Jersey Jim: New Kid on the ‘Block’ After Riding Amtrak’s ‘Road Less Frazzled’

Back from a vacation and two trainless weeks. Took the family to Block Island, Rhode Island.

Very fun, very mellow. Shhhhh! Block Island is not really a Jersey vacation destination, mostly Connecticut, and lots of Red Sox caps–but the mellow waves are perfect for the kids, and our cozy rental cottage had a sheep roaming on the property (Stella), and four very free-roaming chickens, with a high-pecking order for dropped Cheerios.

Very un-Jersey.

Of interest though–we met up with our friends up there who were vacationing at the same time. These intrepid NYC-dwellers took the Amtrak from Penn Station to New London, Ct, which is advertised to meet up with the hi-speed ferry to Block Island, (3 departures during the week, 4 departures on Friday and weekends).

This 1-1/2 hour rail ride is a great option, since Block Island is small enough so you don’t need a car and very bike-friendly, with lots of reasonably priced bike rentals. (Mopeds for the muscled masses, as well).

Our friends report however, that the New London link-up of Amtrak and the ferry is not favored for the Uggs and wheelied-suitcase crowd. Traveling on a Thursday to catch the 11:30 ferry, our city-savvy friends, (a family well-versed in subway and LIRR challenges), stood trapped for 20 minutes, just out of sight of the loading ferry, aboard an idle Amtrak train just short of the New London platform, as the conductor “explained” that they were waiting for a southbound train from Boston to “clear the station.”

Ladies and Gentlemen, Amtrak apologizes for the inconvenience.

So as their own train whistled to a halt, about 15 would-be ferry folks charged off the train and down the steps, on the opposite side of the tracks from the ferry docks, only to wait longer, whilst their own train “cleared the station.”

From there, a mad dash to the ferry ticket window.

I witnessed this frazzled transfer in New London a few years back from high aboard the just-departed ferry (the wife and I heading to a weekend wedding on the island). As folks freshly disembarked, they ran and waved and yelled to “Hold the ferry! Hold the ferry!” to no avail.

We shamefully giggled, figured this was an infrequent mix-up, and mused, “Oh they’ll catch the next ferry.”

Little did we know at the time that the next hi-speed ferry is 5-1/2 hours later.

But I wonder how frequently that happens. Last year our friends missed the connection as well, and spent the 5-1/2 hour rainy day “layover” in the not-so-exciting environs of the New London train station.

Clearly Amtrak makes no guarantee, and minimal investment to hold their scheduled arrival at the New London station. (“Why worry…we’re heading to Boston!”) Big changes are unlikely, given the limited customer base making the connection, but if Amtrak is touting itself as a vacation getaway alternative (a good thing), they could deliver on their new motto of A Road Less Frazzled, and have another look at easing transfer at the New London station, I hope.

My friends report on the return trip was that it was completely uneventful:

“While the train was extremely crowded and I had to sit next to a stranger (the horror!) the ferry-train connection was fine. (We got the 1:05pm ferry to New London and connected to the 3:17pm Amtrak.) But of course that happened because we were going home.”
 

Sounds a lot smoother than the post-Bertha surf that belted the beaches of Block Island.

- jersey jim