Amtrak Downeaster Discussion Thread

[Arlington]

The 685 is a special case. It's more of a commuter train than anything - allowing people who live in Exeter or even Dover to work in Boston. It is frequently sold out and always very full. They don't want to kill that income.

Yes, the DE discounts the other trains to steer price-sensitive / flexible travelers away from their peak-hour trains.

[swist]

Is the 680 also treated the same way? You would think the commuters who leave on the 685 came in on the 680.

[MEC407]

Apparently not, since I was able to apply the discount in my experimental booking this afternoon.

[swist]

Well I would guess a train leaving POR at 5:20 AM carries 100 pct commuters, whereas a train leaving BON at 5 PM returns all those commuters PLUS everyone else going to Maine at a civilized hour. The 680 does not appear to sell out. The 685 certainly does.

[Dick H]

It is my understanding that a large block of seats are held on #680 for pass holders.
When they were running the four car set on #680, it did occasionally show sold out.
I am not sure if #680 is still getting the four car set or not. If so, that scenario
means that the #680/#681 set becomes the late night set of #688/#689.

Also, there were a few minor changes in the schedule with the 10/19 revision,
mostly on the weekends.

[mr. mick]

Yup, thanks for the help with the discount - I got it to work also. Hard to believe, but it seems that you have to fill in the blocks in order, then it works fine. I am not sure what I messed up before, but now I'm all set and I will pass the word on.
Thanks,

[gokeefe]

Discussion in the Downeaster Trackwork thread regarding improvements likely to be funded as the result of the passage of the transportation bond last night (Question 3) can be found here

The two improvements contemplated are the construction of the north leg of the Mountain Division wye and construction of the passing siding in Cumberland/Yarmouth which will enable passenger trains to meet in the vicinity of/at Royal Junction (when service increases to five roundtrips per day Brunswick-Boston).

[MEC407]

Just got this via email from NNEPRA:

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9TH

Pam Am Railways will be performing track work in the area of Plaistow, NH that will lead to the cancellation of some mid-day trains for this day only.


NORTHBOUND TRAINS 681& 683 AND SOUTHBOUND TRAINS 684 & 686 WILL NOT OPERATE THIS DAY.

Please seek alternate transportation - no services will be provided for these trains.

ALL OTHER TRAINS WILL OPERATE

ACCORDING TO SCHEDULE


We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may cause and thank-you for your patience.

[BM6569]

The gizmo the engine hooks up to in Brunswick during layovers to limit idling has been installed and is in operation.

[Backshophoss]

So now there's a 480 volt "ground"(standby)power supply in Brunswick,that should make the neighbors happy!

[MEC407]

From the Kennebunk Post:

The drive to bring a seasonal stop for the Amtrak Downeaster to Kennebunk got kicked into high gear last week when selectmen voted 6-1 to have Town Manager Barry Tibbetts sign all documents needed to apply for state and national grant funding.

Those grants, available from the Maine and U.S. departments of Transportation, will cover $800,000 of the $1.1 million project to refurbish the old Boston & Maine Railroad Station on Depot Street.

Read more at: http://post.mainelymediallc.com/news/20 ... oject.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Rockingham Racer]

One could get the impression, after reading the article, that the town officials would like their cake and eat it too? They are not willing to swallow a one-time expense and a one-time [possible] cost overrun to get people into town to spend money there, which it turns out, will benefit the town coffers. Am I missing something here?

[MEC407]

If this part of the article is true — "...according to Amtrak, the Kennebunks region is second only to downtown Portland for places visited by riders of the Downeaster" — then it sounds like the town is already reaping financial benefits of Downeaster passengers even without having a stop.

[gokeefe]

At least they have finally seen the light so to speak.

[Palmer5RR]

Amtrak Downeaster to Kennebunk got kicked into high gear last week when selectmen voted 6-1

The Town of Kennebunk should talk to MassDOT about buying the temporary high level platforms built in Greenfield & Northampton designed to be reused. The article last year said;

Greenfield Recorder
Monday, October 6, 2014

GREENFIELD — The state will build a temporary 45-foot-long wooden train platform behind the regional bus and taxi depot to serve rail passengers until a permanent one is designed and built there over the next year.

Kelly Smith, a spokeswoman for Massachusetts Department of Transportation, which is overseeing and paying for the project, said the temporary train platform will be ready when passenger rail service arrives in Greenfield at the end of the year.

“This platform will be used for approximately one year while the permanent 400-foot-long concrete platform is designed and constructed,” said Smith. “The temporary wooden platform is designed so that it can be disassembled in a few major components and reused in part or entirety at another location.”

MassDOT hasn't started on the permanent platforms yet maybe by the time Kennebunk is ready for them.