The Rail Pass - Segment #5: Northeast Regional

Like its predecessor, the train trip on the Northeast Regional was not that exciting. Unlike the Lakeshore Limited, however, I would probably take this trip again.

I would just need to remember that it is a commuter train and is not designed for leisure travelers. The luggage storage was minimal and the seats were cramped, reminiscent of your last basic economy flight especially when compared with the other long haul trains in Amtrak's fleet.

Also pursuant to it's status as a commuter train, agents frequently disturbed passengers to verify our status to make sure we weren't stowaways or evading payment.

States visited: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland.

The Northeast Regional is Amtrak's busiest route. It runs almost every hour daily from Boston to Washington, DC with stops in major cities like New York and Philadelphia. There are also extensions that go further into Massachusetts and Virginia.

Dusk on Long Island Sound

After moving to Maryland but prior to the pandemic, I frequently made the trip to New York on the Northeast Regional and greatly appreciated its commuter status. Even now, when traveling between Atlanta and Birmingham, it would be convenient would if the train ran multiple times a day and the trip was the same or quicker than driving! As it stands, the Crescent operates daily once in each direction and the trip takes almost 5 hours. Fortunately, there are options such as Greyhound bus and the Groome Transportation. But I believe both economies would benefit if there were multiple train trips between to the two cities and commuters didn't have to rely on short flights, buses, or shuttles. We can always dream, can't we?

I arrived back in the DC metro for a few days errands and rest before taking a flight to Seattle to embark on the next segment of my trip on the Coast Starlight.