Maine Commuter Rail

According to the story as told by MNGRR, Phin Sprague at The Portland Company also is putting the buildings up for sale, and since the museum is a tenant-at-will they would also be at the mercy of the buyer. OTOH, Gray's a tad easier than Bridgton (one of the other candidates)!

I can see the the "Harpoon Spoon" sea food restaurant there already - complete with phony whale harpoonsmen with rubber harpoons ! Your menu will drop from a phony pier above to you at your boat (table) on a fishing line. Fire up those locos 'cause they are getting the "bum's rush" !

eastwind wrote:Oh great. So you have a day in Portland, off the Downeaster or a cruise ship, and you want to see the famous narrow gauge. You have to get yourself to Gray?
How? On the commuter train?

That's not a bad idea! :D

Councilor David Marshall is still talking about the streetcars. He's apparently speaking on the subject at a Maine Green Independent Party fundraiser dinner (only the finest locally-bred organic rubber chicken!) this Sunday; the linked article contains a pointer to the Maine Greens website that tells more on the dinner if anyone's interested.

This is what makes economic and environmental sense for small markets like Portland, not streetcars.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000087 ... S=commuter

"The Kansas City area opened a rapid-transit bus line in 2005 and a second one last year for a combined cost of $50 million after numerous public votes to finance a light-rail system failed. Kansas City planners estimate that light-rail along the area's main, six-mile bus route would have cost at least $250 million."

The operative phrase in that article is "train-like". A bus is a bus is a bus.

Cowford wrote:This is what makes economic and environmental sense for small markets like Portland, not streetcars.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000087 ... S=commuter

The Kansas City area opened a rapid-transit bus line in 2005 and a second one last year for a combined cost of $50 million after numerous public votes to finance a light-rail system failed. Kansas City planners estimate that light-rail along the area's main, six-mile bus route would have cost at least $250 million.

I'm impressed. That's the first time I've seen a BRT solution that really seems to go beyond just an "express bus" concept. Very interesting.

"The operative phrase in that article is "train-like". A bus is a bus is a bus."

Considering that KC has doubled their "bus" ridership, and Cleveland is handling 4+ million passengers a year, it looks like the commuting public is a bit more open-minded.

Cowford wrote:Considering that KC has doubled their "bus" ridership, and Cleveland is handling 4+ million passengers a year, it looks like the commuting public is a bit more open-minded.

I wonder if a solution such as this would work for some kind of rapid shuttle service between the PTC, KPWM and the Old Port.

That route doesn't really speak to the "commuter" concept but it would serve as the "people mover" that Portland seems to be very much in need of.

The signal priority technology would probably be the most important part of this.

It's too late in the evening for me to want to digest that article right now, but I do know that Portland is already working on a bus-priority corridor along central Congress St between Longfellow and Monument Squares, and I think that the traffic light management is part of that.

So far as the transfer to downtown goes, it looks like the Fore River channel comes close enough to Thompson's Point that it could be possible to add a launch that could handle a DUKW as part of the Forefront project, which could run to the existing launch at Portland Yacht Services, near both ferry terminals. Airport transfers would be harder due to the mud flats on the south side (and lack of an existing landing point), which makes me wonder if there's such a thing as a mass-transit craft that easily switches from wheeled to hovercraft operation. Fantasy, I know, but if we have a relatively uncongested alternative to crowded roads and nonexistent rails, why not look into using it?

markhb wrote:It's too late in the evening for me to want to digest that article right now, but I do know that Portland is already working on a bus-priority corridor along central Congress St between Longfellow and Monument Squares, and I think that the traffic light management is part of that.

So far as the transfer to downtown goes, it looks like the Fore River channel comes close enough to Thompson's Point that it could be possible to add a launch that could handle a DUKW as part of the Forefront project, which could run to the existing launch at Portland Yacht Services, near both ferry terminals. Airport transfers would be harder due to the mud flats on the south side (and lack of an existing landing point), which makes me wonder if there's such a thing as a mass-transit craft that easily switches from wheeled to hovercraft operation. Fantasy, I know, but if we have a relatively uncongested alternative to crowded roads and nonexistent rails, why not look into using it?

Just use the Duck Boats!

I said a DUKW; that is a Duck Boat! . But, they have trouble in mud, so a different solution would be needed for the Jetport.

markhb wrote:I said a DUKW; that is a Duck Boat! . But, they have trouble in mud, so a different solution would be needed for the Jetport.

