MANASSAS, Va. — They stood on the platform waiting for the 10:19 a.m. Northeast Regional.
Holiday travelers headed north by way of Amtrak filled the platform at the Manassas Train Station. Family and friends hugged each other while anxiously awaiting their ride, and they talked about the new memories made this Christmas.
“We drove through Old Town Manassas, and it was beautiful, and then we went to Reston Town Center, ate at Clyde’s, and we played Top Golf,” said Joan Morin, who is traveling home to New Haven, Conn.
Morin was traveling with her new buddy, a 7-year-old Pomeranian named Summer who was born and bread in Manassas by her sister, Dorothy.
After Joanne and Glenn Jantzen’s daughter, Diane moved to Bristow with her husband, both Long Island, N.Y. residents now take the train to visit. For them, it’s an alternative to flying.
“The train sure beats JFK,” said Glenn Jantzen.
And the roads, too, travelers said.
“It takes about the same amount of time to take the train as it does to drive, but it’s a less-stressful trip on the train, without the white knuckles you get with driving,” said one traveler who did not want to give her name.
The trip from Long Island to Manassas takes about nine hours by train or car. By car, it takes the couple about two hours to cross New York City to Interstate 95 in New Jersey, the infamous New Jersey Turnpike.
John Co, of Vietnam, spent his Christmas in Manassas visiting friends, playing games, and watching television. On Tuesday, Co said he was taking the train to spend the day in Washington, D.C.
Co plans to stay in the region through summertime.
