soxfanndc

If I'm staying at a hotel near EWR, what's going to offer more frequent service TO Manhattan, should I go to EWR and then just take transit from there or should I go to NWK Penn Station and get service from there? I plan on taking some combo of NJ Transit or Subway into Manhattan. Basically, anything except for the bus. It'll be around 830/9 am during the weekday if that matters. oops, and forgot to mention that I want to either go to NYP station or Grand Central. Thanks for any helpful insights and hope everyone travels safely!

guv1976

At NWK Penn Station there will be more service, as you will have a.choice of NJTransit rail or PATH (Port Authority Trans Hudson) trains (which run underground in Manhattan and at a couple of stations in NJ). PATH trains do not go to either Penn Station or Grand Central, but they get very close to Penn Station: the northernmost PATH station is 33rd Street and Sixth Avenue. Penn Station has multiple entrances on Seventh Avenue between 31st and 34th streets. Connections to several subway lines are available from the PATH stations on Sixth Avenue, and at the PATH terminus at 33rd Street.

PATH will be cheaper; NJTransit will be faster.

guv1976

Note that PATH service from Newark to Midtown Manhattan requires an across-the-platform transfer at Journal Square Station. This is an easy transfer, and the second train will likely depart just a couple of minutes after the first train departs Journal Square.

Petdog

Not sure I understand the question, but here goes:

I. Short Answer
NJ Transit from Newark Penn Station to NY Penn Station. Fastest (assuming your travel time to Newark Airport Rail Station and Newark Penn Station are comparable) and most frequent service. But costs more than PATH, if that matters.

II. Longer Answer
First, this is a pretty good summary: https://new.mta.info/guides/airports/newark-ewr#

The transit options from Newark Airport are:
- bus
- NJ Transit rail

The transit options from Newark Penn Station are:
- bus
- NJ Transit rail
- PATH (“subway”)

BUS
You’ve ruled this out, which IMHO makes a lot of sense.

PATH
The PATH train that runs to Newark Penn Station goes to the World Trade Center, not midtown. To get to 33rd Street in Manhattan you will need to change trains. You can see the map and schedule here: https://www.panynj.gov/path/en/schedules-maps.html. I consider the PATH inferior to NJ Transit if you’re trying to get to midtown, but it’s cheaper.

NJ Transit
All NJ Transit trains that go to/from Newark Airport also stop at Newark Penn Station. And there are additional NJ Transit trains that go to/from Newark Penn Station that do not stop at Newark Airport. You can look up train schedules here: https://www.njtransit.com/train-to

Assuming cost is not an issue, I would check on the transfer time from your hotel to the Newark Airport Rail Station and to Newark Penn Station. Determine the total travel time and choose accordingly.

Grand Central
There is no public transit directly from New Jersey to Grand Central. You would need to get from NY Penn Station or the PATH to Grand Central by an additional form of transit.

I hope this helps.

guv1976

Actually, there is, but it's a bus, which the OP has ruled out:

https://www.coachusa.com/airport-tra...op-information

guv1976

Also note that no hotel shuttle, taxi, or other motor vehicle can drop passengers off at the Newark Airport Rail Station:

"There is no direct access to this station by road. The station is accessible only via arriving trains or AirTrain monorail directly from the airport for departures; you cannot drive to the train station.'

Source:

https://www.amtrak.com/stations/ewr#...ain%20station.

guv1976

soxfanndc, are you looking to travel to NYP or GCT because you want to transfer to a Long Island Rail Road train?

themicah

If you don't want to take the bus, DEFINITELY go Newark Penn Station ("NWK") over the EWR rail station. On top of the EWR rail station requiring a transfer via the slow-as-molasses AirTrain AND having less frequent service than NWK AND lacking the PATH option, EWR-NYP also costs $8-9 more each way than NWK-NYP.

One other train option to throw into the mix is the Newark Broad Street train station. There are some NJT trains to NYP that stop there but don't stop at Newark Penn ("NWK"), and if you're taking something like Uber/Lyft to get from your hotel near the airport to the train, Broad Street is probably a similar ride to NWK. That said, train frequency is significantly higher at NWK than at Broad Street (and NWK has a bunch of food and coffee vendors and the like, whereas I'm not sure if there's much of anything at Broad Street) so unless there is a big gap in the schedule at NWK that is filled by a train at Broad Street, I'd still recommend going to NWK.

If you specifically want to go to GCT and not NYP, the Newark Airport Express bus from the airport will provide a one-seat ride.

soxfanndc

this is VERY helpful info and I'm immensely grateful to everyone who replied. And to the one poster, YES I'm back to travelling out of JFK again (don't ask!) LOL and so yes I want to go to either GCT or NYP so I can travel out to JFK but if there's a better routing, I'm happy to entertain that but yes, that's why I referenced those two. Thanks again everyone!

Petdog

Coach USA isn’t public transit

But close enough.

ijgordon

If you’re going toward JFK then just take NJ Transit from Newark Penn to NY Penn and then transfer there to the LIRR to Jamaica. Don’t even consider GCT as part of the mix. And I wouldn’t bother with PATH either unless you had a surplus of time and a shortage of money.

guv1976

I agree with ijgordon. NJTransit rail from NWK to NYP ($5.25); LIRR NYP to Jamaica ($5.00, if you buy an off-peak "City Ticket"); and AirTrain from Jamaica to JFK ($8.00, payable with a Metrocard). If you expect to take at least four single trips on the AirTrain within a consecutive 30-day period, you can save some money by buying a ten-trip AirTrain card for $26.