Oh, the places you can go! Exploring by rail from 30th Street Station

In the mood for a train trip? If you’re wanting to go anywhere beyond southeastern Pennsylvania, you should probably head to 30th Street Station.

Relative to other U.S. cities, Philadelphia is a great place to be an inter-city rail rider. With Amtrak ridership of over 3 million (the third most in the country) and SEPTA and NJ Transit ridership of over 12 million annually, the station is the nation’s 10th busiest overall. 

30th Street is also one of just a few in the country where trains arrive and depart in all four cardinal directions, per Amtrak.

Dozens of Northeast corridor and long-distance Amtrak trains travel through the station daily, and all of SEPTA’s regional rail lines run through it. NJ Transit operates one commuter line there, too, which goes to and from Atlantic City.

There’s frequent daily service to cities like New York City and Washington D.C., from whence you could take a day trip or transfer to train lines that can take you to further-flung destinations. (D.C. has been running a pretty in-your-face ad campaign at 30th Street recently.) There are a handful of big treks you can take direct, too, no transfer required — to places like New Orleans, Chicago, or Miami.

Here’s a guide to almost all the train routes you can ride out of 30th Street Station to travel beyond Philly’s five-county region. Scroll down to find out where they go, how often they run, and how long you might spend on the rails to get to your destination.

A few notes: While NJ Transit and SEPTA fares don’t change based on when you book, Amtrak prices can fluctuate and get really pricey close to your trip, so it’s generally best to book them well in advance.

Also, some Amtrak routes don’t make all stops on all trips, and some routes can have varied endpoints depending on the day or time. This guide is just a starting point!

Northeast Regional (Amtrak)

A good option for East Coast adventures: The most frequent Amtrak line running through 30th Street Station, the Northeast Regional makes stops from Massachusetts to Virginia. The endpoints and exact stops in between can vary depending on the specific train you’re taking.

Frequency: Multiple departures every day in both directions (endpoints differ)

Travel time from Philly to end of the line: Varies depending on endpoint and direction of the train.

Acela (Amtrak)

Like the Northeast Regional, the Acela connects the Eastern Seaboard, but it skips over a lot of the intermediate stops in favor of getting to the bigger cities along the route a bit faster. Tickets also tend to be pricier — they’re only available in business and first class, and the seating is assigned.

Frequency: Multiple departures per day in both directions (endpoints and stops differ)

Travel time from Philly to end of the line: around 5 hours, 20 minutes northbound, and around 1 hour, 45 minutes southbound.

Crescent (Amtrak)

One of the longest train trips you can take from 30th Street Station is the trek to New Orleans via Amtrak’s Crescent train, which also swings through Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. Like you’ll notice with lots of other Amtrak routes, it starts in New York City before heading through Newark and Trenton on the way to Philly.

Frequency: Once daily in each direction

Travel time from Philly to end of the line: around 29 hours, 10 minutes southbound

Cardinal (Amtrak)

The Cardinal is 30th Street Station’s least frequent Amtrak route, and it’s the only one that makes it over to the Midwest without a transfer. (You have more options for getting to that region if you’re willing to make a transfer at D.C.) The train starts in NYC, passes through Newark and Trenton, and then curves through Philly, Maryland, DC, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana before eventually reaching Chicago.

Frequency: Three times a week in each direction

Travel time from Philly to end of the line: 25 hours, 45 minutes westbound

Carolinian (Amtrak)

The Carolinian gets you from Philly to Charlotte in the time it takes the Earth to turn halfway around its axis. Stops on the route, which originates in New York before heading south, also include Richmond, Va., Raleigh, and Durham. (Sorry, the Carolinian doesn’t go as far south as South Carolina.)

Frequency: Once daily in each direction

Travel time from Philly to end of the line: around 12 hours southbound

Silver Meteor (Amtrak)

Here’s your train if going down the shore isn’t enough of a getaway for you. Originating in New York, the Silver Meteor will take you to Miami by way of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. It then travels all the way to south Florida, passing through Jacksonville, Orlando, and coastal cities like West Palm Beach and Ft. Lauderdale.

