Originally Posted by moondog
i could swear i've gotten from iad to l'enfant plaza on the 5a in considerably less time than 55 minutes (~30).
I'm afraid your memory fails you. Look at the
schedule, even late at night on a weekend it takes at least 45 minutes, and 53 minutes in the middle of the day on a weekday. Based on my (admittedly, somewhat limited) experience, it often takes a bit longer than the schedule says. As a reference point, I took it last week in mid-afternoon from Rosslyn to IAD, and it was almost 50 minutes with all the traffic.
Originally Posted by moondog
if you hit your transfers right, you can get from l'enfant plaza to union station in 20 minutes.
Actually, depending on the time of the day, you can do it even faster, 15 minutes or so.
Originally Posted by moondog
figure 30 minutes at union station then another 30 to bwi (assuming you get one of the faster trains; i usually splurge on amtrak personally).
The OP wanted a
cheap option, and Amtrak is substantially more expensive than MARC. Also, "Express" MARC trains (those that skip most stops) rival Amtrak on speed and take about 25 minutes, but you have to be lucky to catch one.
Also, don't forget that you need to take a shuttle from the BWI train station to the terminal, that often reqires 10-15 minutes wait plus 10 minute ride.
Originally Posted by moondog
90 minutes seems theoretically possible, but i certainly wouldn't bet on it.
Even based on the best-case scenario, 90 minutes is not theoretically possible. No less than 2 hours under any circumstances, and only if you do not have any wait for the train at the Union Station. Otherwise, two and a half hours.
The option suggested by
greggwiggins above is a clear winner cost-wise ($7.10 regular fare and astonishing $2.05 senior fare), and, if connections work out, may even rival the MARC route time-wise (e.g., if you can catch, say, 3:40 pm bus at Dulles, you'll get to BWI terminal by 6 pm, provided everything runs on schedule).