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Announcing Philadelphia Area All Request RailFest 2012


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#1 KevinKorell

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Posted 28 December 2011 - 05:48 PM

OTOL Philadelphia Area All Request RailFest 2012 (PAARRF) can now be announced. It will take place over the weekend of January 28-29, 2012.

Based on the suggestions already received, an itinerary was put together that satisfies most of those suggestions while maximizing the number of activities we can do as well as the number of transit modes we can experience. That itinerary is here.

Here are my current listings of hotels and restaurants near rail stations. You would probably be interested in staying the evenings of Friday, 1/27/12 and Saturday, 1/28/12.

The itinerary includes a quick round trip to Paoli on Amtrak's Keystone service. If you book this ahead of time, keep in mind that that the Paoli ticket office is closed on weekends, along with the Quick-Trak machine. Therefore you may wish to reserve the PHL-PAO round trip on one reservation. Another option would be to book for a weekday around that time, since the tickets are unreserved on this segment of the Keystones. However, since the Keystone is the last activity of the day, some of you may wish to remain on board to continue to other locations. If you travel north/east of Philly, the Keystones do require reservations so you can't plan on picking the ticket up right before departure from Paoli. With AAA or NARP discount, Amtrak fare can be had for under 6 bucks each way between Philly and Paoli.

For SEPTA, I think the easiest fare instrument for us would be the $11 Independence Pass each day. While the cumulative SEPTA rail travel costs each day may not surpass $11, this would avoid the need to pay individual fares for each segment or fish around for change and small bills. This can be purchased at any of the downtown rail stations, or aboard an inbound train if you're heading to the Fest from someplace else. Those who originate in Trenton would pay $16. The Independence Pass, of course, does not cover the Amtrak round trip... but you could elect to pay for Amtrak one way and ride SEPTA in the other with the same pass.

More updates to follow. Please begin to e-mail me whether you can attend one or both days, and a guest list will be put together.


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#2 BillMagee

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Posted 28 December 2011 - 06:17 PM

With regard to the Keystone trip, note that unreserved Keystone tickets for travel on Friday and Sunday are priced higher than other days. If you travel on Sunday, you must have a ticket valid for Sunday travel. If you book in advance, be sure to book for travel on Sunday ($8.00) and not for travel Monday through Thursday and Saturday ($6.50).

#3 KevinKorell

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Posted 28 December 2011 - 06:37 PM

Very true. Bill. The ticket has to be a non-off-peak ticket, so if booking this ticket ahead of time, do it for a preceeding Sunday, but pick it up before that Sunday otherwise you're technically a "no-show". You probably can't do it for a Sunday after the intended day, because the validity date on the ticket will not yet have occurred. That said, I haven't looked at these particular dates lately, but when previously surveying possible dates they were offering some trips on Sunday for the same $6.50 as on weekdays (Mon-Thu). Perhaps the bucket issue is at play here. Or I may have been looking at the 15th, the originally intended day, when it was part of a 3-day holiday weekend.


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#4 jacorbett70

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Posted 08 January 2012 - 09:44 PM


That said, I haven't looked at these particular dates lately, but when previously surveying possible dates they were offering some trips on Sunday for the same $6.50 as on weekdays (Mon-Thu). Perhaps the bucket issue is at play here. Or I may have been looking at the 15th, the originally intended day, when it was part of a 3-day holiday weekend.


The Friday and Sunday blackout periods are only 9AM-7PM boarding times. In comparison the holiday blackouts are all day.

#5 KevinKorell

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Posted 09 January 2012 - 12:16 PM

I expect a slightly smaller group than usual due to the short notice and the different dates, but we have quite a few "yes" votes including a few from the Philly area. I hope to get the initial guest list out by this Wednesday. If you haven't e-mailed me so far but can attend one or both days, please do so within the next couple of days. To keep costs down, my intention now is to stay at hotels in NJ and come in on PATCO or NJT each morning. Remember that both mornings one can start the Fest travels either in Center City or 30th Street Station, as long as we all board the same trains. Same thing goes for wherever you choose to end your day's participation, whether you are staying in town or going home. BTW I reserved and already received by mail my tickets for Paoli. You still have time if you do it soon. It's unreserved, so should anything go wrong with our planned trips, as long as you bought the peak Sunday ticket it can be used anytime for the next year on any Keystone train (not the Pennsylvanian) between the same points. As always with our winter Fests, we're subject to potentially extreme conditions. Should it be too cold or snowy to travel and wait comfortably at outer stations, the itinerary can be amended or shortened. If you plan to join us later in the day it's a good idea to check on our progress and whether we will be going forth with all our plans.


Kevin Korell


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Lakewood, NJ


#6 KevinKorell

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Posted 12 January 2012 - 01:36 PM

Those who haven't yet found the homepage, it's here.

Here is the first edition of the participant list. Very small group, and one I expect may change a bit, but may not be much larger. Everyone's welcome of course, but the tight planning and non-holiday weekend understood. Right now, 50% of the participants are Pennsylvanians.


Kevin Korell


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#7 GG-1

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Posted 12 January 2012 - 08:37 PM

Here is the first edition of the participant list. Very small group,

Aloha

I hope you all have a great time.
Wishing I could join you.
Eric

#8 KevinKorell

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Posted 25 January 2012 - 07:37 PM

Participant list has been updated to add one more name this week. Itinerary has been verified. Luckily there are no changes with the December 18th Regional Rail timetable updates. And the city and suburban transit divisions are still using timetables dated September 4th and August 29th respectively. There are currently no service alerts that should affect us. There appears to be weekend single tracking on the Chestnut Hill East line, but with hourly service there should not be any issues.


Kevin Korell


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#9 KevinKorell

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Posted 26 January 2012 - 01:27 PM

Just found out there's an Auto Show taking place at the Convention Center this weekend through the next. Perhaps this inflated the cost of hotel rooms a bit. This may cause slightly larger crowds at Market East station, but I don't think it should adversely affect us.

http://www.septa.org/events/auto.html

I haven't yet figured out where "Market West" is, but I'll assume it's really the little-used western side of the Market East station.


Kevin Korell


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#10 KevinKorell

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Posted 26 January 2012 - 01:55 PM

Surprised none of the Philadelphians called me out on this, but I had the transfer point between the #11 trolley and Broad Street Line at 13th & Market. It's the 15th & Market station that is tied into BSL's City Hall station by the free transfer. So we'll get off the #11 one stop sooner. Of course with passes it doesn't really matter, but it's probably quicker to use the free transfer provided rather than leaving and re-entering the system. Itinerary was updated for 15th Street.


Kevin Korell


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