Camden to City Center via Transit

My son and I will be arriving in Philadelphia next week. We are taking the Northeast Regional (Amtrak) to Trenton, where we will transfer to the River Line (light rail) into Camden (Rand Transportation Center). We are conducting an observational field study of the River Line as a part of mixing business with pleasure - else we%26#39;d just take Amtrak all the way to the 30th St Station.

My question is this...how best do we travel between the Rand Station and City Center (we are staying at the Embassy Suites CC)? I saw a reference to PATCO. Can this be accessed at the Rand Station, or elsewhere. Or, how much time/cost would be involved in taking a taxi? I%26#39;d consider a transfer from the River Line to another adjacent rail service, but would rather take a cab than a bus transfer. Thanks in advance.

Camden to City Center via Transit

You can take PATCO to 15th and Locust but this is still quite a few blocks from Embassy Suites ...if you have luggage this could be a tiring walk....it might make sense to take PATCO to 8th and Market and from there flag a cab to your hotel

Camden to City Center via Transit

Easier to spot a cab there?

What about a cab from Camden?

If I may suggest a slight change in plans for your own safety. Camden is the kind of place that you want to get out of as quickly as possible, and you certainly don%26#39;t want to labored by luggage. Forget cabs from Camden. You don%26#39;t want to be on the street hailing any- if there are any. Trenton is a slight bit better. You do not want to appear vuknerable in either city.

I rode the River Line from Camden to Trenton (long story- SEPTA Regional rail was completely shut down, and this connection was my Plan B). It is definitely worth checking out. The cars are well thought out for commuters. Certain seats even fold up to expose hooks from which to hang bikes. There are no wires or third rails- it runs on battery power. There are certain areas where it goes single-track, and the schedule is set to allow for the most efficient timing of n/b and s/b trains.

Anyway... my suggestion is that you take AMTRAK all the way to 30th Street Station, and take a cab to your hotel. After you are settled in, and assuming you have about 3-4 hours of daylight left, you can take PATCO from 15th %26amp; Locust to the Rand Transportation Center in Camden, where you can change to the northbound RiverLine. You can return either on the RiverLine, or walk across to the recently renovated Trento train station and catch a SEPTA R7 train, which travels on the same tracks as the AMTRAK train you just took (but makes all the local stops, and many of the stations are interesting).

A few notes: Although there are change machines in the PATCO stations, they are notoriously finicky. Your bills have to be brand new and crisp. I suggest bringing enough small bills and change to ensure that you can buy a ticket from the ticket machine without having to use the change machines. The really tricky part is the RiverLine fare purchase. They don%26#39;t make it easy. The machines run off of a touch screen, and you have to study it carefully to figure out what you want. Once you get your ticket, you then need to locate the brilliantly camouflaged ticket validation machine (whoever designed them should work for The Pentagon). Ask another rider for help. Do NOT board the RiverLine without a VALIDATED ticket. The odds are that you will never be asked to show it, but if a fare officer boards your train, you better have one, or it%26#39;s off to jail.

Oddly, the trip takes roughly the same hour on the RiverLine as it does on the SEPTA R7 from Trenton back to Philadelphia.

Glad to answer more questions about this if you have any.

I very much appreciate your suggestions and concerns. We were trying to incorporate the business part in our travel to Philly as we are unwilling to give up those 3-4 hours you speak of as an alternative. The other alternative is to hire someone to ride the River Line, and take pictures and video to be submitted ot me! ;)

As it is, if we can catch the PATCO across the platform from the River Line (as I%26#39;ve heard we can), we will just take a cab from PATCO to the hotel.

At Trenton, turn left when you exit the train station through the main entrance (Raoul Wallenberg Blvd) and turn left. The RiverLine station is directly across the street. When you get to Camden, you will need to follow the signs and go downstairs to the PATCO line, which runs underground at that point. try to sit at the fron of the train, and defintely on the left side so you get a good view of the city as you cross the Ben Franklin Bridge. You can catch a cab the easiest at 15th %26amp; Locust.

I am very much obliged for this info. Some others from our firm have previously ridden on the the River Line and we are currently working to develop a possibly similar system in an area along the California coast.

Yes, the diesel/electric vehicles used on that line are fairly cutting edge, especially in the United States. Among the smoothest and quietest around as I understand. The huge attraction, of course, NO overhead wires or catenaries!

I thought it might be slightly more likely to catch a cab at 8th and Market, but if you go to 15th Street that is probably fine too. You can always walk down to Broad st (what would be 14th St) where there should be plenty

I do the Patco run to the city all the time and hail a cab at 15th and locust if it is raining, rarely have to wait for more than 5-10 mins before one comes along.

They are not particularly quiet. Some have even complained about the noise, but I think it depends on the train car. The one I was on wasn%26#39;t bad. The SEPTA ';heavy'; rail cars are much quieter, and they are 40+ years old. Smooth is a function of the (new) rail.