I don't always ride the train, but when I do I expect it to run like clockwork

After a whirlwind weekend in New York, it was time to head down to Philadelphia to see my best friend, Michaela and her family (and meet Everett, her 2 month old baby).

Although getting to Greg's house had taken four hours from the airport, it was very orderly. There were signs directing me to the right places to go, easy to purchase tickets to the trains and subway, and once at Grand Central, I bought my ticket and then asked a staff person which track I needed to go to - and he knew a half hour before the train even left. I should mention that Grand Central Terminal has over 100 tracks, but I became accustomed to everything being a well-oiled machine.

Cut to getting from Grand Central Terminal this Monday, to Penn Station (by subway) to hop on the NJ Transit and the experience wasn't quite the same. I had to go to a ticket window to purchase my ticket from a person, not a machine (I am not complaining about that) and then asked the ticket agent which train I was getting on (I had a transfer in Trenton). He pointed to three trains on the screen and said I could get on any of them when they arrived. Each train had a projected arrival time (ranging from 5 - 40 minutes from the current time I purchased my ticket) but none of them had been assigned a track. Turns out with NJ Transit you stand around glued to the arrival timetables and wait for a track to be assigned. This assignment generally occurs at or slightly after the listed arrival time, and 60 people all rush/herd towards the arrival gate. How are these trains not more closely timed and planned for? I will say several trains were delayed or cancelled (due to the snow from the night before) but you would think with so many daily trains they could at least reliably predict the track a train would arrive on - especially when most of the tracks seem empty most of the time.

I stepped above ground for a moment at Penn Station and what do you know, I was at 34th street. Had I not had my suitcase perhaps I would have gone shopping.

Once I got on my train, it was smooth sailing..er...riding. I got to Philadelphia around 12:30 pm and Michaela picked me up from the train station and headed back to her house in New Jersey.