Airport to Downtown

Minneapolis to MSP Int'l: A (frequent and fast LRT service between downtown, both terminals and the Mall of America.)
St. Paul to MSP Int'l: B (frequent city bus service, but not necessarily express bus.)

Other cities I've used the airport - downtown transit in:
-London (Heathrow to Paddington): A (both the dedicated train, and the Tube)
-Pittsburgh: B (frequent, fairly fast city bus service)
-Detroit: C? D? I don't think there's any transit service between the downtown and the airport, and cabs aren't necessarily easy to find.
-New York City (JFK to Penn Station): A- (AirTrain, then a transfer to either the LIRR or the subway. The transfer is relatively painless, even at 12:30 AM for a bewildered tourist.)

I've been in and out of Washington, DC, a few times in the past year.

BWI has a bus (about $3) that will connect to WMATA Metro. Returning, grab a transfer and save a little.

Dulles has a similar bus (also $3) to WMATA Metro - Rosslyn, as well as the Washington Flyer for $10 (18 round trip) to West Falls Church.

Reagan has it's own Metro station.

For you railfans, BWI has a connection to Amtrak - then you can take a train to Union Station. Fares vary, but are around $12.

Maybe it's a case of familiarity = contempt, but I'd give the SEPTA line in Philly no more than a B-.

> They eliminated the dedicated cars with special baggage racks. (OK, they're overloaded now due to high gas prices, so maybe they should have a pass on this one.)

> The service is slow, considering that the line is essentially single-use ROW.

> It's very poorly advertised. Even some locals are unaware of it after years of service. Rumor has it that the cabbies and limo drivers pressured the city to keep advertising to a minimum.

> SEPTA removed its TVMs so there's no way to buy a ticket before boarding, but once you're on the train their on-board fare surcharge policy kicks in. Catch-22. Gotcha, tourists!

A couple of other nice services in the EU:

> Stockholm Arlanda to city center - high speed, Acela-like service. Twice the cost of the bus and twice as fast.
> Dresden - S-bahn service to the Hauptbanhof. Fare was only €1 a couple of years ago, probably higher now.

I've never had occasion to fly in or out of Philadelphia, but I keep forgetting to at least ride the line. Didn't Septa have a tie-in at one point with US Airways, once-upon-a-time Philly's biggest air carrier??

One quibble with the Orange Line to Midway. It's a fairly long walk from train to air terminals. Partly through a somewhat intimidating indoor parking area too. The brightly painted crosswalk lines don't do much to slow some drivers down. A people-mover automated walkway does provide some relief, though.

Also the Orange Line itself provides a great ride. It reminds me of PATH Journal Square-Harrison since part of the line goes right through rail freight yards. Great way to see some freight trackage. One trip we passed an outbound METRA Heritage Corridor train to Joliet. The subway train passed the Heritage train like it was standing still! (Actually it might've been.)

For Montreal there is also the Dorval train station just outside the airport, VIA service and AMT. Never used it though as there are express buses from the terminal right to downtown. I tend to use a taxi more often though as there is a flat fare of $35 to/from anywhere downtown.

Europe is really far ahead:

Heathrow - 1 stop service to Paddington in Central London (but expensive...tube service cheaper but longer)
Gatwick - Direct rail service North (London & cross London), South, East & West
Stansted & Luton - Direct Rail connection North & South (London)...Luton frequent bus shuttle to station
Manchester & Birmingham - Dedicated Rail/Air Stations
Geneva & Frankfurt - can connect downtown or onto national systems (first flew to Frankfurt in 1971...shocked at the convenience)
Brussels - 15 min service to downtown
Madrid Barajas - now connected to downtown via Metro
Roma Fuimicino - direct rail service to downtown

Others:
Osaka - Direct downtown
Kaula Lampur - direct downtown

New York - half-a**ed system to half-way downtown, very expensive and incomplete....La Guardia, nada

Miami is finally building a connection. http://www.co.miami-dade.fl.us/transit/ ... e_home.asp

I don't know if this counts, but doesn't Tri-Rail get you into Downtown Ft. Lauderdale too?

