I’m trying to help Mrs. Slant with a trip that goes through NYC.
She needs to go from Yorktown Heights to JFK Airport.
She knows she can use the ‘Metro North’ green rail line to get to Grand Central Station.
She’s trying to figure out how to get to JFK once she gets to Grand Central.
The NYC subway maps she’s consulting show clearly that the subway’s ‘blue line’ takes her where she needs to go, but she can’t figure out how to make it there from Grand Central Station.
I’ve been looking over this with her, and I can’t figure out where the subway system and Grand Central come closest to intersecting.
How do we get from Grand Central Station to JFK?
If the subway is the wrong solution for this, feel free to let me know.
Get out on the west side of Grand Central and head for the F or V train at Bryant Park, then take that to the Jackson Hts stop and transfer to an E that’s going all the way to JFK’s Skytrain (ie. Jamaica Center).
Or she can hop on the ‘shuttle’ or the 7 train west to Times Square, then walk underground to the 42nd St. stop on the E train, but that’s about a mile of walking.
Least walking? Probably to get on a 4 5 or 6 heading south to 14th St, then transfer to an R heading north, then transfer at Queens Plaza to the aforementioned E.
hopstop.com can probably give you more alternatives.
There are two ways to do this. The first is to take a NY Airport Service bus from just outside Grand Central to JFK. This may be the easiest, perhaps the fastest, and at $15, only a few bucks more than spending $2 on the subway and $5 on the AirTrain.
If you want to take the Subway, take the 6 train from Grand Central one stop Uptown to 51st Street. From there, transfer to a Queensbound E train to Sutphin Avenue/Jamaica. At Jamaica, transfer the AirTrain to your terminal.
I thought of that, but the 51st street transfer is a mess of stairs, turnabouts, escalators, and all in it’s about a 4 block walk. 6 if you make a wrong turn. Not the friendliest transfer point in the system.
What you do then is tie some shoe strings together and lasso in one of the rats running around on the tracks after the 6 train leaves. This should only take a few minutes.
Run to the mouth of the tunnel towards the IND trains, rapidly whirl the rat around in the air a few times to get it disoriented, then set it down.
After it recovers it will instinctively seek out the lowest point that leads underground. Since the IND trains are the deepest level, it will pull the confused traveler in the right direction. Careful, the rat cannot hold on to the escalator rail, so you will have to take the (very long flight of) stairs.
Once you’ve reached the bottom level of the station, untie the rat and let it go, and pick the side of the platform that says it’s going to Queens.
Seriously though, there’s a very easy way to remember how to get from the Uptown 6 train to the IND (E/F/V) trains: get off the 6 and walk to the front of the platform (in the direction the train is traveling). There is an underground walkway that heads off to the right with signage about the E/F/V trains. Take the walkway until it leads to the top of some very long escalators, which is where you will end up as long as you do not walk through any turnstiles to exit the subway. Take the escalators down. The Queens-bound trains are on your right.
ETA: I second the suggestion that taking the airport bus from Grand Central is probably the easiest way for someone who is looking at an NYC subway map for the first time, and referring to lines by color.
There’s a better way to go. It costs somewhat more but it takes much less time.
Namely, the Long Island Railroad to Jamaica Station, where it joins with AirTrain. It’s 0-3 stops from Penn Station to Jamaica (depending on the exact time you get on it). AirTrain shuttles between Jamaica and JFK on dedicated track with no stops between. The LIRR would cost around $3-5, and I believe the Airtrain is also about $5. In addition to being faster, LIRR is much more comfortable. The seats are like traincar seats and there are bathrooms every couple of cars. Conductors are in every other car to answer questions (they also take tickets).
The “S” Subway line connects Grand Central and 42 St/Times Square. From 42nd/Times Square you can either take the 1/2/3 (“Red line”) 1 stop in the downtown direction to 34th/St Penn Station (the LIRR is in Penn Station). Or, depending on the luggage situation, you can walk the 8 blocks straight down 7th Avenue in 5-10 minutes.
Schedules, fare information, and system maps are available at
Indeed, one might even describe the experience as railroad-like.
I, too, recommend the LIRR route, especially if you have heavy baggage. The trip to Penn from Grand Central by subway takes 10 or 15 minutes, but it would probably be easier to take a cab.
BTW, taking a cab from Grand Central directly to JFK will run you $40 or so. Not a bad deal, IMHO.
Best depends on how much stuff you will be lugging and what time you will be traveling. The NYC subway system is not a good place for travelers with lots of luggage, nor is it ‘tourist’-friendly during peak hours. Bus or cab, depending on your budget, is much better.
If traveling light and off-hours, the 6 to the E to the Air Tran is the quickest and cheapest, and the walk (from 51st Street to 53rd Street isn’t bad - probably no worse than the transfer from Metro-North to the 6 train, and personally I find Grand Central more confusing (and I’m a lifelong native). The exit to the E is at the front of the 6 train, is well marked, and there will always be people walking the route. Just remember not to go through any turnstiles once you are on the subway (a common tourist mistake) until you are leaving for good. I would avoid the LIRR as Grand Central to Penn Station is either two trains or a slow (but not long) cab ride. Not much need to check the schedules - Jamaica is a major hub and lots of trains run there throughout most of the day. Even so, the E is more frequent and just as fast (it is express through Queens).
So, if traveling by subway from Grand Central:
6 Uptown one stop to 51st Street
Transfer to Queens-bound E
E about 6 or 7 stops to Sutphin Blvd
Transfer to Air Tran (additional cost)
Air Tran to JFK
(which is exactly what Billdo said, just laid out as steps)
And if you are traveling in the next 15 minutes, look for the guy in the charcoal pinstripe suit and yellow tie and wave to a fellow doper
Thanks everyone!
She was quite happy with your help.
And, D_Odds, actually she’ll be coming through… Friday night, so she missed your charcoal pinstripe suit…