Frequency: Once daily in each direction

Travel time from Philly to end of the line: around 26 hours, 5 minutes southbound

Silver Star (Amtrak)

Looking for the longest route you can take from Philly? Like the Silver Meteor, the Silver Star ends in Miami, but it takes a different path to get there and takes longer to do so, stopping at both North Carolina and South Carolina’s state capitals and making a little detour over to Tampa. The line originates in New York City and goes through Newark and Trenton before its Philly stop.

Frequency: Once daily in each direction

Travel time from Philly to end of the line: around 30 hours southbound

Palmetto (Amtrak)

You can also head down south via the Palmetto, passing through Delaware, Maryland, D.C., Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina before ending in Savannah, Ga.

Frequency: Once daily in each direction

Travel time from Philly to end of the line: around 25 hours, 55 minutes

Vermonter (Amtrak)

Your 30th Street option for a New England jaunt beyond Boston is the Vermonter, which passes through New Jersey, NYC, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The northbound Vermonter starts out in D.C. and goes through New Carrollton, Md., Baltimore, and Wilmington.

Frequency: Once daily in each direction. But the northbound line ends and southbound line starts in New Haven, Conn. on the weekends (yeah, despite the route’s name, it only goes to Vermont on weekdays).

Travel time from Philly to end of the line: around 10 hours, 50 minutes northbound

Trenton Line (SEPTA)

If you’re heading to the New Jersey capital, SEPTA can get you there via the Trenton Line, which stops at Temple, Jefferson, and Suburban stations before getting to 30th Street.

Pro tip: if you’re heading to NYC on short notice and can’t afford a pricey last-minute Amtrak ticket, you can try riding SEPTA to Trenton and then transferring to NJ Transit’s Northeast Corridor Train.

Frequency: Multiple departures every day

Travel time from Philly to end of the line: around 55 minutes

West Trenton Line (SEPTA)

Another option for getting to the Garden State, which originates at Penn Medicine Station and then heads over to 30th Street.

Frequency: Multiple departures every day

Travel time from Philly to end of the line: around 1 hour, 20 minutes

Wilmington/Newark Line (SEPTA)

If you’re going to Delaware (no-sales tax shopping, perhaps?), that is within SEPTA’s range too. The line starts at Temple and passes through Jefferson and Suburban stations before arriving at 30th Street Station.

Frequency: Multiple departures every day

Travel time from Philly to end of the line: around 1 hour

Keystone Service (Amtrak)

If you want to head out to Harrisburg or somewhere in between, the Keystone Service line has you covered. It also runs in the other direction to New York City, stopping at a few places in Jersey along the way.

Unlike most Amtrak routes, prices for Keystone Service west of Philly tend to stay pretty stable (around $35 from Philly to Harrisburg, $21 from Philly to Lancaster) even if you wait until the last minute to book, so this line leaves the most room for spontaneous trips.

Frequency: Multiple departures per day in both directions (endpoints differ)

Travel time from Philly to end of the line: around 1 hour, 52 minutes westbound, and around 2 hours, 30 minutes eastbound.

Pennsylvanian (Amtrak)

Hoping to skip the turnpike? The Pennsylvanian is Amtrak’s most direct option for getting across Pennsylvania if you’re looking to go west of Harrisburg. The line starts in New York City and stops in Newark and Trenton before reaching Philly. Then, the route runs through south central Pa., passing through places like Altoona and Johnstown before reaching Pittsburgh.

Frequency: Once daily in each direction

Total travel time from Philly to the end of the line: around 7 hours, 45 minutes westbound

Atlantic City commuter line (NJ Transit)

Going down the shore? Here’s the way. Philly is the beginning of the eastbound line and the end of the westbound line.

Frequency: Multiple departures every day

Travel time from Philly to end of the line: around 1 hour, 35 minutes