How to best transport 3 heavy suitcases to Manhattan from Raritan, NJ?

Question

Daughter is going to college in NY.  Husband, myself and daughter must transport 3 heavy suitcases to Manhattan at the end of August.
We know nothing of public transportation here or in New York.
We did visit the residence hall by taking the Raritan Train into Newark, changing trains, which took us to Penn Station and we then took a taxi to the school's residence hall.  We did not take a subway  because we do not understand the subway system at all & because I am disabled and not good on stairs.
But I saw NO ONE with luggage on the train going from Raritan to Newark, NO ONE with luggage on the train going from Newark to Penn Station.    How are the three of us going to transport 3 large suitcases via train?
I tried looking up bus routes but was very confused.  A bus does go from the mall in Bridgewater to another location, where we would have to switch buses.  But do those buses store luggage?  The website doesn't say. (NJtransit.com).  That bus would take us to 42nd street.  We couldn't walk to 23rd street with those heavy cases, and I cannot maneuver the subways.
None of us are skilled enough or have nerves of steel enough to attempt to drive by car into Manhattan.

I am at a loss.  What do we do?  Serious recommendations, please.

Native New Yorker · Accepted Answer

Autumn, the best way to transport 3 heavy suitcases from Raritan to NYC will be by taking the train. All NJ Transit commuter trains, including those on the Raritan Valley Line have luggage racks above the seats, where the suitcases can be stored away from the allies.

Now, since you going to 23rd Street, I'm assuming you're all going to FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology), the best way to get from Penn Station New York to 23rd Street will by taxi. A one way fare should cost anywhere between $4 to $8.

I hope this information is very helpful.

Good luck

Travel Writer from NYC · Answer

I lived in Bridgewater for a number of years and used the Raritan Valley Line faithfully.  Yes you CAN take luggage on NJ Transit.  People do it all the time.

Usually people with luggage sit in the first seats (right by the door) so they have enough room for them and their luggage.  If the bags are heavy, don't attempt putting them up on the over-head rack or you could risk hurting yourself (such as back strain).

Once you are in Penn (New York, not Newark) what you want to do is go out the 7th Avenue exit.  Simply take the escalator up to the side walk and turn LEFT.  You will see a taxi stand there, and, there is almost always someone there directing you to the cabs.  This is best, safest, and, easiest way to transport your luggage.  (The taxi will open his or her trunk or if you get lucky you might get one of the mini vans)

I would not even attempt a city bus or subway with these items in tow!

Good luck!

Anonymous · Answer

UPS!

Instead of using suitcases, pack it all into boxes and send it to the address via UPS, after first making sure, of course, that there will be someone there who can receive it when the boxes arrive in New York City.

Other than that, you wrote: "None of us are skilled enough or have nerves of steel enough to attempt to drive by car into Manhattan."

Actually, that's where you're wrong! Despite its reputation as having aggressive drivers, in actual fact, if you are a reasonable regular person it's no big deal to drive into New York City, especially if you're just going in one time to drop off a few suitcases and are travelling during off-peak non-rush-hour hours.

So, for example, take a deep breath and drive in on an EARLY Sunday morning, like, at daybreak, and you will be surprised, amazed even, at how few cars are on the road and how easy it is at that hour.

Seriously, go for it, it is NOT bad at all at off-peak hours, on a weekend, especially!!

Good luck, and the link below is to a map of the route, with turn-by-turn directions, too, so go for it, you CAN do it!!

? · Answer

Stuff that I bought from the debit card I found. Here's some of the stuff I got: Yemen coffee which is not perishable, some unknown brown substance and a perfume spraying snow globe. I got some really good tasting lasagna too. Oh and I bought this suitcase with that debit card too.

How to best transport 3 heavy suitcases to Manhattan from Raritan, NJ?

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