ijgordon

Really? As long as you're not taking a train through Penn Station.

boboqui

LIRR on or close after power problem snarls p.m. commute | Newsday

RooseveltL

No rebuttal to this statement. Penn Station has been a downward spiral the past two months.

Letitride3c

"Only" moderate issues this morning, besides morning fog which also impacted on S.I. ferry schedules. Amtrak delays @30 minutes but NJT is just 15 minutes (EWR to/from) and LIRR still on schedule. LGA flight ops on time but JFK @ almost 2 hours delayed.

PsiFighter37

Seems like OP went to 7 hours. You're going to have more than enough time, and with that kind of time, if you can figure out a place to store your bags, I would hang out in Manhattan for a few hours.

One thing I have consistently seen from FT posters when asking about connection logistics is that almost everyone to a fault blocks out way more time than is needed. Just an observation I have seen play out over multiple inquiries I have had.

Blumie

Agree completely. The level of risk adversity on this board surprises me sometimes. Sure it sucks tobmiss a flight or a connection, but checking in three hours before a flight?!?!

JohnFinTx

Just following up with my experience from the transfer in case other people search this thread for the same question.

I switched to an earlier flight to be safe. The transfer took me 2.5 hours to get from EWR to JFK taking NJ Transit connecting to LIRR at Penn Station. This included time waiting on baggage pickup in EWR and waiting on trains to arrive at JFK and time buying tickets at the machines because I did not download the phone apps to do that online ahead of time. Because I had time after switching to the earlier flight, I did not feel the need to rush, and as a result I just missed one LIRR train and the next available train was just over 20 minutes later. So I could have saved at least 20 minutes if I moved a little faster and bought the train tickets ahead of time.

I considered storing some bags near Penn station to do something in Manhattan for a couple of hours, but it looked like the nearest facility I could do that was 2 or 3 blocks away from PENN station and I figured by the time to get there too check bags, I barely had time to find somewhere for lunch before I would have to pick them up to head to the airport so I decided there was not enough time to make it worth the effort on this trip.

My original schedule gave me only 4 hours from landing at EWR to departure at JFK. But boarding time at the gate was 1 hour before departure so really I had something less than 4 hours to transfer between ariports. If I had the same transit delay with that schedule as I experienced earlier in the day, it would have left me 30 minutes to check in at JFK and get through security. While all the flights were on the same ticket and I had TSA Pre-check for the 1st flight to Newark, the PRE-check did not transfer to the partner airline departing from JFK. But since the international leg was business class I got to go through a shorter line at security to make up for it.

So in summary, my original schedule was doable, but there really was no buffer for uncontrolled delays. So I am glad I switched to the earlier flight to minimize risk and my stress. It was the right choice for me even if I had to spend a couple of extra hours in the lounge at JFK where I could at least get some work done. Thanks for all the feedback on the original question.

Blumie

Thanks for the feedback. It's a pretty awful transfer; best avoided if possible.

I will note, however, that the fact that they may begin boarding one hour before flight time is irrelevant, unless it's essential for some reason, such as securing overhead bin space, to be among the first onboard. What's more relevant is the boarding cutoff -- the point at which you might be denied boarding if you are not at the gate. (If you were checking bags on your connection, on the other hand, some airlines will not allow you to check in your bags less than one hour before departure time, so that might be a consideration as well.)

guv1976

A 20-minute headway on LIRR trains from NYP to Jamaica on a weekday afternoon seems odd, unless some trains had been cancelled. What time of day was this? How did you determine when the next train to Jamaica was?

For future reference, Amtrak at NYP will store bags for $4.50 per bag per day, but the agent may require an Amtrak or NJT rail ticket. When coming from EWR, the work-around is to buy a NJT rail ticket from EWR to Newark Penn Station. When the conductor comes around to collect your ticket, say "change in terminal" to Manhattan. You will then be charged the change-in-terminal fee in cash, and be given a punched paper ticket/receipt for the change-in-terminal fee, which you can show to the Amtrak baggage agent at NYP if required to check your bag.

sbm12

Why do you need an on-board purchase receipt as opposed to the pink paper ticket from the TVMs at Newark? Or are you suggesting this for those who buy on the app??

guv1976

Because the conductor on the train will collect your pink NJT EWR-NYP ticket. The conductor will also collect your EWR-NWK ticket, but if you pay the change-in-terminal fee on the train, you'll then get a punched paper ticket/receipt to keep -- and to show the Amtrak baggage clerk, if necessary.

sbm12

Been a while since I've not used the app and I know you keep it going TO the airport because you need the barcode to get through the gate. I wonder if you ask them to just punch it but keep it for use in the station what they'd say.

guv1976

That's not a risk I'd be willing to take if I needed to day-check a bag at NYP. Besides, combining a EWR-NWK ticket with the change-in-terminal fee actually costs 25 cents less than a EWR-NYP ticket!

ijgordon

Yeah, definitely sounds odd; seems like since OP moved his 4-hour transfer (3p to 7p) to a 7-hour transfer, I'm assuming he arrived EWR at 12p and was at NYP around 1p. I suppose it's possible it was just an "unlucky" gap in the schedule at that time (without checking myself).

Agreed, though it did sound like OP checked a bag, at least he was waiting for one at EWR. So baggage cut-off would be the gating item and that's not something you want to monkey around with! Nothing worse than missing the cutoff by 2 minutes and "computer says no!"

Blumie

I just looked it up. To my surprise there's a 27-minute gap between 11:38am and 12:05pm, between 12:38pm and 1:05pm, and between 1:38pm and 2:05pm. Obviously the OP was no longer in a rush so it didn't really matter, but in other circumstances it would make sense to jump on the E train rather than wait for the next LIRR train.