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Hello -
My husband and I are looking into buying our 1st home in the Westfield/Cranford/Scotch Plains/Fanwood area. My husband works at 54th & Park and needs to be at work by 7:30am the latest. We currently live in NYC and have decent commutes. I know he has the Raritan Valley Line as an option to commute to Penn but he isn't a fan of all the transfers. I have some friends that live in Clark and say the drive to Linden or Rahway is reasonable and may save time and aggravation.
Is this feasible if he leaves at 6am-ish and returns 5pm? I have searched the threads and it seems that everyone in Westfield takes the bus or NJT?
Please help ---
Whiteorchid
PS. I am 5 months pregnant and we need to make a decision soon!!
The Transfer at Newark is very easy , all you need to do is step off the train and wait on the platform for the next train. Going to Rahway or linden might be a pain sometimes due to traffic and sometimes the corridor fails in the morning. With the Raritan Valley line , you would have the option of switch to the PATH or taking the train to Hoboken , RVL is rarely affected by anything.
Go with Raritan - its great, and will take less time than NEC. The biggest issue is getting from Penn Station to 54th and Park. Subway is a pain, but it might be the best bet.
Don't discount the bus - especially for the commute in, its great. Takes you to the Port Authority, which is a bit closer to his office. You can use a train pass on either bus or train.
This is all doable, and going a bit off-peak (early morning and 5pm) will work better than full on peak.
Okay, thanks everyone for all your replies. Does anyone the 'real' time of taking the 6:26am on the RVT arriving into Penn at 7:22am (ETA 56 minutes listed on NJTransit.com)? Many Westfield commuting posts say that there is no consistency on your daily commute. Are these trains packed full of people?
Also, what is the commute home from Penn? He would probably catch the 5:22pm from Penn...is the way home the trickier commute? If he takes the bus, does it get stuck in tunnel traffic? How long does the bus take in/out?
Thanks again for all this valuable info - I was sticking to Summit/Chatham/Madison because of the direct line but feel we can get more house for our $$ in Westfield/Cranford area (and love the amenities)!
Trains in and out of NY Penn get delayed by 5-10 minutes all the time. If it is mandatory that he has to be at his office on 54th and Park at 7:30am, there's no way that train is going to get him there on time. Even if the train arrives exactly at 7:22, he would still have to fight the crowd going upstairs into the main area, walk 2-3 minutes to get to the subway platform, wait several minutes for the train, take several minutes to 53rd and Lexington (? closest stop) and walk to the office. I'd budget at the very minimum at least a half hour extra.
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