The option that always comes to my mind is some kind of a causeway across the water. Depending on how its funded and run this might actually make sense, especially if the airport decided they wanted to pay in part or in whole for it. It would make KPWM substantially more accessible.

The Portland Transportation Committee will be meeting on Wednesday, and one item of interest to this thread (and potentially the Downeaster thread as well) concerns the city staff's wishlist of proposals for the PACTS Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP), FY ‘14-’15. From that document:

Project Title: Reassessment of the Portland North Commuter Rail-Transit Corridor Study
Project Description:
Project involves a review and evaluation into commuter rail or commuter transit from Portland North, using updated criteria from [U.S.] Department of Transportation. The current Administration has added mobility improvements, environmental benefits, operating efficiencies, transit supportive land use policies and economic impact when conducting such transit studies. The changes also removed congestion mitigation. The previous “New Starts” study that included Portland North Commuter Rail evaluation, focused on operational costs and congestion mitigation. The City of Portland, the Greater Portland Region, and the State of Maine will be far more competitive under the new criteria. Additionally, there is a potential that an application to connect Portland and Lewiston with transit (Commuter Rail or Commuter Bus) will be viewed completely differently using these new elements for evaluation. Staff anticipates this study scope will require involvement from PACTS, MDOT and officials from communities north of Portland including Lewiston and Auburn. This project concept has been discussed by Committee Chair Councilor David Marshall, and is seen as achieving a goal of the Committee for advancing greater use of existing rail infrastructure for regional commuter or freight purposes.

Interestingly, this is the only item in the document that doesn't include a staff prioritization note, or even boilerplate for a cost estimate. I'm not sure if that was an oversight, or if it's because Councilor Marshall is driving this item rather than the city staff.

markhb wrote:Tony Donovan's rail advocacy site is the Maine Rail Transit Coalition; I suggest looking there and on the linked Facebook and Blogspot for more of his (or mainly his) writings. This grant from the NAR is apparently going to be used to study the same basic proposal MRTC has on its website, commuter rail Auburn-Portland via the SLR (note the comments about how the track is owned by the state from Auburn to Portland), and unless he now wants to end the line in the old East Deering yard (which is currently not even served by a bus route), he's going to have to come up with a figure for replacing the Back Cove trestle to get to India Street. Good luck getting that beyond the paper stage.

I attended a meeting tonight hosted by the MRTC and Sierra Club at the Danville Junction grange hall. They went over the plans and an update of where this project stands. They don't have a full cost estimate yet for how much this will all cost but plan to have another meeting in Jan so I think they will have them by then. What costs they did have were 67 million to restore the track from MP 0 in Portland (India St I believe) to Auburn (MP 29 as I recall). That includes the back cove trestle, which they had received two estimates of 8.8 and 10 million to restore it. I was surprised to see that a whole study had been done on that bridge, back in 2005 I believe. It was very detailed. Apparently the bottom of the pilings had been reinforced with concrete at some point so the bridge will not be falling apart anytime soon. On a bridge note, some engineers have told him that the former GT bridge between Auburn/Lewiston is still in good shape and can hold tracks again.

He said trains (DMU's) would be running to Auburn in 36 months (as of Jan 1st). Person asked how confident he was and he said very. He thinks there will be. An environmental assessment had been done on the whole line in 2005 but needs to be updated. Also, at this point, they are focused on Portland to Auburn.

A $100 week pass was mentioned in regards to possible ticket prices.

Not one person said they did not want the train service or that they were against it. A freight came thru halfway thru and that caused an anti PAR convo with the locals. Guy says the 40 horns a day are annoying and that some of the RR workers have a vendetta against some of the locals because they blast the horns for too long at times. Had to bite my tongue not to laugh.

I can get pdf copies of the any of the studies if I want. Just have to email them. I may ask for the bridge study as that looked interested when I was flipping thru it.

One of the studies I flipped through with maps of routes showed a wye drawn at the back cove trestle to connect with the Union Branch and onto PTC (two legs over the water, one the existing trestle). It was quite interesting to see that link because this service was not to connect with the Downeaster unless that connect would be used if trains ever came from Montreal.

Oh and the person who did the power point is a volunteer for the MRTC. He in the real estate business and said he represents the owner of Thompson's Point.