DownEaster ride2/28-2/29...

On the old format, there were questions as to whether the DownEasten mught be "circling the bowl", as it were. Well, owing to a performance I was part of in Portland the last weekend in February, I had the opportunity to finally ride the service. The ride to Portland.....sadly, wasn't possible. the train was SOLD OUT!!!! Thats right ladies and gentleman, the 6:35pm departure from North Station was completely full, which meant taking a Concord Trailways bus up(It wasn't all bad... at least the movie was funny. )Not what I'd call the sign of a train on its last legs. The Trip back, however, I was able to make. There were quite a few people boarding in Portland, and we boarded more at every stop,including, 34 at either Dover or Exeter, I don't remember which. The coach had a galley section at one end(not in use), and this was an arrangement I'd never seen before. We passed two yarded Guilford freights, one at Dover the other at Lawrence, and the trip was actually fairly smooth and enjoyable, and it was a very bright, clear morning, so the scenic value was good . Ride quality was fair, although some of the station stops were a little less than smooth, and at least once the train had to move up after its initial stop. Ride quality , however, deteriorated MARKEDLY after the train came off the Wildcat Branch , and onto the MBTA Lowell Line tracks. Almost felt like the bloody wheels were wobbling!!! Its smoothed out in some of the station platforms, and eventually, completly as we got closer to Boston, but it felt pretty bad. Anyways, We arrived in Boston pretty much right on time, and the crew was fairly friendly and courteous . All in all, a pretty good , positive riding experience. From what I heard from the ticket agent, that sold out trip was a common event, and he said that some of the trains were regularly overbooked.In the dead of Winter, no less Given that I'll have more trips to Portland later in the year, I'll opt for the train wherever I can. Suffice to say, reports of the DownEaster's demise may be premature,so far....

I rode the downeaster in july of last year, and i agree, it was a nice ride. The train i was on was also full. Most of the passengers got off at old orchard beach, but the majority went on to portland. From some of the conversations on board, it sounded like many use the train to go into boston for a day trip.

Weekend trains on that route have always done well in terms of ridership, with a lot of day-trippers coming down to Boston from points along the Downeaster route. The sellouts come from the fact that the short consists are fixed and cars are never added on weekends or holidays. It's the almost-empty midday, midweek runs that drag down the average ridership.

In any case, the trains apear to be safe until their initial funding runs out next year. After that, it's all up to the politicians.

According to the alarmists, absolute ridership doesn't matter. What's <i>scarrry</i> is that ridership is down from the higher-than-expected levels seen after inauguration.

Numbers that dip to "high" from "astronomical" are a losing proposition in the stock market. To some, it's reason to give up on the Downeaster, too.

Is it possible that if Amtrak decided to cut the Downeaster's funding, the Maine DOT would step in and pick up part of the tab, similar to Vermont's funding of the Vermonter and Ethan Allen? You know how much they want to take traffic off the turnpike. Instead of widening and widening, why not just fund the Downeaster with eventually possibly expanded service to Ellsworth (Acadia N.P.)/Bangor? A connection to Acadia is particularly enticing now that there is an extensive public transportation system on the island. I know there is mega-trackwork to be done in those areas, but I read a proposal in Downeast Magazine to expand the line to Rockland, then have passengers de-train onto a high-speed ferry to Bar Harbor, where there would be a connecting train to Bangor. Sounds kind of far-fetched, but we can dream, can't we?

XRails wrote:Is it possible that if Amtrak decided to cut the Downeaster's funding, the Maine DOT would step in and pick up part of the tab, similar to Vermont's funding of the Vermonter and Ethan Allen? You know how much they want to take traffic off the turnpike. Instead of widening and widening, why not just fund the Downeaster with eventually possibly expanded service to Ellsworth (Acadia N.P.)/Bangor? A connection to Acadia is particularly enticing now that there is an extensive public transportation system on the island. I know there is mega-trackwork to be done in those areas, but I read a proposal in Downeast Magazine to expand the line to Rockland, then have passengers de-train onto a high-speed ferry to Bar Harbor, where there would be a connecting train to Bangor. Sounds kind of far-fetched, but we can dream, can't we?

Actually, Maine DOT does pick up part of the tab. The Downeaster is in part funded by the Northern New England Passenger Railway Authority (A state of maine agency) so maine does help pick up the tab. Here in MA and in NH service is recieved but MA and NH dont pay for it.

