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So I am thinking of heading to Baltimore, and it is cheaper and a direct flight for me to go to Regan National (DCA) then to fly to BMI (Besides, who flies BMI if they can avoid it?). So of course, I say Amtrak, take the Acela or Regional. But what is the best way to get from DCA to Union Station? Or, is there another station that would be better to go to?
National Airport (DCA) has a Washington Metro subway station (although the line is above ground at DCA)served by the Yellow and Blue lines.
You have two choices really -
1)Take a yellow or blue line train outbound to the King Street Metro Station. It's a ride of about 8 minutes. This station is adjacent to the Alexandria, VA Amtrak station where you can catch the Crescent, Cardinal, Silver Service, or any regional train from Newport News or Richmond to Baltimore. You'll have to go downstairs to street level and walk under both the metro and CSX lines to reach a stairway to the Amtrak station but it's all right there.
2) Take a yellow line train inbound to the Gallery Place/Chinatown station and change to a Glenmont bound red line train. Union Station is just two stops from Gallery Place on the Red Line. From Union Station almost any train will get you to Baltimore. If it's a weekday you could save a few dollars by riding the MARC commuter train.
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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Correct airport code for Friendship International Airport at Baltimore is BWI vice BMI
Posts: 9975 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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To add to the above: There is or was a dedicated shuttle bus from the front of the terminals at DCA to the WMATA station. It is not that far a walk unless you have a lot of luggage to lug. In fact, a lot of the parking spaces are further from the terminals that the station.
To add to Mr. Norman's comment on airport codes, a mistake there can have interesting results. My favorite example is MEM versus MFM. Only one stroke difference, but: MEM is Memphis, Tennessee MFM is Macau, China (former Portugese colony opposite Hong Kong)
Posts: 2808 | From: Olive Branch MS | Registered: Nov 2002
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I constantly see dedicated this or that and I realize I am not really sure of the exact meaning. Would someone please explain. This seems to be relatively new or maybe I have not been aware of its frequent use. Does anyone know of its background? Thanks
Posts: 1577 | From: virginia | Registered: Jun 2005
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Mr. Norman , were you aware that the name of BWI has been changed to Thurgood Marshall? They never use the name Friendship here any more. Actually the weathercasters say,"Baltimore Washington Thurgood Marshall Airport" which seems quite a mouthful.
Posts: 1577 | From: virginia | Registered: Jun 2005
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National Airport (DCA) has a Washington Metro subway station (although the line is above ground at DCA)served by the Yellow and Blue lines.
You have two choices really -
1)Take a yellow or blue line train outbound to the King Street Metro Station. It's a ride of about 8 minutes. This station is adjacent to the Alexandria, VA Amtrak station where you can catch the Crescent, Cardinal, Silver Service, or any regional train from Newport News or Richmond to Baltimore. You'll have to go downstairs to street level and walk under both the metro and CSX lines to reach a stairway to the Amtrak station but it's all right there.
2) Take a yellow line train inbound to the Gallery Place/Chinatown station and change to a Glenmont bound red line train. Union Station is just two stops from Gallery Place on the Red Line. From Union Station almost any train will get you to Baltimore. If it's a weekday you could save a few dollars by riding the MARC commuter train.
Except Mr. Merl is trying to get from National to Union Station, not Baltimore. Unfortunately your best bet is the Yellow Line to the Red line as Mr. Presley indicated. Northbound long-distance trains won't pick you up at Alexandria and let you ride to Union Station (doubtful you'd be able to do that even to Baltimore, unless Alexandria isn't a drop-off-only stop), the Regionals from points south seem to run pretty infrequently (at least once every two hours, if less often), and the VRE only runs northbound trains on weekdays during the morning rush hour.
Posts: 76 | Registered: Jul 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Big Merl: So I am thinking of heading to Baltimore, and it is cheaper and a direct flight for me to go to Regan National (DCA) then to fly to BMI
Abe - I CANNOT see any of your posts without thinking of 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' but that's an issue I'll work on! Actually Merl is thinking about "heading to Baltimore" and stated (above) that he is finding cheaper airfare to National Airport than he is to BWI. He was looking for a way to get to Union Station where he could catch a train to Baltimore. That's why I saw getting to the Alexandria King Street Station (where the northbound trains will receive passengers for points north of DC) as an option that would allow him to reach Amtrak without having to change metro trains. Admittedly, most people who read this board are savvy enough to not be intimidated by simply changing subway trains.
Train Lady - I notice that the new Marc timetables effective October 30 list the Thurgood Marshall BWI Airport Rail Station or somethingt like that. THAT's alot of extra ink.
-------------------- David Pressley
Advocating for passenger trains since 1973!
