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  • Amtrak Downeaster Discussion Thread

  • Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.
Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.

Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, mtuandrew, Tadman

 #1515870  by markhb
 
Since it's highly doubtful that Amtrak would be running the Westbrook service (would it ever come to reality), I've created a thread for it here.
 #1515876  by Arlington
 
west point wrote: Wed Jul 31, 2019 1:13 pm Guess all grade crossing need the center line barriers installed. ( 50 to 100 feet going back from tracks ) Will not completely stop idiots but will make it harder.
From the DOT Grade Crossing Guidelines:
High-speed Rail at Grade Crossing
• For 110 mph or less: Grade crossings are permitted. States and railroads cooperate to determine the needed warning devices, including passive crossbucks, flashing lights, two quadrant gates (close only entering' lanes of road), long gate arms, median barriers, and various combinations. Lights and/or gates
are activated by circuits wired to the track (track circuits). FRA advocates the use of a “Sealed Corridor” approach so that every crossing is evaluated and treated appropriately.
• For 111-125 mph: FRA permits crossings only if an "impenetrable barrier" blocks highway traffic when train approaches.
• Above 125 mph, no crossings will be permitted
I would like to.see:
Centerline flex posts any place where passenger speeds are greater than 49 mph
Quad gates where passenger speeds are above 69.

And a great use of gas taxes would be more crossing protection and elimination every place passenger service is (commuter particularly).
 #1515881  by bostontrainguy
 
I know it's a wild dream, but if they are serious about starting the Westbrook service and serious about a "downtown" station in Old Port, it makes a lot of sense to coordinate all this and consider running the Downeaster down the SLR and over a new Back Cove bridge. This is one of the options recently presented in the NNEPRA Lewiston - Auburn Passenger Plan and posted earler:

https://www.nnepra.com/sites/default/fi ... ndices.pdf

Maybe this IS the best way to go. It would sure be interesting to see trains running down a Commercial Street median!
 #1515912  by shadyjay
 
If the reroute via the StL&A/Grand Trunk, It would make the new Royal Jct siding pretty pointless... at least for passenger rail (Pan-Am gets another "parking space" for their freights). But, IIRC, there is very limited freight service at present on the line from Yarmouth Jct south to East Deering, so there would be little, if any freight interference. You would have to rebuild a connection between the GT and the MEC at Yarmouth Jct in the SE quadrant of the diamond, but Google Maps does show such a connection existing (requiring rebuilding).
 #1515941  by gokeefe
 
There is currently no freight service at all beyond Danville Junction. SLR gave up the operation due to unsustainable levels of traffic from B&M beans.

The proposed station is right at West Commercial Street and the Casco Bay Bridge. Tracks will cross West Commercial Street and continue on the northerly side. No street running planned.

Where the new Downeaster station will be located is still the key question. I wish there was a way they could serve the airport directly but it seems impossible.
 #1515959  by Red Wing
 
redo the ferry terminal into a joint train and ferry station. Of course Maine Narrow Gauge would have to move with these suggestions on continuing over Back Cove.
 #1515964  by njtmnrrbuff
 
It's possible that in one of the next few years, I may make a trip to the Seashore Trolley Museum and would love to ride the Downeaster to get there. I would get off in Saco and then Uber to get there. Looking at the train schedule, it looks like the first train on weekdays departs BON at 9:05 and on weekends, it departs at 9:45. Isn't there a possibility of running a sixth roundtrip on the Downeaster?
 #1515970  by gokeefe
 
Yes, the sixth roundtrip is contingent on additional improvements on the Freight Main Line. Those projects are in the planning and design stage and likely will be completed within the next four or five years.
 #1515971  by swist
 
My issue is not so much the sixth trip but the schedule skew caused by trains being housed in Maine. Southbound the first train is at 4:30AM and last is at 5:25PM. Northbound first train is at 9:05AM and last is at 10:30PM. The NB schedule has been a killer for me with only one train the whole morning. I'm not sure how a sixth trip would help this unless a way is found to house a train in Boston overnight.
 #1515975  by swist
 
George, I fully understand that. But as a frequent flyer I reserve the right to gripe about it.

Doesn't help that the Concord Coach has a similar problem. First NB bus at noon. First SB bus at 9:50.
 #1515980  by MEC407
 
swist wrote: Sun Aug 04, 2019 12:37 pm Doesn't help that the Concord Coach has a similar problem. First NB bus at noon. First SB bus at 9:50.
Are you sure about that? I know an awful lot of people who use Concord Coach in the early morning. Between 3:15 AM and 9:30 AM, they have 11 southbound departures from Portland. Half of those go to South Station and the other half go to Logan. Between 5:45 AM and 9:35 AM they have four northbound departures from South Station and/or Logan.
 #1515981  by MEC407
 
gokeefe wrote: Sun Aug 04, 2019 12:29 pm The costs associated with laying over in Boston are unsustainable. That's why it's never happened.
Is there anywhere between, say, Haverhill and Woburn that a DE trainset could potentially sit overnight? Boston proper might be a no-go but what if a small layover was built in Lawrence Yard, for example? (I know everyone is cringing at Lawrence but let's leave the potential crime issues out of the equation for now and assume it's an enclosed train shed with doors that lock)
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