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  • Official Maine Eastern Railroad Thread (ME) - 2010

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Official Maine Eastern Railroad Thread (ME) - 2010

Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New England

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Re: Official Maine Eastern Railroad Thread (ME) - 2010

  by gokeefe
 
I agree with kilroy that they won't need another platform for the connecting service.

One of the great things about rolling stock, in particular of the passenger variety, is that the underlying frame and car body are built to standards that make it possible to rebuild and renovate the passenger spaces of the car repeatedly.

On the question of ticketing I think if you read between the lines NNEPRA has certainly been a big part of the creation of this connecting service. As the contracting agency responsible for running and coordinating this service I would not be surprised to see through ticketing. As mentioned before and elsewhere I would still like to know if Amtrak has a rail to rail through ticketing arrangement for connecting service anywhere else in the U.S. I think this would be unique.

The questions of Augusta service has been mentioned in the Downeaster thread but the article bears repeating here.


Portland Press Herald Article from February 8, 2010, by Meghan Malloy, regarding Maine Eastern service plans to Augusta

"This project is much more than just 30 miles between Portland and Brunswick," Quinn said.

Page agreed. "That Brunswick connection is crucial," to bringing service back to Augusta, he said. "Maine Eastern (Railroad) has had high hopes that we'd become a connecting line for the Downeaster."
[EDIT: Added article date]
Last edited by gokeefe on Sun Feb 14, 2010 12:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Re: Official Maine Eastern Railroad Thread (ME) - 2010

  by Hamhock
 
gokeefe wrote:As mentioned before and elsewhere I would still like to know if Amtrak has a rail to rail through ticketing arrangement for connecting service anywhere else in the U.S. I think this would be unique.
I know they do for the Southwest Chief-to-Grand Canyon Railway in Williams, AZ, though technically there is a brief shuttle-bus interval between the two. And they do it for Atlantic City via NJ Transit as well.

Re: Official Maine Eastern Railroad Thread (ME) - 2010

  by Ridgefielder
 
Hamhock wrote:
gokeefe wrote:As mentioned before and elsewhere I would still like to know if Amtrak has a rail to rail through ticketing arrangement for connecting service anywhere else in the U.S. I think this would be unique.
I know they do for the Southwest Chief-to-Grand Canyon Railway in Williams, AZ, though technically there is a brief shuttle-bus interval between the two. And they do it for Atlantic City via NJ Transit as well.
I think at one point they offered thru-ticketing from Upstate NY points into GCT via a transfer to MNRR at Croton-Harmon. Not sure if that's still the case, though.

Re: Official Maine Eastern Railroad Thread (ME) - 2010

  by gokeefe
 
These are all interesting examples. I guess only time will tell if Maine Eastern's connecting service is going to be considered an 'inter-city' operation or a 'commuter' line. It will probably be some kind of hybrid of both. I still believe that if they provide the correct service intervals they could have a profitable operation on their hands by servicing Bath Iron Works during commuter hours.

Re: Official Maine Eastern Railroad Thread (ME) - 2010

  by gokeefe
 
Posted for the Record:

Mid Coast Free Press article from February 4, 2010, by Alice McFadden and Christine Parrish, regarding Maine Eastern service plans to Rockland
Once the connection is made - with Amtrak service from Portland through Yarmouth Junction, with stops in Freeport and Brunswick - Maine Eastern Railroad will provide Amtrak-connecting service from Rockland to Brunswick.
...
"We have a verbal agreement with Amtrak and NNEPRA to provide the connecting service" from Brunswick to Rockland, said Page. It is unlikely, he said, that Maine Eastern RR will receive any funding. The railroad receives no subsidies for the seasonal excursion service it runs between Brunswick and Rockland, and he expects the revenue to provide Amtrak connecting service will come from fares.
I realized, belatedly, that because most of the service extension discussion had taken place in the Downeaster thread that no information or articles dealing specifically with the Rockland service extension had been posted to this thread. Although these details may be 'old hat' for some people I found this article to have a clear and close focus on Maine Eastern's service plans for Rockland and a nice summary of points that were scatterred elsewhere among multiple sources.

