Amtrak Vermonter / Montrealer

F-line to Dudley via Park wrote: One thing at a time.

Oh, I know, it's pure fantasy now. I was just thinking of the convenience it would bring to some of my family members in Woodsville, NH (right across the river from Wells River, VT, which would make as good a place as any for a station) to visit other family members in Hartford and New York and vice-versa .

neal g et al . have you considered renting a car? i really don't understand the mindset that considers passenger rail as a transportation alternative when our society has come down on the side of auto transportaton. last time i looked, there were real problems with the hartford amtrak surroundings. scary at best. new haven is somewhat similar. ken patrick

KEN PATRICK wrote:neal g et al . have you considered renting a car? i really don't understand the mindset that considers passenger rail as a transportation alternative when our society has come down on the side of auto transportaton. last time i looked, there were real problems with the hartford amtrak surroundings. scary at best. new haven is somewhat similar. ken patrick

If you're under 25 (like i am) that ain't happenin'. Keep in mind one rising ridership demographic is college students and young adults and though many would many would rather save money by taking curbside busses, many others would opt for the train in a heartbeat if they could.

NealG wrote:

I would extend a shuttle up to WRJ, but arriving around midday or early afternoon and departing south in the early evening, and would run it WRJ-NYP.

I would go one further and extend it up to St. Johnsbury, if only to provide new service to an area that doesn't have it already and open direct access to the Northeast Kingdom and Upper Valley.

I too would like to see this happen. And once the Vermonter re-route through MA, additional improvements through VT, and the Rutland-Burlington extension (with or without a second route through Southern VT to Albany) are accounted for a St. Johnsbury/NE Kingdom service just may be the next step if VT's pro-rail stance maintains itself. Unlikely in the near future? Yes. But never say never

KEN PATRICK wrote:i really don't understand the mindset that considers passenger rail as a transportation alternative when our society has come down on the side of auto transportaton.

The 31.2 million passengers who rode Amtrak last year would appear to disagree with you.

KEN PATRICK wrote:last time i looked, there were real problems with the hartford amtrak surroundings. scary at best. new haven is somewhat similar. ken patrick

Last time I spent a night in Hartford- which was maybe 6 months ago- the area near the station struck me as no scarier than any other urban downtown. I wouldn't go poking around in the shadows under the I-84 viaduct at 3 in the morning, true.

KEN PATRICK wrote:neal g et al . have you considered renting a car?
i really don't understand the mindset that considers
passenger rail as a transportation alternative when
our society has come down on the side of auto
transportaton. ... ken patrick

Well, Ken, are you gonna chauffeur me for free
in that rental car?

Because on the train, I can sit down, log on, and entertain
myself, arriving rested and relaxed. Whereas driving is boring
and a pain in the backside.

And Ken, I'm sorry that you say you have have such difficulty
in understanding a mindset different from your own.
An inability to appreciate that not everyone is like you,
and an inability to allow non-conformity is NOT good.
It's a lot like ignorance and authoritarianism. Free people
want to be able to choose whether to drive, ride a train,
or fly. Unless you are the Commissar of Transportation in
old Moscow, it's really not your business to tell others
how to get around.

Ridgefielder wrote:

KEN PATRICK wrote:

KEN PATRICK wrote:last time i looked, there were real problems with the hartford amtrak surroundings. scary at best. new haven is somewhat similar. ken patrick

Last time I spent a night in Hartford- which was maybe 6 months ago- the area near the station struck me as no scarier than any other urban downtown. I wouldn't go poking around in the shadows under the I-84 viaduct at 3 in the morning, true.

Hartford station's right by the XL Center, Capitol, and the few blocks of bars and clubs you would consider the more-or-less entirety of the city's "nightlife". And there are buses going in/out of the terminal late into the night. It's a very safe area, well-patrolled and usually with people around 24/7. Plus the immediate station parking that sticks underneath the Viaduct is pretty well lit. I've done it plenty of times waiting for my ride after getting off the last Peter Pan bus of the night.

Sure, you don't want to be crossing over onto the other side of 84 at night or want to wander too far from the station. But there's nothing to do in those places after-hours anyway, so why is that even an issue for the non-reckless?

NH is little different. The station environs are very safe, and there's nothing to do that would draw anyone away from it at those hours.

New Haven is as safe as anywhere. Heck, the New Haven PD is literally across the street. I've walked down Church Street from the Green to the station at night a couple times when I couldn't get a bus, and I felt no danger walking down the sidewalk quite obviously carrying a laptop.

KEN PATRICK wrote:neal g et al . have you considered renting a car?

No. And that's not the point. I haven't considered taking the bus, hitchhiking, bicycling or walking either.

I love the irony, Someone posting on an Amtrak message board about how passenger trains are doomed. *eyeroll*

NealG wrote:

KEN PATRICK wrote:neal g et al . have you considered renting a car?

No. And that's not the point. I haven't considered taking the bus, hitchhiking, bicycling or walking either.

I notice you didn't not consider kayaking or canoeing. With the Connecticut River right there, they should have certainly been on your list of transportation modes to not consider!

amm in ny wrote:

NealG wrote:

KEN PATRICK wrote:neal g et al . have you considered renting a car?

No. And that's not the point. I haven't considered taking the bus, hitchhiking, bicycling or walking either.

I notice you didn't not consider kayaking or canoeing. With the Connecticut River right there, they should have certainly been on your list of transportation modes to not consider!

'Xactly. It's fun paddling against the current on the return trip

NH2060 wrote:

KEN PATRICK wrote:neal g et al . have you considered renting a car? i really don't understand the mindset that considers passenger rail as a transportation alternative when our society has come down on the side of auto transportaton. last time i looked, there were real problems with the hartford amtrak surroundings. scary at best. new haven is somewhat similar. ken patrick

If you're under 25 (like i am) that ain't happenin'. Keep in mind one rising ridership demographic is college students and young adults and though many would many would rather save money by taking curbside busses, many others would opt for the train in a heartbeat if they could.

Most rental car companies will rent to people 21-24, you just pay an extra fee.

amm in ny wrote:I notice you didn't not consider kayaking or canoeing. With the Connecticut River right there, they should have certainly been on your list of transportation modes to not consider!

Well, I did Woodsville to Haverhill Corner by Canoe in the late eighties when I was about 15, so I've already done that mode. I also recall it took a few hours.

gprimr1 wrote:

NH2060 wrote:

KEN PATRICK wrote:neal g et al . have you considered renting a car? i really don't understand the mindset that considers passenger rail as a transportation alternative when our society has come down on the side of auto transportaton. last time i looked, there were real problems with the hartford amtrak surroundings. scary at best. new haven is somewhat similar. ken patrick

If you're under 25 (like i am) that ain't happenin'. Keep in mind one rising ridership demographic is college students and young adults and though many would many would rather save money by taking curbside busses, many others would opt for the train in a heartbeat if they could.

Most rental car companies will rent to people 21-24, you just pay an extra fee.

And frequently those fees were more expensive than the rental!