Morning trains from South Orange to NY Penn Station

I see there is a train at 7:32 AM and one at 8:05.

What are these trains like?  Very crowded?  Can you get a seat generally if you get on in South Orange?

Thank you in advance!

The 8:05 is the same 8:00 from Maplewood train you asked about a few weeks ago, so same - you will get a seat but it frequently arrives to Penn late.

I think the bigger issue is if you are looking for an apartment, and want to be in walking distance of the train station, SO (Gateway, 3rd/Valley, Gaslight Commons, Avenue, others) probably has more options than Maplewood, where apts. close to train tend to be above the retail stores (fewer units). Getting a seat on the train, little/no difference.

hmbooks said:

The 8:05 is the same 8:00 from Maplewood train you asked about a few weeks ago, so same - you will get a seat but it frequently arrives to Penn late.

Oh great, thanks!  That makes sense.

Although it doesn't stand to reason that you'd get a seat in South Orange - all the seats could be taken in Maplewood, no?

I am flattered that you remembered me and my previous question!

That train originates in Maplewood so still plenty of seats in South Orange.

hmbooks said:

The 8:05 is the same 8:00 from Maplewood train you asked about a few weeks ago, so same - you will get a seat but it frequently arrives to Penn late.

Helpful, but you still came across as cranky.

Edited to remove name calling.  

Not my intention, I just remembered the previous thread and typed a brief (helpful) reply from my phone. I'll keep the name calling in mind and try to be more cheerful in the future, I guess. 

no problem getting a seat on the 8:05, unless you insist in being in one of the front couple cars in which case they are crowded but not unreasonable at S.O.

Both trains are crowded but much more in the front than the back.  If you are happy sitting in the back, you will always get a seat.  In the front, it's a crap shoot depending where the train stops and where you are in line.

My wife takes the 8:05 every day from SO and has never had a problem getting a seat. As Rob said, the back of the train is not usually very crowded.

The 8:05 runs about 45 minutes to Penn due to congestion in the swamps.  The trains before and after run closer to 35 minutes.

I moved here last Feb. I take the 8:05 every day and I've never not had a seat. It only makes three stops, so it's actually not uncommon that I'll get past Brick Church without someone in the seat next to me.

The train is usually on time to pick up in SO (within a few minutes), but it's rarely less than ten minutes late arriving in Penn. Getting off the platform can also take a lot longer than you can expect. I can probably count on one hand the number of times last year that the doors opened in Penn withing a few minutes of the published arrival time.

A few times a year you'll end up in Hoboken.

All in all, it's a very comfortable commute. Easy to read or watch a video, etc. Mobile data goes in and out, so make sure you have something cached locally!

I find that it's almost always at LEAST 10 minutes late to Penn, often 15-20 late, and the ride becomes a 45 minute or so excursion.  Not terrible, but not the jaunty, quick express one would prefer.

qrysdonnell said:

I moved here last Feb. I take the 8:05 every day and I've never not had a seat. It only makes three stops, so it's actually not uncommon that I'll get past Brick Church without someone in the seat next to me.

The train is usually on time to pick up in SO (within a few minutes), but it's rarely less than ten minutes late arriving in Penn. Getting off the platform can also take a lot longer than you can expect. I can probably count on one hand the number of times last year that the doors opened in Penn withing a few minutes of the published arrival time.


A few times a year you'll end up in Hoboken.

All in all, it's a very comfortable commute. Easy to read or watch a video, etc. Mobile data goes in and out, so make sure you have something cached locally!

https://youtu.be/76wW2KASmtA

BubbaTerp said:

The 8:05 runs about 45 minutes to Penn due to congestion in the swamps.  The trains before and after run closer to 35 minutes.

This is true.  It is 10 or 15 minutes late getting into Penn every day.  Sometimes it's a delay at the connection to the NE Corridor (the swamps), and sometimes it's just crawling through the tunnel, or maybe both.  But don't expect to get into Penn on the 8:05 before about 8:50 on an average day.  It has been this way for years.  The scheduled arrival time is a joke.  They should either fix the schedule so that this train can get in on time or change the published timetable so we are not lied to.  I doubt either will happen.

Rob_Sandow said:

BubbaTerp said:

The 8:05 runs about 45 minutes to Penn due to congestion in the swamps.  The trains before and after run closer to 35 minutes.

This is true.  It is 10 or 15 minutes late getting into Penn every day.  Sometimes it's a delay at the connection to the NE Corridor (the swamps), and sometimes it's just crawling through the tunnel, or maybe both.  But don't expect to get into Penn on the 8:05 before about 8:50 on an average day.  It has been this way for years.  The scheduled arrival time is a joke.  They should either fix the schedule so that this train can get in on time or change the published timetable so we are not lied to.  I doubt either will happen.

I think a lot of it has to do with what gate they pull in to.  I have been on the train before or the train after and have gotten upstairs in 5 minutes or so, but on the 8am Maplewood, I can stand on the platform for 10-15 minutes before I could get upstairs.  And this is in addition to the inbound delays.

we always found it infuriating that the train continued to be listed with the same arrival time. It should be revised on the schedule to show the true arrival time.

Yes, the njt rush-hour schedule is largely fantasy. Every time I take their quarterly survey I mention this fact, but alas nothing changes.

Sometimes I think realtors pay off NJT to keep their published schedule as is, so they can advertise "30 minutes to NYC"

Student_Council said:

Yes, the njt rush-hour schedule is largely fantasy. Every time I take their quarterly survey I mention this fact, but alas nothing changes.

Sometimes I think realtors pay off NJT to keep their published schedule as is, so they can advertise "30 minutes to NYC"

The evening trains are usually on time and the 5:50 generally lets you off at 6:20 on the dime  

Evening trains are less likely to be late but still generally not on time at least in my experience. 550 usually gets to SO at 625 give or take a few minutes for me. 

Granted 5 minutes is very minor in the overall scheme of things but it is a 17% delay on a half-hour scheduled trip.   

The Swiss train system is mind-blowing.....rarey late, almost always on time. If a train is late its like a national scandal. Inwas leaving Zurich once and train was 20 mins delayed - people were outraged like it had never, ever happened before. The conductor later apologized profusely - he sounded ashamed.

It was comical, coming from NJ where amost every train is delayed due to switch problems or power outages or brush fires or stop signals.