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April 03, 2004

JFK AirTrain review

TRAVELERS using Kennedy Airport have had nearly four months to try the new
AirTrain connecting the airport to local railroad and subway lines - enough time to
weigh in with their opinions about how well it works.

Based on my trip on the AirTrain on a Friday evening last month, and feedback from
others who have taken the train, I'd say it's definitely an improvement over the
buses that used to carry passengers between the airport and nearby train and
subway stations. The biggest advantage of the AirTrain is that it provides a way to
get to J.F.K. entirely by rail, eliminating the variable of road traffic from the complex
calculation of how long it will take to get there.

Visitors unfamiliar with the city's transportation system - say, the right way to
swipe a MetroCard or how to interpret an announcement like, "The rear two cars
will not platform at Jamaica" - might find the experience rather stressful.

There are several ways to get to the AirTrain, so the time and cost of the trip
depends on how you make that connection. From Manhattan, the quickest route is
generally the Long Island Rail Road from Penn Station, which costs $6.75 during
peak periods and $4.75 off peak (more if you buy from a conductor on board)
and takes about 20 minutes. Trains run between Penn Station and the Jamaica
AirTrain terminal every 10 to 15 minutes most of the day. When you get off the
Long Island Rail Road, you may have to hunt for signs to the AirTrain - take the
stairs up.

You can also take the E train ($2) to the Sutphin Boulevard-Archer Avenue stop
in Queens, which connects you to the same Jamaica AirTrain terminal. One
potential pitfall: the E train stations before and after Sutphin Boulevard both have
the word "Jamaica" in their names, as if designed to puzzle the uninitiated. My
return trip on the E, also on a Friday evening, took about 20 minutes from
Sutphin Boulevard to midtown, although the subway is less predictable than the
Long Island Rail Road, so that trip could take longer.

According to the AirTrain J.F.K. brochure, the longest passengers should have to
wait for a train is 12 minutes (late at night), with a 4- to 8-minute wait typical
during the day. Travel time from either Jamaica or Howard Beach to the farthest
airline-terminal stop is 15 minutes. It stops at six airline terminals; look for the
signs inside each train with the inexplicably small print to find your airline's
terminal.

Most people I surveyed spoke positively about the AirTrain, but there were a few
common complaints and cautionary tales: the challenge of dragging luggage up
and down stairs or onto a crowded commuter train, the lack of adequate signs
throughout the system (Mr. DiFulco said more are being added), and the fact that
late at night, an unfamiliar subway station isn't the best place to be standing
around with your suitcase or asking for help.

"Coming in at night on the A train as a New Yorker, it's not a big deal," said Maki
Isayama of Manhattan, who has taken the AirTrain several times. "But if you're
coming in from out of town and you've got this guy talking to himself in the
corner, you wonder how people would react to that."

"If you're taking mass transit anywhere, you sort of have to accept that as part
of the package," Mr. Isayama added. But he said he'll take the AirTrain again
himself. "I'm all for options."

-- SUSAN STELLIN

Previous: JFK Airtrain is coming in 2003; also: JFK AirTrain reviewed.

Posted by dc at April 3, 2004 03:15 AM

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