Re: Official Maine Eastern Railroad Thread (ME) - 2010

  by Cowford
 
It is unlikely, he said, that Maine Eastern RR will receive any funding.

For four months per year, ME currently operates 10 BRU-ROC RTs per week. And now they propose to operate a combined 24 RTs per week... without subsidy. Uh huh.

This is going to hurt ME's excursion service in at least one way: They will likely face a pricing dilemma. Their excursion fare was ~$40/RT last year IIRC; I'd venture that pricing necessary to attract connecting ridership would need to be a lot lower than their current fares... as an example, the DE charges less than $30/RT for comparable mileage. (NNEPRA's announced fares POR-BRU would equate to ~$24/RT on a mileage basis). If the case, there's would be some migration to the lower cost service. (Maybe that's why they're going to use 100-seat coaches - to make it as uncomfortable as possible!)

The railroad receives no subsidies for the seasonal excursion service it runs between Brunswick and Rockland

I didn't realize that ME paid for all track investment and maintenance. Huh.

Re: Official Maine Eastern Railroad Thread (ME) - 2010

  by gokeefe
 
Cowford,

I'm sure that wasn't sarcasm! :-D

There is some question as to whether or not ME pays for regular maintenance.

I think the fact they can run this service without operating subsidies is admirable.

Re: Official Maine Eastern Railroad Thread (ME) - 2010

  by Watchman318
 
Cowford wrote:(Maybe that's why they're going to use 100-seat coaches - to make it as uncomfortable as possible!)
I missed that part. Which article was it in?

Re: Official Maine Eastern Railroad Thread (ME) - 2010

  by FatNoah
 
Near the end of the cited article above:
Maine Eastern's parent company in Morristown, New Jersey, will provide Amtrak-certified coaches, and it's likely, said Page, that initially Maine Eastern will run two coaches, with about 100 seats per coach, plus a locomotive for the Amtrak-connector service

Re: Official Maine Eastern Railroad Thread (ME) - 2010

  by Watchman318
 
Got it. Now I remember reading the article in the newspaper, and thinking it would be interesting to watch the connecting runs, the excursion trains, and the freights all mixed in.
And I think somebody suggested in another thread that the success of the rebuilding of the Rockland Branch "depends on what you call a success." It looks good to those of us who live around here.

Thanks.

Re: Official Maine Eastern Railroad Thread (ME) - 2010

  by Hamhock
 
FatNoah wrote:Near the end of the cited article above:
Maine Eastern's parent company in Morristown, New Jersey, will provide Amtrak-certified coaches, and it's likely, said Page, that initially Maine Eastern will run two coaches, with about 100 seats per coach, plus a locomotive for the Amtrak-connector service
Yeah; those are 3 x 2 seating, so it's more likely to be around 80 seats actually used per coach. As in New Jersey, I think they'll find that no one wants to ride in the middle of a 3-seat bench amongst strangers.

Re: Official Maine Eastern Railroad Thread (ME) - 2010

  by Watchman318
 
Hamhock wrote:Yeah; those are 3 x 2 seating, so it's more likely to be around 80 seats actually used per coach. As in New Jersey, I think they'll find that no one wants to ride in the middle of a 3-seat bench amongst strangers.
The Comet 1's? Those should be fine for commuter service, but I can't quite picture them for getting folks between Brunswick and Rockland (either direction) before or after an Amtrip. Maybe it would work with just a pair of those per run, no "mix and match" with the older cars.
Might need some more power up this way, too.

The last I knew, there was only one Comet in Maine, 1748 if I remember correctly.

Re: Official Maine Eastern Railroad Thread (ME) - 2010

  by 4266
 
Thats very strange. I was just driving past Rockland tonight and I noticed the lights were on inside the comet car and upon closer inspection it looked like they were doing some restoration work. perhaps they're upgrading?
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