The red-brick Amtrak station in Harrisburg has beautiful architecture. The front doors open into a large foyer with polished hardwood floors and columns. The light gleaming from gold chandeliers makes the space looks like a ballroom. At one end of the room, a nook holds a newspaper and coffee shop. The ticket window is located at the opposite end of the room. Clean restrooms are nearby.

If you purchase your ticket on the Internet, two Quik Trac machines to print your boarding pass sit in the lobby.

A few metered parking spaces, located in front of the terminal, permit short-term parking. For longer times, follow the sign for LONG TERM Parking and turn right. The parking garage is just around the corner. Parking is $2.50 per hour. Over 6 hours is a flat rate of $16 for the day. The garage closes at 10 or 11pm. For FREE parking, read my Middletown Amtrak Journal.

Only ticketed passengers are permitted to proceed to the gate and platforms.

Street Address: 4th and Chestnut Streets. For directions, check: Mapquest

Station Three Letter Code: HAR

For more information on Ticketing, Station Hours, Baggage, and Schedules, check out: AMTRAK

FRIENDLY REMINDER: PICTURE ID is needed to board all AMTRAK trains. ID’s are often checked on the train, as well as the ticket counter at the current time. Please have your picture ID with you or you will be denied boarding. Students should bring their school ID for half-price fare (under 15 years old).

Description: This location is outdoors, with a cubby for protection from the elements. There are no restrooms. There is a payphone.

Tickets: No window or Quik Trac machines. Tickets must be purchased on the train.

Free Parking in lot, with over 70 spaces.

No platforms or gates.

Street Address: Union and Mill Streets. Follow Amtrak picture signs along the roads leading into Middletown. For directions, check Mapquest

Station Three Letter Code: MID

For more information on ticketing, station hours, baggage, and schedules check this link: AMTRAK

FRIENDLY REMINDER: PICTURE ID is needed to board all AMTRAK trains. IDs are often checked on the train, as well as at the ticket counter at the current time. Please have your picture ID with you or you will be denied boarding. Students should bring their school ID. Children under 15 only pay half.

Recommendation: I highly recommend leaving from this station in central Pennsylvania. The station is not far from downtown Harrisburg, and you will save $16 in parking fees.

Lancaster’s Amtrak Station was built in 1929 on the northern edge of town. The large arched windows let the bright sunshine in the cathedral-like rooms and corridors. Antique wooden benches rest in the main lobby and down the center of the terminal. On the second floor, Lancaster Coffee Express sells drinks to wet your whistle. Buy a danish or piece of fruit to take aboard the train. Tables, soda, and snack machines are also provided. Restrooms are located across from the café.

Tickets: Ticket windows and Quik Trac machines.

Parking is $4 per day.

Non-ticketed passengers may wait down on the platforms with travelers.

Street Address: 53 McGovern Avenue. Follow Amtrak picture signs along all roads leading into the city. For directions, check Mapquest

Station Three Letter Code: LNC

For more information on ticketing, station hours, baggage, and schedules, check this link: AMTRAK.

FRIENDLY REMINDER: PICTURE ID is needed to board all AMTRAK trains. IDs are often checked on the train as well as the ticket counter at the current time. Please have your picture ID with you or you will be denied boarding. Students should bring their school ID. Children under 15 only pay half. Recommendation: If traveling to Philadelphia, perhaps leaving from Lancaster (or east of it) will save on your train ticket VS. When leaving from Harrisburg or Middletown, add on parking costs.

Arrive early if you are boarding the train in Elizabethtown, you’ll want time to explore. Peer through the window panes of the beautiful stone station that remains from another era, when train travel was in its prime. Walk through the tunnel to see the beautiful stone mansion of "Masonic Homes" and gardens sitting high on a hill.

To catch the train, proceed up either the "Trains to Harrisburg" or "Trains to Philadelphia" staircase, depending on whether you’re traveling east or west. The weathered platforms are partly sheltered from the elements.

Tickets: No ticket windows and Quik Trac machines. Tickets must be bought on the train.

FREE Parking

Non-ticketed passengers may wait on the platforms with travelers.

Street Address: Wilson Avenue, Elizabethtown For directions check: Mapquest

Station Three Letter Code: ELT

For more information on ticketing, station hours, baggage, and schedules, check this link: AMTRAK

FRIENDLY REMINDER: PICTURE ID is needed to board all AMTRAK trains. IDs are often checked on the train as well as the ticket counter at the current time. Please have your picture ID with you or you will be denied boarding. Students should bring their school ID. Children under 15 only pay half fare.

Tickets: NO Ticket windows or Quik Trac machines. Tickets must be purchased on the train.

FREE Parking

Non-ticketed passengers may wait down on the platforms with travelers.

Street Address: East Henry and North Market. Follow Amtrak picture signs along all roads leading into the city. For directions check: Mapquest

Station Three Letter Code: MJY

For more information on ticketing, station hours, baggage, and schedules, check this link: AMTRAK

FRIENDLY REMINDER: PICTURE ID is needed to board all AMTRAK trains. ID’s are often checked on the train as well as the ticket counter at the current time. Please have your picture ID with you or you will be denied boarding. Students should bring their school ID. Children under 15 only pay half-fare.

The Ardmore Station is not manned by Amtrak. SEPTA lines running the main line to Philadelphia also use this station. A cubby is provided for shelter. A small newspaper/drink stand is available during daylight hours. Use the tunnel to cross under the rail bed to get to/from Suburban Square. There are eastbound and westbound platforms, so know which side of the track you want to be on.

Tickets: NO Ticket windows (SEPTA only). Quik Trac machines are available Monday through Saturday, except during the lunch hour from noon until 12:45pm. Tickets may also be purchased on the train.

FREE Parking at Suburban Square, right across the street.

Non-ticketed passengers may wait on the platforms with travelers.

Street Address: Station Road and Lancaster Avenue. Follow Amtrak picture signs along all roads leading into the town. For directions check: Mapquest

Station Three Letter Code: ARD

For more information on ticketing, station hours, baggage, and schedules, check this link: AMTRAK

FRIENDLY REMINDER: PICTURE ID is needed to board all AMTRAK trains. ID’s are often checked on the train as well as the ticket counter at the current time. Please have your picture ID with you or you will be denied boarding. Students should bring their school ID. Children under 15 only pay half-fare.