one visit, and then we both did it on the next visit - when we went to board the SEPTA (thanks for the name, I had forgotten it) train, the SEPTA employee saw the ticket and just waved us on board...of course, I have no idea if this works on any OTHER lines than from the 30th Street Station to the Convention Center...;-)...

Bill

Thank you!!!