RAILROAD.NET

with that train leaving ny at 2 pm on friday they won't get many passengers that's for sure.

Hard to say, I worked with some folks in NYC that would leave around then to take the train from GCT up to Brewster and then drive to Great Barrington area.

some, is not going to fill a train.

It's going to be seasonal. Plenty of professional firms have summer hours with either half day Fridays, every other Friday or even every Friday off. I know absolutely nothing of the Berkshires market but the timing of the departure may not be nearly as bad as you think. As a comparison market the LIRR Cannonball leaves Penn around 4:00. Not quite as early but still requiring an early departure from work. I can't find a summer schedule for the Hampton Jitney but the current schedule through Memorial Day has two additional departures from the city on Fridays at 2:30 and 2:55. There must be a market.

andegold wrote:It's going to be seasonal. Plenty of professional firms have summer hours with either half day Fridays, every other Friday or even every Friday off. I know absolutely nothing of the Berkshires market but the timing of the departure may not be nearly as bad as you think. As a comparison market the LIRR Cannonball leaves Penn around 4:00. Not quite as early but still requiring an early departure from work. I can't find a summer schedule for the Hampton Jitney but the current schedule through Memorial Day has two additional departures from the city on Fridays at 2:30 and 2:55. There must be a market.

Most people on the trading side on Wall Street get to work before 7:30 a.m. A 2 p.m. departure is hardly a half-day if you're on that schedule. Particularly since business noticeably slackens off after lunch in the summertime.

I somewhat agree that the department time from NYP is early but yes, many companies have summer hours on Fridays. If you aren’t satisfied with the departure time from NYP and still want to train to the Berkshires, then either look into getting off in Hudson or Rensselaer and renting a car which probably many people will still continue to do as there are more rail options. If you don’t want to pay a lot for Amtrak, then take Metro North to Wassaic. While taking MNR to Wassaic is cheaper, the problem with that is that there aren’t many car rental places close by, I believe.

njt/mnrrbuff wrote:While taking MNR to Wassaic is cheaper, the problem with that is that there aren’t many car rental places close by, I believe.

There are no car rental places close by to Wassaic. The closest one seems to a Hertz in New Milford (which is the wrong direction if you're trying to get to the Berkshires).

There really isn't much of anything at near Wassaic, except cornfields and woods.
https://goo.gl/maps/pKRhgUASJ1w https://goo.gl/maps/Tbmh7AF8vQE2

If you wanted to rent a car in New Milford, you would have to get off in Southeast and then get to the rental place next and you still have to get to New Milford from Southeast. The plus with taking the train to Southeast is you have more options and you don’t have to switch trains. In the end, not many people would want to use this option.

I think when many people take the train to Pittsfield or the surrounding towns and rent cars, they will take Amtrak to Hudson or Albany-Rensselaer. I remember on several of my posts back in this thread, somebody mentioned that car rental places in Hudson aren’t open as much as in Albany. From ALB to Pittsfield, it’s just under an hour. From Pittsfield to Hudson, it is about the same time.

I think the Wassaic option is best if you are getting picked up and dropped off. Bear in mind that traveling from Pittsfield to Wassaic takes a lot to get to. If you miss a train there, you are basically stuck for two hours or even more in the middle of nowhere, depending on the time and day that you travel. From Wassaic to Pittsfield, it’s a little under an hour and twenty minutes.

There's no rental options at Wassaic, but tons of taxi service. Every time I've caught a train there taxis are waiting by the stairs. Many commuters leave their cars there as well in the long term spots.

There would have to be taxis waiting at Wassaic for people who requested them and I'm sure that those companies charge people an arm and a leg for the duration of their trip over the hills and across the state lines. If I had to go to the Berkshires and I involved a trip to Wassaic, I would probably want to be picked up. In fact, in one of the next few years, I have friends who have houses in Great Barrington and if I ever visit them, I will either take MNR to Wassaic or Amtrak to Hudson. In 2010, I visited some family friends in Lee. They were living there at the time. I got a ride from NJ with my parents but then coming back, I took Amtrak out of ALB.

Wassaic couldn’t support a bus to the Berkshires.

Reminder, we’re talking about PITTSFIELD, a service ACTUALLY happening, and ACTUALLY in Pittsfield/the Berkshires. Wassaic is not in the scope of discussion.

Thanks.

I just brought up Wassaic as an alternative for a person who won't be able to use the direct train to Pittsfield.

Anyway, when this direct Amtrak train starts running to Western Mass, it will be interesting to see whether how many people will get picked up by somebody driving, take a local bus to their destination if they need to, or walk, assuming that their place of lodging is within walking distance of the Pittsfield Train Station. I could definately see many people using this train if they are heading to many of the towns north of the Mass Pike.

As much as I hope that this trial is a success I'm still very skeptical about it. I still think that a mid afternoon departure from NYP is a handicap and I have a hard time believing that Pittsfield is a good end destination. The biggest market from NY to western Mass. are the Berkshire towns south of Pittsfield. Many of these travelers own second homes in the area or are tourists that want to stay in places like the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge. Maybe Uber or Lyft can get some of these people to "A" destination but many who visit want mobility. It is a trial and I do wish the best.

J. Lang

That's why the BSRR needs to run connecting service out of Pittsfield using their Budd Car.

^^^agreed! And get the dude from Vermont to lease some out...