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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quote:Actually Merl is thinking about "heading to Baltimore" and stated (above) that he is finding cheaper airfare to National Airport than he is to BWI. He was looking for a way to get to Union Station where he could catch a train to Baltimore. That's why I saw getting to the Alexandria King Street Station (where the northbound trains will receive passengers for points north of DC) as an option that would allow him to reach Amtrak without having to change metro trains. Admittedly, most people who read this board are savvy enough to not be intimidated by simply changing subway trains.
Ah - frankly, if I were Merl, I'd wait to decide on whether the side trip to Charm City were happening for sure. Much, much easier to get to Baltimore from BWI (in five years in DC, I never heard anyone call it by its new, full name, nor did I hear anyone besides tourists call it "Reagan" or "Reagan National," but that's a can of worms I'm not opening), since you have one Regional, one Acela Express and at least one (two or three) MARC trains per hour, plus the light rail that picks you up right at the international pier.
Posts: 76 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Mr. Froman, On the news programs the weather people refer to the airports in a variety of ways from the full name to the shortest . I suspect it depends on how much time they have. Those of us who live in the area still refer to them as National or BWI. If someone wants to bbject that's their problem
Posts: 1577 | From: virginia | Registered: Jun 2005
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Boy, am I glad I usually only have to deal with LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) with the Tom Bradley International Terminal. (The "X", by the way, doesn't mean anything. It's just a placeholder to create a three letter code.)
DCA is, in it's full version, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. As a friend says, "The only airport named after two presidents".
To keep this sort of on topic, they are, once again, looking at extending the Green Line into LAX.
BTW, I've never had any difficulty making it to the Metro at DCA from any of the terminals with a rollaboard and tote. Anything more than that might be a struggle both getting there and on the train.
Frank in, yep, sunny SBA. (An easy one for Santa Barbara Airport AKA Santa Barbara-Goleta Municipal Airport.)
Posts: 2160 | From: Santa Barbara, CA, USA | Registered: Oct 2003
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[/QUOTE]Ah - frankly, if I were Merl, I'd wait to decide on whether the side trip to Charm City were happening for sure. Much, much easier to get to Baltimore from BWI[/QB][/QUOTE]
I'm actually flying out from BWI in three weeks or so and agree with you. However, coming out of North Carolina Airtran offers cheap non-stop flights in and out of BWI. If the cheap non-stop flights suddenly started going to National my travel pattern would shift accordingly.
And if the cheap, non-stop flights ceased altogether, I'd drive myself or consider the Carolinian.....but not if I had an appointment to keep on the arrival end.
-------------------- David Pressley
Advocating for passenger trains since 1973!
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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Thank you everyone. I also humbly apologize for the mess up on the airport code there. That one and MCI I always mess up. I think it definitely sounds like a non-headache experience, so I probably will book the trip for the spring. Thank you so much! )
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(Besides, who flies BMI if they can avoid it?).
(BWI) I think know adays flying into smaller airports is a better option.
Never heard of Balt Wash Intnl ever being refered to as "Friendship" Thurgood Marshall gives it more statues. Its hard to get the public to refer to a new name to a structure that has been standing for years. People are just begining to refer to Washington National as Reagan National, Anyone refer to Newark (EWR)as Liberty? wonder how long it took Kennedy to stop being refered to as Idlwild? one of the few code changes allowed www.skygod.com/asstd/abc.html
Course these name changes can't compare to sports areana's I still call it New Cominsky and Candlestick Park,, oh heck when I see St Louis v. Baltimore I'm still thinking Cardinals v Colts, when I see Cardinals v Rams I'm thinking St Louis v Los Angelas. And to me the (Metro North) New Haven Line, is still the New Haven Railroad.
Posts: 516 | From: New Haven, CT USA | Registered: Feb 2005
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Tanner, BWI has been called Friendship for a number of years. Also around here the "locals" still call it National even so on the news. There was a lot of bad feelings when the Republicans forced the name on us and then tried to make us change,at our expense, the signs on the Metro. Since I don't ride the Metro I do not know if they were ever changed. When Bob Barr from Ga. tried to force the officials to change the signs or have funds denied to Metro someone said that they would push for changing the name of Atlanta's airport to Carter National. That ended the debate and Mr. Barr is no longer a member of Congress so I have not heard anything since.
Posts: 1577 | From: virginia | Registered: Jun 2005
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According to the websites of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority & of BWI, the correct names (lengthy tho they are) are- Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI).
A couple of interesting (?) items on the Metro. website. First, Southwest Airlines began serving IAD on 10/05/06. Also Southwest announces that both houses of Congress have passed a repeal of the Wright Amendment which for years has restricted SWA from scheduling flights out of Dallas Love Field beyond the states bordering Texas. SWA says that when the bill is signed into law, thru ticketing on some flights will begin immediately with all the Wright Amendment restrictions to be phased out over an 8 year period.
Posts: 73 | Registered: Aug 2006
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