by njtmnrrbuff
I agree that the fares for travel from the current SPG Line stations to the stations between Holyoke and Greenfield are a bit high. It doesn't make much sense to make the portion of the Valley Flyer service north of Springfield reserve either.
The Ctrail Hartford Line service to Springfield is poor to begin with. At least, there are more Amtrak shuttle trains as well as the few through trains. Depending on when people arrive at Springfield Station to head south and west to whichever destination will determine which train they might take. It's great that the fares between Springfield and New Haven are the same on any of the Amtrak 400 series and the Northeast Regionals over Ctrail.
I don't know what the ridership figures are on the Valley Flyer yet. We must give MassDot and Amtrak time. I can say this-even though it might not be ideal for many people to get up at 5 or 6 am to catch a train to a city that is several hours away, especially for business, it doesn't mean that many people don't do it. Those Acela and Northeast Regional trains that depart DC between the 5:00 and 6:00 hour have so many riders on them, but mainly during the week. Hopefully within a year, the ridership for the Valley Flyer trains will be fine enough to continue to have the service operate permanently. Just like anything else, let's give it time.
The Ctrail Hartford Line service to Springfield is poor to begin with. At least, there are more Amtrak shuttle trains as well as the few through trains. Depending on when people arrive at Springfield Station to head south and west to whichever destination will determine which train they might take. It's great that the fares between Springfield and New Haven are the same on any of the Amtrak 400 series and the Northeast Regionals over Ctrail.
I don't know what the ridership figures are on the Valley Flyer yet. We must give MassDot and Amtrak time. I can say this-even though it might not be ideal for many people to get up at 5 or 6 am to catch a train to a city that is several hours away, especially for business, it doesn't mean that many people don't do it. Those Acela and Northeast Regional trains that depart DC between the 5:00 and 6:00 hour have so many riders on them, but mainly during the week. Hopefully within a year, the ridership for the Valley Flyer trains will be fine enough to continue to have the service operate permanently. Just like anything else, let's give it time.