New York City to the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple by train

Rail service between New York and Philadelphia is provided by three companies:

• Amtrak, the national passenger railroad, provides direct service.
• NJ Transit provides service from New York to Trenton, New Jersey. There you can connect to a train operated by SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) the rest of the way to Center City Philadelphia.

Learn more about the differences between these options under “Comparing train providers” below.

Amtrak ticket pricing is similar to airline ticket pricing: fares vary by train and how far in advance you book your ticket. Trains at busier times of day fill up faster and often have higher ticket prices. Most trains also have two levels of service — similar to economy and business on a plane — which also vary in price. In fall 2023, Amtrak adjusted its pricing structure, resulting in lower ticket costs for many of its trains in the Northeast than you may have been accustomed to in the past.

NJ Transit and SEPTA trains have the same fare at all times on all days. Currently the one-way cost is $26.75 for an adult: $16.75 for the NJ Transit portion of the trip and $10.00 for the SEPTA portion.

Amtrak and NJ Transit both have apps you can use to purchase your tickets and to display them to the conductor on board the train. You can also book your travel in advance through the Amtrak website and then display your ticket through the Amtrak app or as a PDF on your smartphone.

Amtrak app: iOS | Android
NJ Transit app: iOS | Android

If you prefer paper tickets, both Amtrak and NJ Transit have ticket offices and digital kiosks at New York Penn Station where you can buy tickets or, for Amtrak, collect tickets you booked in advance through the website.

NJ Transit tickets, both on the app and on paper, are valid for both the NJ Transit and SEPTA portions of your trip. (If you buy a paper NJ Transit ticket, you may want to buy a roundtrip ticket for both your trip to Philadelphia and your return.)

New York

Both Amtrak and NJ Transit operate out of New York Penn Station.

• Amtrak now operates mostly out of Moynihan Train Hall, which is near Eighth Avenue between 31st and 33rd streets and closest to the 34th Street–Penn Station stop on the A/C/E trains.
• The NJ Transit concourse is on the opposite end of Penn Station, near Seventh Avenue and closest to the 34th Street–Penn Station stop on the 1/2/3 trains. (It is also one block west of the B/D/F/M/N/Q/R/W trains at 34th Street–Herald Square.) The best entrances to use from street level are the NJ Transit entrance at Seventh Avenue and 31st Street and the main Penn Station entrance at Seventh Avenue and 32nd Street.

Philadelphia

• 30th Street Station, formally named the William H. Gray III 30th Street Station, is Philadelphia’s main train station and is served by both Amtrak and SEPTA. It is about a mile from the temple, or a 21-minute walk.
• Suburban Station is closer to the center of Philadelphia. It is served only by SEPTA trains and is about half a mile from the temple, or a 10-minute walk.

Walking directions from 30th Street Station and Suburban Station to the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple

Trenton, New Jersey

If you use NJ Transit and SEPTA between New York and Philadelphia, you’ll need to transfer at Trenton (officially called Trenton Transit Center). Most NJ Transit trains from New York — for which Trenton is the last stop — arrive on track 5, and most SEPTA trains to Philadelphia leave from track 7, right across the same platform. (There is no track 6.) There are, however, occasional service changes, so be sure to check departure boards in the station for the right track number.

If you use Amtrak, there is no need to change trains at Trenton.

Yes, almost all trains between New York and Philadelphia stop at stations between the two cities. For example, SEPTA trains run local, making all stops between Trenton and Center City Philadelphia. NJ Transit trains usually run local, though some trains offer express service. Amtrak trains make the fewest number of stops, with one Acela train on weekdays making no stops between New York and Philadelphia.

For information on the stops each train makes, check out schedules on the websites for NJ Transit and SEPTA or look at transit directions on Google Maps and other services.

No. Amtrak tickets are not valid on NJ Transit and SEPTA (with one exception — see “How do I connect to Suburban Station from Amtrak?” below). Likewise, NJ Transit tickets are not valid on Amtrak. If you are using NJ Transit and SEPTA to travel between New York and Philadelphia, make sure the train you board when you switch in Trenton is an NJ Transit or SEPTA train and not an Amtrak train. (The trains are clearly marked on the outside with the companies’ names and logos, and screens on the platforms themselves show the operator for each train.)

While NJ Transit and SEPTA tickets can be used for any train run by those agencies between the cities shown on your ticket, Amtrak tickets are for a specific train at a particular time and with a particular train number. If you need to change the time of your Amtrak train, you will need to contact Amtrak customer service to change your ticket. As with changing an airline ticket, you may have to pay a change fee as well as the difference in fare.

In addition to Regional Rail, SEPTA also operates subways, buses, and trolleys in Philadelphia. Between the train stations in Center City Philadelphia and the temple, the best transit option is the bus. SEPTA fare information is available here. There are multiple ways to pay, but the simplest for most people will be to tap a contactless credit or debit card or smartphone as you board the bus or trolley or go through subway turnstiles, similar to the OMNY system in New York.

As noted elsewhere, Suburban Station is about half the distance to the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple as 30th Street Station (½ mile versus 1 mile). Amtrak passengers arriving at 30th Street Station can use their Amtrak ticket to take SEPTA Regional Rail to Suburban Station. Trains run every few minutes throughout the day and the trip takes about 5 minutes. When you reach 30th Street Station’s main concourse after exiting your Amtrak train, follow the signs to the SEPTA Regional Rail concourse (not signs to the subway, buses, or trolleys). Look at departure boards on the Regional Rail concourse to see which track the next train to Suburban Station will be leaving from.

SEPTA states:

“Amtrak paper tickets and e-Tickets, purchased for the same date of travel and presented for inspection, will be accepted as a fare to ride on Regional Rail trains between William H. Gray III 30th Street Station and Jefferson Station.

“Customers with e-Ticket confirmations should present their personal device (iPad, laptop computer, smart phone, etc.) to the barcode reader located at the Wheelchair Accessible gate and to the conductor on the train for visual confirmation of the Amtrak fare.”