New York City Guide - Getting There By Rail

New York City's rail services are primarily operated by Amtrak (tel: 1 800 872 7245; website: www.amtrak.com). High-speed services on the Eastern seaboard are a viable alternative to air travel on shorter routes, such as to Boston and Washington, DC. The city has two main stations. Grand Central Station, 42nd Street and Park Avenue, is the terminus for Metro-North Railroad (tel: (212) 340 3000; website: www.mta.nyc.ny.us/mnr), with services to upstate New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Pennsylvania Station, referred to locally as Penn Station, 34th Street and Sixth Avenue, serves both Amtrak and the Long Island Railroad (tel: (718) 217 5477; website: www.mta.nyc.ny.us/lirr).

Penn Station and Grand Central Station both have ATMs, bars, cafes, waiting rooms, shops and taxi ranks and are very well equipped. Grand Central Station, in aesthetic terms, is a model of station regeneration and undoubtedly the city's most impressive transport hub. Penn Station, on the other hand, is a bit sketchy and institutional, without many comfortable waiting areas.
 
Rail travel tends to be expensive, although a number of rail passes are available to visitors from overseas. There is no central rail information number for national rail travel and all enquires should be directed to the relevant provider or Amtrak.

Rail services: Amtrak offers frequent shuttles to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (journey time - 1 hour 30 minutes); Washington, DC (journey time - 3 hours); and Boston, Massachusetts (journey time - 3 hours 40 minutes). There are services to Atlanta, Georgia; Baltimore, Maryland; Chicago, Illinois; New Orleans, Louisiana; Miami, Florida; and even Los Angeles, California. Trains also go to Toronto and Montreal in Canada.