CaptainMiles

Today I had extra time to kill at EWR, and the weather was absolutely perfect, so I decided to get some exercise and survey the walking routes between terminals and Airtrain stations. The Airtrain is down now, so walking is a good alternative to the disgraceful bus service. Even if the Airtrain were running, walking may beat it, an it’s healthier. There has been a discussion about walking in the EWR Airtrain service shutdown thread, but I decided to start a separate thread because the other one is likely to die once the Airtrain resumes, and I hope walking is here to stay. I report my findings here, and encourage you to add your experiences and wisdom too.

What did I find?

1. There is marked and signed paved walkway linking P4 - Terminals C - B - A - P3 and almost all the way to P2.
   
2. The walkway runs through Level 2 (not Level 1, as one might expect) of all 3 terminals.
3. Walkway is flat and there are no curbs or steps to negotiate… so it can all be done with rolling luggage or a Smarte Carte. Where there are curbs there is always a handicapped curb cut. One exception: between A and P3 there is one real curb to clear, about 8 inches. Easy to clear with rolling luggage, not so easy with a Smarte Carte. In a bind you can walk on the road for a short distance.
4. Where the walkway crosses roads there is always a painted crosswalk. There are even two traffic lights between A and P3. Also, between A and P3 there is one crossing without a painted crosswalk, but it’s to cross a very minor road with insignificant traffic.
5. Between C and B the walkway is covered and lit for most of its length. Cover is only interrupted for crosswalks. It is also covered for about 75% of the length between P2 and P3. Elsewhere, the walkway is mostly uncovered.
   

In the Airtrain service suspension thread, AAExPlat advocates walking between P3 and Terminal C via the Marriott. I had never done it, but had to try based on those reports. This is a wild route, no formal walkway. You go through parking lots, across roads with multiple lanes of traffic (and no crosswalks), walk on lawn, hop many curbs. This route is absolutely not doable with a Smarte Carte, is a hassle with rolling luggage, can me messy after rain, may be really difficult at night (I doubt every portion is lit), and is sketchy and dangerous all the time. It does save about 7 minutes compared to following the proper route from P3-A-B-C. For reference, from C start at Level 1 (NOT Level 2) Door 01, cross to the parking deck, walk the length of Row 108 of the parking deck, then aim straight for the front of the Marriott, then aim for a tunnel straight ahead in the distance, cross the tunnel, and merge with the real walkway from A to P3.

[EDIT]In posts 17 and 18, AAExPlat provides some more details about his route, which turns out to be slightly different from the one I walked. I have edited the map below to include AAExPlat's route in pink. I never walked this exactly as described, but before you try please read post 17.[/EDIT]

Now for the grand finale here are the distances, times (at an average pace of 6 km/h or 3.7 mph) and number of calories burned (per my fitness app). All Terminal Doors are at Level 2.
Station P2 to Station P3 — 690 meters / 750 yards ; 7 min 50 sec ; 39 calories
Station P3 to Terminal A Door 01 — 410 meters / 450 yards ; 5 min ; 24 calories
Length of Terminal A, from Door 01 to Door 08 — 160 meters / 180 yards ; 2 minutes ; 9 calories
Terminal A Door 05 to Terminal B Door 01 — 340 meters / 370 yards ; 4 min 10 sec ; 19 calories
Length of Terminal B, from Door 01 to Door 09 — 210 meters / 230 yards ; 2.5 min ; 13 calories
Terminal B Door 09 to Terminal C Door 01— 380 meters / 420 yards ; 4 min 30 sec ; 20 calories
Length of Terminal C, from Door 01 to Door 05 — 140 meters / 150 yards ; 1 min 45 sec ; 9 calories
Terminal C Door 05 to Station P4 — 340 meters / 370 yards ; 3 min 50 sec ; 20 calories
Shortcut route from Terminal C Level 1 Door 01 to P3 — 1080 meters / 1180 yards ; 11 minutes ; 64 calories



Summary: All these walking routes are likely to beat the slow busses. All walking routes between adjacent points are likely to beat even the Airtrain when it is operating. All walking routes are doable with luggage and carts. Only B-C is protected from the rain, as others are mostly uncovered.

And remember… Walking is HEALTHIER than taking the bus or Airtrain. Walking is more FRIENDLY TO THE ENVIRONMENT than the bus or Airtrain.

DCFlyer0306

This is amazing thank you for this detailed report! ^

Funny enough, I never even thought of walking while the Air Train was in service, but I will definitely check this out the next time I am in EWR, Air Train or not.

Do you happen to know if it is possible to walk to the Amtrak Station (once the station opens back up)?

Terrific report, thanks again!!

rob_flies_ua

This is fantastic, thanks for posting this!

txp

Agree. A few years ago I walked from C to A based on the advice of a CO representative who assured me it would be faster. And she was right. Ever since that day I never took the AirTain unless connecting with Amtrak.

I also agree that walking through the parking lot should be discouraged and the 400 yards saved are simply not worth the hassle.

star_world

Fantastic post ^

CaptainMiles

Definitely not possible.

rduer

Well done ! , gets you there quicker and fit bit loves you more, very helpful,
any way of avoiding a bus service in an airport run by people who can't run an airport works for me.

ZZYZXROAD

This might be the defining post of what FT was all about. The real 411. Now FT is about entitlement, poor me, what should I do. This makes my day and I already calculated my walking from Parking and love it.

PVDProf

I have preferred walking from my international arrivals in B to my terminal C connections since I started using EWR. Faster, and vastly more pleasant. Thanks for providing such a good description to empower others!

tegelad

If I have to fly into EWR in the short time ... I think my walking pattern from A to the rental car facility will include a phone call to Hertz Platinum and a few hundred steps from gate to outside baggage claim Call me Lazy ... but that is my kind of walking :-p

However +10 on the post ... this is a facinating post/idea when needing to kill time or wanting a walk outside security!

+-ADT

BearX220

+1. Full kudos. ^

dinoscool3

The Amtrak station is close to pedestrians, the only way to enter it is through Air Train. This is due to the fact that the Air Train fee is included in your Amtrak or NJ Transit ticket.

Joe Moon

Exactly what I was looking for. The most detailed and useful post I have seen in any forum for a long while. EWR would likely sticky it to their main site, if it didn't put their offering to shame.

Thank you.

toby182

its too bad that there is no walkway from the train station to terminal C. If there was one underneath the toy monorail I bet I could do it faster about 25% of the time

mgcsinc

Completely amazing, and the PA should adopt it as their official guide.