Considering that Most of the Downeaster stops are in NH, and the majority of the commuter passengers get on at the Exeter NH stop, I think that NH shoould contribute some doe to the Downeaster pot. I personally would like to see a brief stop in Plaistow NH, there is a really nice spot on Main Street There even is an old station there, I think it is used for storage but I do not know.

Anyways, I will be going on a train trip this summer to Albany. I will be taking the Downeaster from Haverhill MA to Boston North and the Lake Shore Limit from Boston South to Albany. Can't wait... :D

From the Railfan Dreams Dept: It would be wonderful if there was a practical North Station-South Station link to really bring the Maine route into the national system. But then again, maybe for people north of Massachusetts, Boston is the ultimate destination and not New York or Washington (or Hartford or Springfield)?

-otto-

A rail link between North and South Station is not going to happen, and the planners of the big dig did not leave room for a possible rail link between the stations.

For passengers to connect between the north and south station one would have to take taxi or the subway. Personally, I find it difficult to haul luggage through the subway (tried that). I think MBTA should set a direct bus root between north and south station

I've read that there was indeed room left for a possible North-South rail link, but the problem will be constructing it at this point. Sorry that I don't have stronger evidence for this space existing, and if you can prove me wrong, I'd be interested to know.

Regardless, the time to build the link was while everything else in Boston was torn up -- once the parks and new buildings finally go in, no one will want them touched ever again.

tabslate wrote: Actually, Maine DOT does pick up part of the tab. The Downeaster is in part funded by the Northern New England Passenger Railway Authority (A state of maine agency) so maine does help pick up the tab. Here in MA and in NH service is recieved but MA and NH dont pay for it.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts pitches in by maintaining the line from North Station until the New Hampshire border, cosidering the lesser amount of pasengers that board in Massachusetts it's more than enough for their part. New Hampshire should be the one to have either start paying or pay more for their part of the service.

New Hampshire benefits the most and yet pays the least.... yeah, that sounds like a Republican run state. Same as with restoring Commuter rail....they're all for it , so long as it doesn't COST them anything, espescially Highway monies....

Yeah, most politicians just don't understand how beneficial railroads are. TYou might be interested to know about a piece of legislation hey unclog the highways, save fuel, and do wonders to reduce emissions.


I introduced at a recent model congress event (a high school competition simulating the workings of the federal legislature). It diverted 15% of the federal highway budget to Amtrak (nearly quadroupling its budget) and other federally-funded commuter rail programs (that money is added on top of the existing budget for these programs). The beauty of it is that the more money the federal highways want, the more passenger rail programs would get, keeping up competition. It also gave a generous break off the corporate income tax to all freight railroads. All I had to do was spit some technical stuff at them to make it sound like I knew what I was talking about, then say "foreign oil" and their eyes lit up. The bill passed overwhelmingly. Too bad the real congress couldn't do that!

Yeah, most politicians just don't understand how beneficial railroads are. They unclog the highways, save fuel, and do wonders to reduce emissions (which according to a leaked pentagon memo are more of a threat to national security than terrorism due to the implications on global warming).

You might be interested to know about a piece of legislation I introduced at a recent model congress event (a high school competition simulating the workings of the federal legislature). It diverted 15% of the federal highway budget to Amtrak (nearly quadroupling its budget) and other federally-funded commuter rail programs (that money is added on top of the existing budget for these programs). The beauty of it is that the more money the federal highways want, the more passenger rail programs would get, keeping up competition. It also gave a generous break off the corporate income tax to all freight railroads. All I had to do was spit some technical stuff at them to make it sound like I knew what I was talking about, then say "foreign oil" and their eyes lit up. The bill passed overwhelmingly. Too bad the real congress couldn't do that!

"New Hampshire benefits the most and yet pays the least.... yeah, that sounds like a Republican run state. Same as with restoring Commuter rail....they're all for it , so long as it doesn't COST them anything, espescially Highway monies...."

I think that New Hampshire is the state that the Libertarians have targeted for a "takeover". They want to get a mass of libertarians there so that they can create a "Libertarian Utopia" I wonder how the Downeaster will do if THAT ever comes to happen.

But remember - under the brilliant Bush railroad plan, trains like the Downeaster, where one state along the line refuses to pay for the service, would simply not stop in that state