A great example of how rail can make another mode even better.  A bit puzzling that they left out St. Louis and their light rail connection.  Still, an impressive list.

 

The top 10 easiest U.S. airports to get to

Boston, D.C., other places to skip the cab lines, traffic and high fares

By George Hobica

Aviation.com

Updated: 6:37 p.m. ET Sept 6, 2007

 

Some airports, like Denver's, aren't known for easy and cheap public transportation to the city center. But, in Airfarewatchdog.com's experience, these 10 U.S. airports make it easy to skip cab lines, traffic and high fares.

 

Boston Logan: The Silver Line Rapid Transit Bus Service (SL1) will take you from Boston's Logan Airport straight to South Station, which is Boston's central transportation hub. There are also shuttle buses to/from the Blue Line subway train to each airport terminal.

 

Washington Reagan National: The Washington D.C. Metrorail stops at the B and C terminals in this airport. From Terminal A, you can take a short bus ride to Terminal B or C to get on the train.

 

San Francisco International: Hop on the Airtran at any terminal, for no cost, and get off at the Garage G/BART station stop. From there you can access the Bay Area Rapid Transit (San Francisco's train system).

 

New York John F. Kennedy: You can get on the Airtrain for $5 at each terminal, and access the New York City Transit Authority subway or the Long Island Railroad. Get off at Airtrain's Howard Beach exit for transfer to the A subway train, or at Jamaica Station for transfer to the E, J and Z subway trains and the Long Island Railroad.

 

Minneapolis-St.Paul International: The light rail trains stop at the Lindbergh terminal, then proceeds to key locations such as the Mall of America and downtown Minneapolis. From the Humphrey terminal, there is a shuttle bus to the Lindbergh terminal. However, the airport hopes to have light rail service to both terminals by Autumn 2007.

 

Chicago O'Hare: The Airport Transit System (ATS) is a free train that connects all terminals to a Metra subway/train station. You can take the Metra to numerous locations in downtown Chicago.

 

Philadelphia International: The SEPTA (Philadelphia's public transit system) connects directly to all terminals in this airport. You can hop on to the R1 high-speed rail line, which goes straight into downtown Philadelphia and other transportation hubs.

 

Portland International: Portland's MAX light rail stops at the airport's central baggage claim. It's the last stop on the red line, which goes to downtown Portland and the City Center.

 

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International: MARTA (Atlanta's train system) stops at the airport's baggage claim area. This service will take you to downtown Atlanta within 20 minutes.

 

Baltimore/Washington International: A free shuttle will take you from the terminals to the BWI Rail Station. From there, you can take the Maryland Rail Commuter Service (MARC) to either Penn Station in Baltimore or Union Station in Washington D.C.

 

 

© 2007 Imaginova Corp.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20630299/

 

 

Or Cleveland Hopkins. Not only does it have rail transit service direct to downtown from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m., but it also has bus service to downtown during the overnight hours on the #22 route.

I'm a little surprised by some of these airports. Chicago? The traffic is horrible and the train ride is very long.

Same deal with JFK, which requires a transfer, and thus is also a long ride to Manhattan.

No CVG...bah!  This list is bunk!  :-D

I'll say one thing Hopkins has going for it - the train station is soooo close to where you need to go. Other airports require one h#ll of a schlep (*cough*Midway*cough*) which isn't exactly ideal with an oversized bag full of shopping finds.

Yeah, I know we all like to bitch and moan about lists, but this one has zero credibility if it really thinks JFK as easier to get to than Hopkins.  Should have been called "10 Airports at popular destinations which you can access by rail with fewer than three transfers".

Judging by a lot of the airports listed I feel it should be titled "Easiest airports to get to then be delayed for several hours"

No kidding StrapHangar!  While the ride in from MDW is quick, it's a  pain walking to/from the terminal and if you're not familar with the airport, you can easily get lost!  It is, however, better now that it was a few years ago.  The blue line to ORD is horribly long and if you're not in the United Terminal, it's a long walk to the station too!  None of my friends at school take the CTA to the airports (esp. ORD!!!) unless absolutely necessary.

 

Geez.

 

"Cleveland, America's best kept secret!" btw. I have that book!

I went in with the thought that if JFK was on that list, I was discounting the whole thing.  The trip from JFK to anywhere takes forever!  And it ain't cheap unless you decide to just take the subway... and then it's a really long time.

 

CLE being left off this list is ridiculous, especially considering that it boasts the first airport to downtown rail link in the nation (correct?).

^Western hemisphere :-)

I went in with the thought that if JFK was on that list, I was discounting the whole thing.  The trip from JFK to anywhere takes forever!  And it ain't cheap unless you decide to just take the subway... and then it's a really long time.

 

CLE being left off this list is ridiculous, especially considering that it boasts the first airport to downtown rail link in the nation (correct?).

 

Correct, CLE was the first.

 

And if you take the train from JFK into Manhattan you better have a lot of time because it's gonna take awhile..

I'll say one thing Hopkins has going for it - the train station is soooo close to where you need to go. Other airports require one h#ll of a schlep (*cough*Midway*cough*) which isn't exactly ideal with an oversized bag full of shopping finds.

 

In a way, I really like going though Midway. Every time I've successfully made it to the train from the terminal, with the ridiculous amount of twists and turns and poor directional signs, I feel like I've accomplished something! :-D

^Try it when you're toting a suitcase that routinely gets the "Heavy" sticker slapped on it by the baggage handlers, along with a carry-on and a camera bag. :-P

And, actually, Cleveland Municipal Airport (later called Hopkins) was served by the Cleveland Southwestern interurban. It had electrically powered trains on several routes, one of which went from Cleveland to Medina and beyond via a stop at the airport (starting in 1925 when the airport was opened). From the airport to downtown, it ran as a streetcar on Rocky River Drive to Kamms Corners, then east to downtown on Lorain Avenue.

 

After the Cleveland Southwestern terminated all service in 1931, the airport to downtown leg was operated by the #20 Cleveland Railway streetcar line on Lorain and Rocky River Drive. The route was cut back to Puritas in 1937 due to a lack of ridership with connecting buses to Berea maintaining transit service to the airport. So, from 1937 to 1968, Cleveland had no rail transit service between downtown and the airport.

 

But other cities in the 1920s and 1930s had rail transit between their airports and downtown (Pittsburgh-Allegheny County Airport, Cincinnati Lunken Airport, etc.). And Columbus had railroad passenger service between Port Columbus Airport and downtown's Columbus Union Station on the Pennsylvania RR between the East Coast and the Midwest.

Let's just become our own country!