DNC effect on the Downeaster

7 Train wrote:It would have be better for the DNC to be at Hynes Convention Center instead of FleetCenter as there would be no main arteries or North Station to shut down.

The Hynes in the Back Bay, is way too small to host such an event. This is security hysteria overblown by the Secret Service. I don't understand why there are no such closings slated for New York during the Republicans' convention, you would think the situation there would be much more of a security nightmare.

NealG wrote:

7 Train wrote:It would have be better for the DNC to be at Hynes Convention Center instead of FleetCenter as there would be no main arteries or North Station to shut down.

The Hynes in the Back Bay, is way too small to host such an event. This is security hysteria overblown by the Secret Service. I don't understand why there are no such closings slated for New York during the Republicans' convention, you would think the situation there would be much more of a security nightmare.

Because New York stood up to the Feds and said "you ain't gonna paralyze our city"! Boston should take a lesson from them...

Today's New York Times has an article regarding impact on the lives of Bostonians from the Convention. Here is a "brief passage" regarding North Station's closure:

"At 8 p.m. on Friday, the last train for the duration of the convention left North Station, which serves 25,000 commuters a day".

Here are some personal inconveniences several residents of the region expect to undergo:

"It's going to be so much worse than normal," said Katie Keane, a legal secretary who will spend the convention in the Adirondacks rather than take the train into North Station each day from Billerica, a suburb. "I didn't want to have to deal with the commute, the people and the traffic."

Rob Park, 30, who uses a wheelchair and commutes to his job...is taking two weeks off..... Mr. Park normally takes the train from his home in Lynn, north of Boston. But during the convention, all trains coming into the city from the north will be stopped, and riders will be bused into Boston.
"How am I reasonably going to do it?" Mr. Park asked".

Here's the "full monty" (non-rail):

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/25/polit ... oston.html

Also, allow me to add further thoughts by Times Arts columnist Frank Rich:

"You can't blame the broadcast networks for cutting their convention coverage to a fig-leaf minimum of just three hours of prime time spread over four nights. That's what both parties deserve for having steadily sanded down their quadrennial celebrations into infomercials with all the spark and spontaneity of the televised Yule Log"

OK folks, this is just the appetizer; the entre' will be served up in New York late next month. Oh guess what, bad guys, "sorbet" is being served up in Athens betwen courses.

I know those of you having any connection with the hospitality industry will take issue, but when is the madness of staging these events (they aren't even public events) that are magnets for every bad guy out there going to cease????

Give each of 'em an equivalent amount of free broadcast and cable network airtime to use as they please, and otherwise move on (if either Party has by-laws requiring delegates to vote on "this or that", well we've got the internet nowadays).

are they still planning the track upgrades this week to increase the speeds of the Downeaster?

Two more possible reasons why Downeaster service won't use the Reading line:

1) The line is mainly single track, which is the a great part of the reason why the train's normal route goes the longer route via the Lowell line to the Wildcat Branch in Wilmington.

2) It is possible that the Amtrak crews are not qualified on the Haverhill line between where it meets the Wildcat Branch and Boston. Of course they could always have an MBTA crew pilot them is is the case, but having the Downeaster re-routed away from Woburn's Anderson Terminal would al in-convenience people who wish to use that station.

A far as getting into Boston from the Downeaster, I believe the MBTA & Amtrak already have the correct plan in place....with direct shuttle busses between Anderson Terminal and South Station............afterall, that would make connections with regular Amtrak trains on the N.E.C. alot easier than normal.


And by the way, Irish, Penn Station will not be closed during the RNC.

One thing about the DNC and the Downeaster I've noticed...

Several times today on the Weather Channel, the on-camera meteorologists were talking about the convention and several times mentioned the Downeaster being suspended. I thought that was kind of strange, as rarely do they mention Amtrak service, except the Was-Nyp-Bos run.

-Jay Hogan

Well as far as I know, the Downester will not be running this upcoming convention week. Hoepfully, as ST214 (CSX Conductour) stated, the track speed will be uprated during downtime.

As for the DE consists, I guess they will be using them for regular NEC or LSL service in the interim, don't know for sure though.......

Robert, I never said anything about track speeds being upgraded.

As for the Downeaster equipment, it will probably just stay in it's normal layover facility in Portland, unless some maintenance is done at Southamton Street Yard.

When the current suspention was first announced, I too wondered why the "Downeaster" service couldn't be rerouted down the B&M Western Route (Reading line) to make a reasonably convenient Orange Line transit connection at Oak Grove, like the Haverhill route commuter trains will do. However, I then received an e-mail from a dispatcher who covers the route in question who said that the single track sections of that line made it impossible to accomodate the Amtrak service on top of regular commuter runs.

The other issue is significantly diminished potential ridership, which probably make the decision to cancel service for a week a lot easier. I'm guessing that very few non-essential travelers will attempt to head into downtown Boston this coming week, given the security situation and the resulting massive traffic jams and transit disruptions.

Thankfully, I live and work in the Boston suburbs and can avoid the city for a week. I agree with Mr. Norman (welcome back!) that it is absurd for the politicians to continue to stage these media events in big cities, where their private parties disrupt the lives of hundreds of thousands of residents and commuters, not to mention running up huge bills for security expenses. And that applies to the Republicans and Democrats equally.

I pretty much agree with GBN on this, the political conventions are more
noise and promotion than anything else.
That two political conventions are able to tie up the transportation in two
major cities is both insane and absurb in my opinion.
Noel Weaver

Hi all

The best thing for these conventions woulda been a big cruise ship ... coulda left from Boston or NYC ... steamed whereever under the protection of the U.S Navy. The pols can have their party and NOT inconvenienced tens of thousands of others.

Getting back on topic ... what would be the impediments of having the Downeaster connect with the south side MBTA ops at Worcester, MA? There is a nice platform along the P&W route, with space for a few stub-end tracks. The pedestrian stairways/walkways are still extant below track level.

How would the train get from NH to Ayer? From Ayer, it's a left turn through Clinton(!) to "Wooster". Trainsets going out of service could simply run the B&A to Cove Interlocking (already an Amtrak route) and head for Southampton St.

* JB *

This is what CSX Conductor wrote:Robert, I never said anything about track speeds being upgraded.

As for the Downeaster equipment, it will probably just stay in it's normal layover facility in Portland, unless some maintenance is done at Southamton Street Yard.

Oh ok, thank you for the clarification, CSXTC. I guess they'll just leave the track alone then.

Also, I didnt know that DE Consists could also be housed at POR either, but they can apparently.

Agent, first off....again the crews probably are not qualified from Haverhill to Barber on the B&M via Lawrence, Lowell, & Ayer.

Secondly, all the time that it would take to go that route, people could have taken a bus from Portland to South Station, gotten on Amtrak there, and be in Rhode Island, if not further. LOL