Amtrak Downeaster Discussion Thread

[MEC407]

Good question. I'm not sure of the answer, but even if he's able to somehow wiggle out of the O.U.I. charge, they could still charge him with criminal trespass (for being on the railroad tracks), and possibly they could also charge him with "driving to endanger," since he put everyone on the train at risk.

[fl9m2004]

Wonder if 406 will make its second appearance on the doweaster this year

[MEC407]

Apparently the Downeaster will be operating all the way to Boston this Sunday, according to a tweet from NNEPRA this morning:

Updated Service Alert: The Amtrak Downeaster will operate to/ from Woburn and Boston on Sunday, September 15th.

I assume they'll still be terminating in Haverhill on Saturday, though.

I wonder if people who already purchased a $5 ticket for Sunday will be allowed to continue on to Boston at no charge, or if they'll have to pay extra, or if they'll have to cancel their $5 ticket and buy a new ticket at regular price...?

[MEC407]

I took 694 to Haverhill yesterday, and despite the "so low you can't afford NOT to do it" $5 fare, the train was rather sparsely populated.

We set out to find the Tap Brewing Company and The Lasting Room, both establishments recommended by participants in this thread, but were surprised to see that both were closed. We continued along Washington Street and observed a lot of other places that were closed as well, which seemed odd for 3pm on a Saturday. The number of vacant storefronts and "sorry, we've gone out of business" signs was disappointing.

We finally settled on The Barking Dog Ale House. Their beer list is about a mile long, and they have a large number of excellent Maine craft brews which made me feel right at home. I ordered the Italian turkey sub, which was fantastic, and my dining/traveling companion ordered the kielbasa mac & cheese (and was VERY happy with it). We both had pints of the Berkshire Brewing Company Coffeehouse Porter (brewed in South Deerfield, MA), which I highly recommend for those of you who enjoy a dark, toasty, creamy brew.

We both needed caffeine after that, so we headed back out to find a coffee shop. We found one, but like so many other places in Haverhill, it was closed. We walked around some more but were greeted with more empty storefronts and "sorry, we're closed" signs. Finally we decided to simply go back to the train platform, where we sat for an hour and a half and were thankful that it wasn't cold or raining.

The trip back to Maine on 695 was comfortable, uneventful, and quiet.

[MEC407]

Press release from Maine.gov:

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced the City of Brunswick, the Northern New England Passenger Authority (NNEPRA), and the Maine Department of Transportation, among other partners, will participate in a field research program to develop and test new trespass detection and deterrent technologies. The research will consist of designing, operating, and evaluating a large-scale trespass detection and deterrent system to mitigate trespassing along several high-risk areas along the Pan Am Railway and Amtrak's Downeaster rail line in the Brunswick area.

"Illegal trespassing is the number one cause of rail-related fatalities in the United States," said Governor Paul R. LePage. "We welcome this opportunity to use the latest in technology as a means to reduce or prevent injuries and fatalities and to increase safety for Mainers."

The project will utilize remote presence detection sensors and secure, wireless cameras at locations frequented by trespassers. Upon detecting a person on the tracks, the Brunswick Police Department will be immediately notified for appropriate response.

The testing of the various devices will determine their feasibility and effectiveness for trespass prevention. The three-year research project is funded by a $200,000 interagency agreement between FRA to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Volpe National Transportation Systems Center.

"As we see continued growth in the rail industry in Maine, we need to do all we can to ensure safety along these busy rail lines," said MaineDOT Commissioner David Bernhardt. "This also serves as a reminder that walking along railroad tracks is trespassing on private property. Efforts like this will help cut down on the number of trespassing injuries and fatalities." This study is a follow up to a 2001-2004 pilot project in Pittsford, NY, utilizing updated technology and covering a wider area. These studies complement other efforts by the FRA to combat trespassing, such as the 2012 Trespass Demographic Study, a Right-of-Way Fatality & Trespass Prevention Workshop, and FRA's ongoing partnership with Operation Lifesaver, Inc. to educate the public on the dangers of trespassing.

