Portland Maine Passenger Stations

[MEC407]

True, but on the other hand, are the volumes any lower than those on the Saco Industrial Track? (not asking rhetorically; I'm truly not sure) I'm not sure how many active shippers are left but I know it's less than when I lived down there 16 years ago and the volumes were very, very low back then.

I suspect that line is equally as maintenance intensive as the M.B. from Portland to Westbrook and it has a massive bridge over the Saco River that they have to cross in order to reach the customers.

[690]

I think that is a very fair point and perhaps that is the most fascinating question. Would Pan Am have provided good enough service to keep the customers that they had?

I'm not entirely sure they would have given the exceptionally low volumes from those shippers. The passenger upgrades made the entire issue a moot point and paid for the expense of the control points and maintenance of the switches.

The passenger upgrades are more or less negligible as far as the Mountain Branch goes. It only covers a small part of the branch, and the rest of it is in exactly the same condition now as the passenger covered portion would be in had the Downeaster never happened.

As far as the service goes, I doubt much has changed between now and what they were running pre-Amtrak.

[Cosakita18]

I didn't know they had plans to double track between Royal Junction and Portland. Seems odd since traffic volumes (freight and passenger) don't really require double track.

[gokeefe]

I didn't know they had plans to double track between Royal Junction and Portland. Seems odd since traffic volumes (freight and passenger) don't really require double track.

They actually do. There's a problem with the current schedule that causes a conflict between Royal Junction and Portland. This is more passenger train related than freight but given the schedule its basically permanent and causes flexibility problems for Pan Am. This will get worse when the layover facility is completed later this year and the passenger trains run all the way to Brunswick.

[CN9634]

I didn't know they had plans to double track between Royal Junction and Portland. Seems odd since traffic volumes (freight and passenger) don't really require double track.

It does when you can trains every siding from Rigby to Walnut.... trust me any given week you'll have a few days where there are trains at Allen Ave & Walnut without power (sometimes with power) with no room at Rigby. Similarly, you'll see stuff plugged up at Cooks on the other side. The extra space basically creates another area to can something...

[F-line to Dudley via Park]

I didn't know they had plans to double track between Royal Junction and Portland. Seems odd since traffic volumes (freight and passenger) don't really require double track.

It does when you can trains every siding from Rigby to Walnut.... trust me any given week you'll have a few days where there are trains at Allen Ave & Walnut without power (sometimes with power) with no room at Rigby. Similarly, you'll see stuff plugged up at Cooks on the other side. The extra space basically creates another area to can something...

And NNEPRA is paying to encourage this behavior?

Man...never running on-schedule and not restocking the supply of lube oil sure gets results.

[gokeefe]

They're paying to make sure this behavior doesn't affect them.

[eustis22]

so once the layover facility is completed all DEs will terminate in Brunswick? Do they layover in Rigby now?

[MEC407]

They lay over at the Portland station.

[MEC407]

Letter to the editor: Portland presented with golden opportunity for true transportation hub

If Portland wants to increase the use of public transportation and attract tourism to the area, then a true intermodal passenger hub that includes air, rail and bus service is necessary. The current “Transportation Center” on Thompson’s Point is less than a mile from the front doors of the Portland International Jetport passenger terminal, about 2,000 feet from the east end of the airport and less than 3 miles by road.

On March 25, the Portland Press Herald reported that a propane business moving from Thompson’s Point “will free up a valuable rail-side parcel where developers want to build a new event center and an expanded transportation center to replace the existing bus and rail terminal.”

On March 9, the Press Herald reported that the jetport is planning a major $312 million renovation as part of a sustainability plan.

Since the current so-called “Transportation Center” and the Portland jetport come under the governance of the city of Portland, these dual projects require combined dynamic analysis in order to create a true Transportation Center.

Runways cannot be moved, but new rails can be run; therefore, the Transportation Center should be relocated to the airport with light rail service to downtown Portland. At the very least, light rail should connect the Thompson’s Point location and the jetport. Doing this would create a real transportation center in one central location.

The Sustainable Airport Master Plan does nothing to increase or improve passenger service. There is no place for more passengers to come from, unless taken from Bangor. But both major Maine airports are spokes, not hubs; oil prices will not remain low enough to make flying to either particularly advantageous to non-spoke service.

Combining these two projects is the key to a true passenger-oriented Transportation Center.

Micah Engber

South Portland

http://www.pressherald.com/2016/03/29/l ... ation-hub/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Cowford]

Micah has a promising future at ME DOT. I wonder if he's thinking a 'round the horn extension adjacent to Congress St, or a more direct route across the Fore River and Runway 18? Maybe a light rail extension to the Maine Mall to compete with that brisk rail-oriented tourist business at Freeport?

[MEC407]

Yup! Then another new line will be built so the train can get back onto the Mountain Branch (no need for a backup move) and onward to Steep Falls and Baldwin! The Sebago Lake station will offer a 10% discount on jet ski rentals for passengers who show their Downeaster ticket. A layover facility will be constructed in Fryeburg. I'm told that the Brunswick layover facility will be donated to the town and converted into the Brunswick West Neighborhood Association Community Center.

[BostonUrbEx]

We're still 2 more days away before we can post this stuff!

Frankly, I think my sarcastic post about a subterranean downtown station is more feasible than a new hub at the airport! More people taking the train want downtown access than airport access. This vision would mean even longer and less-direct buses to go from the Downeaster to downtown. An airport station would have to be one of the last items on a list of "nice to haves" after a long list of needs.

I can't see anyone dealing with the hassle of an infrequent Downeaster to get the airport except maybe folks from Dover or UNH -- particularly UNH for any carless students. Everyone else along the Downeaster will continue to drive to Logan or Portland.

[F-line to Dudley via Park]

Umm...is this guy aware that Metro bus route #5 gets you from PTC to the terminal in about 8 minutes?

[Ridgefielder]

Umm...is this guy aware that Metro bus route #5 gets you from PTC to the terminal in about 8 minutes?

Yes, but-- Portland needs a monorail!