Seattle's new link should also provide good service when it opens next year.

Finally, San Francisco now has a terminal in SFO too now with Oakland building a BART connection people mover.

Los Angeles was mentioned in an earlier posting; Burbank (Bob Hope) Airport is adjacent to the Burbank Airport station of Metrolink and Amtrak. It's easy walking distance (if your luggage has wheels), and entirely within airport property until you reach the station (I think the vans circulating through the airport will also take you there, but I've never bothered with it). Metrolink service is quite frequent during the day (Saturdays sparse and Sundays nonexistent); Amtrak has 7-day-a-week service. Metrolink has some Burbank turns to and from LA, so you need to check the combined Burbank schedule showing all trains, since the Burbank turns don't show up in the Ventura County schedule.

Munich - Two S-Bahn lines go to downtown Munich via different routes, giving you (as I recall) something like a combined 10-minute headway, with one route traversing central Munich from west to east, and the other from east to west, both continuing beyond downtown to suburban destinations.

Add Nice, France to the list (second biggest airport in France, also serves Monaco)

Line 2 of the Tramway is building to (and beyond) the airport see http://www.geocities.com/k_kinlock/NiceTramway.html

Currently express busses (4€) or local bus (1€)

...Ken

I never thought I'd say this, but it will be hard to beat the bus service between Seatac and Downtown. The bus is fast, cheap, and frequent...I assume the trains will also be fast, but less frequent, and expensive. I hope I'm wrong! Also, the train will go to King St.; the bus goes many places downtown that connect with the great Seattle bus services, with a transfer ($1.50 to anywhere in Seattle) Will be hard to beat. Sam

New York - half-a**ed system to half-way downtown, very expensive and incomplete....La Guardia, nada

Newark is only 2 stops to Midtown - takes about 25 mins.

gt7348b wrote:doesn't Tri-Rail get you into Downtown Ft. Lauderdale too?

Not really. The Tri-Rail station is over a mile and a half from downtown Ft. Lauderdale. There used to be a connecting Tri-Rail shuttle bus (free with Tri-Rail ticket), but I don't know if that still exists. If not, there are Broward County Transit buses serving Broward Blvd. that stop at the Tri-Rail station.

Tri-Rail uses the CSX (formerly Seaboard Air Line) route along I-95, not the FEC that runs through downtown Ft. Laud.

JeffK wrote: > SEPTA removed its TVMs so there's no way to buy a ticket before boarding, but once you're on the train their on-board fare surcharge policy kicks in. Catch-22. Gotcha, tourists!

I've mentioned this gripe on another thread. They removed all of their ticket vending machines, not just the airport line, but I think that was one of the first.
Anyway on my trip I was going from Market East station, where I assumed there would be vending machines, so I got socked with the surcharge both ways. Gotch, residents.

SEPTA customer service did reply that in the future I can buy tickets via internet mail order. It remains to be seen how succesful I will be with mail order since I now have to overcome my own newfound reluctance to ride as well as my wife's preexisting reluctance. And will there be a shipping-handling charge?

Disney Guy wrote:Everywhere I went, including fantrips with the Electric Railroaders' Assn., I would research the ground transportation opportunities at the airport.

I rate airports thusly:
Class A -- Has frequent rail service to downtown.
Class B -- Has city bus service.
Class C -- Only taxis and limos.

Pittsburgh -- C

Pittsburgh has had public transit service between the airport and the city for more than 10 years! Port Authority route 28X.

Toronto -- C

Toronto has express bus service to the subway. There are also city buses right outside the airport on Airport/Dixon Roads and several routes right inside the airport. See the guide below. Ive used the Rocket Express bus from Kipling Station before during ruish hour with luggage - pretty easy.

http://www3.ttc.ca/Riding_the_TTC/Airport_service.jsp