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  • AMTRAK NEC: Springfield Shuttle/Regional/Valley Flyer/Inland Routing

  • 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

 #1483172  by johnpbarlow
 
Jehochman wrote:Downtown Hartford has:
  • Yard Goats, #1 rated MiLB stadium
  • Wadsworth Atheneum
  • Hartford Stage
  • Bushnell Theater (two concert halls)
  • Convention Center
  • Mark Twain House
  • Connecticut Science Center
  • Many fine restaurants
And I see a lot of hockey fans wearing Hartford Whaler paraphernalia ... :wink:
 #1483242  by lordsigma12345
 
Safetee wrote:The amazing driving force behind the choo choos is the desire to make sure MGM is a cash cow for Springfield. The fact that most buses from Greenfield to Springfield typically don't carry ten passengers makes one wonder about the hoped for crowds for this new service. Maybe Smithies really are compulsive gamblers.
Commuting/MGM is probably part of it. But I think the biggest part is there is definitely a demand for trips between those towns and New York/Washington, particularly Northampton. This would allow a day trip to New York. The question is how much actual new ridership it will create or if you will simply see a migration of existing ridership away from the Vermonter and away from Springfield to these new options.
 #1483267  by gokeefe
 
Based on the experience with the Brunswick extension on the Downeaster the answer is that there will be some shifting along with organic ridership growth. It can take a few years for new ridership to materialize depending on the level of service provided.
 #1483268  by njtmnrrbuff
 
Well, people who live north of SPG who might have to work in a NYC office a few times a week would probably benefit from taking the earliest train as possible that originates in Greenfield. This would also apply to people who might want to take a day trip to Coastal Fairfield County. The Vermonter Schedule only caters to those who would be willing to get into NYC early evening and depart NYC mid morning for points north. There will probably be a fair number of riders who will use the new trains to commute to jobs in the New Haven area as well as Hartford.
 #1483308  by Traingeek3629
 
Currently, at the Northampton stop, there are 53 daily riders on average, or 26.5 per train. Once the additional trains are added, I'd expect the daily ridership to go up to somewhere between 65 and 70, with each southbound Vermonter getting 20 or so passengers rather than 30.This opens up seats for riders traveling to/from high-ridership stops in Vermont such as Brattleboro, Essex Jct, and White River Junction.

Overall, this is a good addition to the NHHS corridor, and I will probably use the service every 2 months or so to visit family in Northampton.
 #1483343  by lordsigma12345
 
In addition to the shift from the Vermonter, will probably also see a decrease at Springfield as you will have less riders from the north driving there to catch a train, however that may be a wash as Springfield stands to gain some ridership as a destination with MGM coming to town.

Speaking of Springfield - they have begun construction on the new platform C at long last. In concert with platform enhancements at Greenfield and Northampton these will be good additions to the corridor. Work at Springfield began this month.
 #1483355  by Arlington
 
Has Vermont expressed any desire to extend the Mass trains farther north?
 #1483356  by gprimr1
 
Brattleboro VT has a passing siding that if rebuilt could allow the shuttles to lay over.

Bellows Falls VT MIGHT be able to accommodate a passing track between Depot St and the River.

I can't imagine them going much further north than that.
 #1483363  by BostonUrbEx
 
Rockingham Racer wrote:Is the PAR D3 dispatcher that busy that s/he can't handle more trains throughout the day.
LOL.

All I'll say is that unless there was some very specific, careful wording preventing it in the sale of the Conn River Main to MassDOT, then MassDOT should immediately hand over dispatching to Keolis/Amtrak/whatever 3rd party runs Knowledge Corridor service as soon as service starts, if not sooner.
 #1483596  by lordsigma12345
 
Arlington wrote:Was Greenfield already built with turns in mind?
I could be wrong but I doubt there are going to be any layovers of equipment in Greenfield at least for the pilot - they are trying to do this pilot as simple and with the least investment possible so I would imagine equipment layovers and crew basing would all be done at Springfield. They are going to use the Shuttle push-pull trainsets and I'm guessing the way they are going to do it knowing the current NHV-SPG schedule is in the early morning one of the current Shuttle trainsets that lay over in Springfield will make a roundtrip up to Greenfield (with the northern trip being a new train number) and the southbound leg of the round trip would run as present train 495 all the way to New Haven. They'll probably use the pool of Vermonter Springfield to St. Albans crew to run the Springfield to Greenfield round trips and then the New Haven - Springfield crew would take over when the train returns to Springfield. In the evening they'll probably do the opposite - one of the current northbound Shuttles will continue up to Greenfield and then return down to Springfield.
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