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For speed, consider taking the car.
But for the light-luggage toting air traveler looking for a modern ride removed from the stresses of the roadway, AirTrain may be the way to go.
Yesterday afternoon, on the launch day of the 8.1-mile rail system to Kennedy Airport, two reporters set off from Huntington train station - one in a 2003 Ford Focus, the other on the Long Island Rail Road - to compare commutes.
The criteria: cost, speed, comfort and convenience.
The destination: the Continental Airlines ticket counter at Terminal 4.
The LIRR train pulled away at 1:05 p.m. bound for Jamaica, one of two connector stations to AirTrain. (The other station is Howard Beach.) At that moment, the Focus drove off, maneuvering through heavy traffic toward Northern State Parkway.
On the off-peak, 50-minute LIRR ride, whose ticket cost $5.25 if purchased ahead, passengers with full-size suitcases sat comfortably. Still, a conductor lamented that air travelers will make it even more crowded during rush hour. "People are going to be climbing all over their luggage," he said. "It'll get interesting."
For Al Ferrara, a partner at a Melville accounting firm who was on the train, the "train to the plane" means saving cab fare and avoiding unpredictable traffic. "For the light business traveler with one briefcase, it's going to be a cinch," said Ferrara, 53, sipping coffee.
It wasn't so relaxing on the road.
After 16 traffic lights and a swerving sport utility vehicle, the reporter in the car reached the highway in 10 minutes. There, traffic flowed at a smooth 55 mph, but the rain brought on...