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Last weekend's Seacoast Sunday had an article on the potential for passenger service to Portsmouth: "The likelihood of passenger rail service returning to Portsmouth any time within the next few decades is slim, officials say, and would require a "champion" for the cause." I wou...

Well, now that Keolis has won, do they have anything to say about all this?

Hard to say what they're going to spend it on. My bet is, for that kind of $$$, they'll actually be bringing CR back, at least to Bourne. I'm guessing they're gonna make the improvements, and then maybe turn it over to CCRTA to run for full time CR, kind of slide by the FR/NB folks who will accusing...

Now, I do think with the FRA becoming more laid back on the subject of DMU/EMU's, RI could defiantly set up a Woonsocket-Providence, Providence-Westerly, Providence-Quonset Ferry service. I don't think the MBTA should add any more stations north of Wickford Junction to avoid adding travel time, so ...

I dunno, hard to say how this will play out. Keolis seems to have done O.K. with VRE, not all that well overseas. I think the feeling was that MBCR simply had an entrenched incumbent attitude; as in, we're too established to be kicked out. Also, while the MBCR on-time performance has been better lat...

Latest says Keolis is likely going to win.I think the key is that they showed some improvment with VRE, and MBCR didn't up here. There were too many people complaining, and too little improvement. Everyone agrees that the old equipment has a lot to do with it, but the T felt they should have done be...

Now that Amherst and Palmer are being cut off of the Vermonter, bringing service back
to Boston on that route might make some sense. Run two trains a day through VT rather
than one, with one going to Boston too, maybe transfer to the inland route at Palmer.
Would be worth a look anyway.

Yes, but remember they will need to do some kind of changes to allow for maintenance of DMUs,
which they are proposing for the Fairmount line. This would help them do this.

Yes, but this is a little misleading. Remember, I believe the Freeport Brunswick folks have a tendency to travel considerably farther than the ones getting on further south. Consequently, you have to examine how much Freeport-Brunswick fills otherwise empty seat further south. I think this makes the...

DMUs would make sense mostly for a Falmouth run. It is estimated that about 25% of the
people getting off at Hyannis are headed that way. The total number would rise if there
were a Falmouth branch DMU train. However, that's a long ways off.

People forget that, in fact, a large part of the Cape traffic problem occurs after people get there, especially along Route 28. Putting in another bridge would just bring more cars down and make that even worse. I don't believe they're serious about that, especially as they recently completed a lot ...

That's exactly what I was trying to get at. The Nippon-Sharyo units might be good railcars given the history of quality work that that company is known for, but right now they're the only game in town in terms of FRA-compliant DMU hardware stateside. The result is that you pay a steep, steep price ...

Southcoast rail succesfully cleared one committee. That is a long ways from being approved
by the full house or senate. Once that 2.2 G price tag comes up again (I can remember when it
was "only" $800 million) I think it will be torpedoed. Don't count on it ever being built.

agree. The stars may be coming into alignment on a NYP to Portland ME service. In an news article a week or two ago on the $12 billion 5 year transportation funding bond bill that is working its way through the Mass legislature, it stated that the funding included $175 million for track improvement...

Amtrak’s Downeaster carried nearly 50 percent more passengers between Portland and Brunswick than rail officials expected in the first year of the service." More lollipops and rainbows. Not true. And regardless, if Portland-east business is booming beyond all expectations, then Portland-west b...