Source: http://content.govdelivery.com/accounts ... ins/8b3cd0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[ThirdRail7]

Apparently the Downeaster will be operating all the way to Boston this Sunday, according to a tweet from NNEPRA this morning:

Updated Service Alert: The Amtrak Downeaster will operate to/ from Woburn and Boston on Sunday, September 15th.

I assume they'll still be terminating in Haverhill on Saturday, though.

I wonder if people who already purchased a $5 ticket for Sunday will be allowed to continue on to Boston at no charge, or if they'll have to pay extra, or if they'll have to cancel their $5 ticket and buy a new ticket at regular price...?

This is not good news. There will be another outage as a result.

[BM6569]

If the planned Montreal overnight service to connect to the DE at Portland actually happens next year, do you think they would need to add a car to the Boston bound train it would meet in the morning? (And another for the evening train that would connect with the train back to Montreal?) Do you think the NNEPRA would be on board with this service? Could only help the DE ridership numbers. The proposed train would be quite long and surely would not fit on the platform at the PTC.

[TomNelligan]

Somehow, on the scale of things to worry about in life, I find the prospect of a nine-sleeper train from Montreal actually showing up some morning and not fitting on the platform at PTC to be relatively low on my list.

[Ridgefielder]

Somehow, on the scale of things to worry about in life, I find the prospect of a nine-sleeper train from Montreal actually showing up some morning and not fitting on the platform at PTC to be relatively low on my list.

Oh ye of little faith!

[BM6569]

Haha a few sleepers will do. If we see a train like that in portland next year, ill eat my tie! Are there even that many sleepers available for use?

[jbvb]

I boarded a slightly late #687 in Haverhill a while ago, and we trundled slowly through Plaistow etc. to eventually grind to a halt about 100m W of the Exeter platform. #685 was sitting there, waiting for Pan Am to clear up an incident which sounds like a load had come loose and gotten tangled in the Lamprey River bridge. After a while we got told there would be no buses, and still no indication of when the freight would start to move. Now #685 has moved E of the station and we've pulled into Exeter and I think I'll call for a ride home, bailing on my trip to Saco.

[Dick H]

I do not have details on the PAR freight problem, but

#685 3 hours, 39 minutes late into Portland
#687 3 hours, 9 minutes late into Portland
#688 1 hour, 45 minutes late into Boston (estimated)
#689 55 minutes late into Portland (estimated)

Lots of unhappy campers on the DEs tonight....

[MEC407]

Ouch. I hope everyone onboard got a voucher!

[jbvb]

No vouchers had been offered as of 8PM in Exeter, when I departed. I suppose I should call and ask. [edit] Called, got one.

Re: ThirdRail7's concern, it ought to work out so the new track on the bridges can be be prepared in advance. Once they finish attaching the decorative granite blocks to the side of the new spans, it should only be a matter of an hour or two's downtime to shift the approaches back from the current shoo-fly curves. The bigger issue is when they'll finally be ready to finish the crossover trackwork at I-495 and Andover St. And do the two grade crossings, and finish the signal work, so we can finally start using this 2009 'shovel ready' project.

[MEC407]

From The Portland Press Herald:

Noise and vibrations created by a proposed Amtrak layover facility in Brunswick would not exceed federal noise guidelines, according to an environmental assessment submitted to the federal government by the agency that operates the Downeaster passenger rail service.

Residents who live near the proposed facility, however, plan to challenge the assessment at a public hearing Thursday in Brunswick.

The assessment is an "extremely biased" document designed to convince the Federal Railroad Administration to approve the facility, said Dan Sullivan, leader of the Brunswick West Neighborhood Coalition, a group leading the fight against the proposed facility.

Sullivan said his group wants the federal agency to order an independent analysis. "We want an unbiased look at the impact," he said.

Read more at: http://www.pressherald.com/news/train-f ... 09-25.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;