NEC All Station Stop Service

Jeff Smith wrote: ↑Mon Nov 25, 2019 12:19 pm IMHO, as commuter service grows and expands on the NEC, I'd imagine that Amtrak would want to CUT stops. Why they haven't yet on the Hartford Line, I don't know.

Following that logic, then, stops that could be cut by Amtrak [because they are served by commuter rail] could be:

New Rochelle
Bridgeport
Old Saybrook
Metropark
New Brunswick
Princeton Jct
Newark, DE
Aberdeen

Other stops are also served by commuter rail but should remain either because they are major stops, are at an airport, or are a connection point.


Just musing here.

I think the musing is helpful in that it illustrates the opportunity available to Amtrak by running the Northeast Regionals as "all station stops" service.

Those are very significant stations. Sure peanuts on the NEC but almost certainly in the Top 100 nationally. You can't walk away from ridership like that.

Metropark is in the Top 30 no less ...

Many of those stations in that list are a bit too important to get eliminated completely as Amtrak stops. New Rochelle is a great stop for people who are heading to anywhere in the North Bronx as well as a lot of Lower Westchester County. Metropark shouldn't be eliminated period. It's location is extremely close to many populated areas of Central New Jersey where the borders of Middlesex, Union, and Monmouth Counties overlap. Metropark is also very close to the southern tip of NYC, believe it or not-the borough of Staten Island(Tottenville). It isn't just people who live in the immediate area of Metropark who want to use that station. I know people who live in the same town where I live, Montclair, who have driven to Metropark to pick up Amtrak to DC. They don't want to have to deal with driving to Newark. Bridgeport is a rather important stop. It is within easy reach of a lot of the rest of the towns in Fairfield County. It is a connecting point for people who live close enough to Pt. Jefferson who want to hop on the ferry and then be able to connect to a train to Boston.

Old Saybrook is probably fine the way that it is with the number of Amtrak trains that stop there. It's more of a spread out town and it's not heavily commercialized. Old Saybrook is great for people who live not only in OSB, but Essex, the Lymes(although if you live in E. Lyme, you probably might as well go into New London if you are heading east.), and Clinton.

Even if some of the above stops are eliminated they probably would need weekend and holiday service ? Since fewer commuter services then probably Amtrak can maintain the same service times ?

Jeff Smith wrote: ↑Mon Nov 25, 2019 12:19 pm IMHO, as commuter service grows and expands on the NEC, I'd imagine that Amtrak would want to CUT stops. Why they haven't yet on the Hartford Line, I don't know.

They work in tandem with CT Trails to provide balanced service. Additionally, as populations grow and certain cities are on the rebound, it makes sense to add stops, particularly if you can make them without a significant sacrifice to the schedules.

That is why you're seeing more trains make PJC, NBK, and NRK. It is where people are located.

With the ever increasing costs in and in the immediate suburbs of NYC, more and more people are moving further away into the suburbs and even the exurbs. Much of the Route 1 corridor between New Brunswick and Trenton have been seeing plenty of new homes going up. People living in communities like Edison(the south end), as well as E. Brunswick and New Brunswick would probably rather board an Amtrak train in Downtown New Brunswick rather than having to backtrack to Metropark or take a NJT train to Trenton. There is plenty of commercial and residential development in the Princeton area and having some more Amtrak trains stop at the Junction is the answer. That is a benefit to those people attending Princeton University, especially those who are coming from DC and Baltimore. Newark, Delaware is within easy reach of many communities along the Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania border. Of course, U of Delaware is in NRK not too far from the station. NRK isn't far at all from I-95. In fact, when you are passing through Newark, Del on I-95, you can see the old Pennsy sub station where Davis Interlocking is. A few miles past Newark, I-95 goes over the NEC just below the Mason Dixon Line. Wilmington Station is about 14 miles from Newark and that's still a pretty good distance to travel to a station that offers more frequent rail service.

"I could have SWORN I saw a southbound Regional stop at L’Enfant yesterday!"

Some Amtrak trains do stop at L'Enfant Plaza to accommodate Virginia Railway Express riders who pay an additional fare to ride certain Amtrak trains. The stops aren't shown in the Amtrak schedules, but they do appear in the VRE schedules.

There are two Northeast Regionals in each direction that stop at L'Enfant Plaza on weekdays. That's good for those people who work at the base of Downtown DC. It's also very good for those tourists who want to make a daytrip coming to DC from the south to visit many of the Smithsonian museums which happen to be closer to L'Enfant Plaza than Union Station.

I'd keep NRO; it's right at the division of the Hellgate/NEC and MNRR "bridge" over to the Harlem. It's slow running there generally anyway.

Bridgeport? Too big a population center, and stops there are limited already, just as they are in NRO.

OSB? I can't make a case there, but with a stop just across the river in New London, I'm not sure it's needed.

Metropark? Keep.

New Brunswick? They stop there?

PJCT? They stop there?

Newark, DE? Of course they won't end that.

I think my point is just because there's a commuter stop doesn't mean Amtrak should stop stopping. Just that they need to rationalize, particularly on the Hartford Line.

Rockingham Racer wrote: ↑Mon Nov 25, 2019 3:41 pm

Jeff Smith wrote: ↑Mon Nov 25, 2019 12:19 pm IMHO, as commuter service grows and expands on the NEC, I'd imagine that Amtrak would want to CUT stops. Why they haven't yet on the Hartford Line, I don't know.

Following that logic, then, stops that could be cut by Amtrak [because they are served by commuter rail] could be:

New Rochelle
Bridgeport
Old Saybrook
Metropark
New Brunswick
Princeton Jct
Newark, DE
Aberdeen

Other stops are also served by commuter rail but should remain either because they are major stops, are at an airport, or are a connection point.


Just musing here.

Jeff Smith wrote: ↑Tue Dec 03, 2019 9:25 am Newark, DE? Of course they won't end that.

The only way I see Newark going away is if SEPTA starts more frequent service there. Even then I don't think it is dropped unless MARC starts serving Delaware as well.

Old Saybrook isn’t across any rivers from New London. Both municipalities are 19 miles from each other. Groton is directly across the Thames from New London.

I wouldn’t count on NRK going away as an Amtrak stop. In fact, once the new station opens, we might see more Amtrak trains stopping there.

What do you call the Connecticut River?

Jeff Smith wrote: ↑Tue Dec 03, 2019 2:14 pm What do you call the Connecticut River?

A ginormous operational headache.

Jeff Smith wrote: ↑Tue Dec 03, 2019 2:14 pm What do you call the Connecticut River?

You DID say "just" across the river. Nineteen miles is not the same as just across the river. I think that's what he's getting at.

Exactly Rockingham Racer. Old Saybrook isn't next door to New London.

It would be nice to have some more Amtrak trains stop at NRO. Sadly, it's up to MNR though. It's their railroad and they run so many trains on the New Haven Line.