more sports team charters

R&DB wrote: ↑Mon Aug 02, 2021 9:54 am

eolesen wrote: ↑Sun Aug 01, 2021 8:50 pm Ball players are more likely to live in North NJ or CT... not the city...

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Yep, NJ, CT or LI. Very few in the city.

The single ones tend to live in the city, mostly Upper East Side, for reasons that should be obvious....

How many cities have a Game Day Express where fans can get tickets to attend games? Titan fans on the east side buy 500 or more tickets on Titan home games. This last weekend sold 300 tickets for Music City Grand Prix.

In the old days seem to be more excursions for fans of teams to get to games.

GWoodle wrote: ↑Mon Aug 09, 2021 10:34 pm How many cities have a Game Day Express?

In the old days seem to be more excursions for fans of teams to get to games.

Those old enough might recall the PRR Army-Navy specials.

LIRR has specials to Belmont, MNCR/NJT had the discontinued joint through Meadowlands train, NJT had the
Pony Express to Monmouth Park and SEPTA has the Broad Street Express on game days.

Looking at old New York Central timetables, there were specials to Yankee Stadium from Harlem Division stations
in 1960s using ACMUs. Since there was no station at the stadium yet, these specials discharged at Melrose within
walking distance.

When Yankees make playoffs (also on opening day), NYCT runs a museum train of 1917-1924 IRT "Low Voltage"
cars on the 4 line.

SEPTA stil lhas the Broad Street Express on their web site so I assume it still runs (unless temporarily suspended due to COVID).
I rode this back in 1983 to the World Series game 3 between the Phillies and the Orioles, in brand new Kawasaki B-4 cars. A great way to get to the game and turned out to be more fun than the game was (Phillies lost )

NJT had the Pony Express to Monmouth Park

So did PRR from both the NYC area and the Philly area. Monmouth Park had a 4 track station. PRR/Reading Seashore lines had a station at the Atlantic City Racetrack. In the early 1900s Princeton had a 19 track yard for the football trains.

GWoodle wrote: ↑Mon Aug 09, 2021 10:34 pm How many cities have a Game Day Express where fans can get tickets to attend games? Titan fans on the east side buy 500 or more tickets on Titan home games. This last weekend sold 300 tickets for Music City Grand Prix.

In the old days seem to be more excursions for fans of teams to get to games.

Used to for MARC's Camden Line, but someone in the Feds got wind of it and shut down such things. It's a shame, since it was a good idea considering that the line goes all the way up to where the Orioles play.

jonnhrr wrote: ↑Tue Aug 10, 2021 11:05 am SEPTA stil lhas the Broad Street Express on their web site so I assume it still runs (unless temporarily suspended due to COVID).
I rode this back in 1983 to the World Series game 3 between the Phillies and the Orioles, in brand new Kawasaki B-4 cars. A great way to get to the game and turned out to be more fun than the game was (Phillies lost )

It still runs. Even through COVID. They were running it for Eagles games last year.

STrRedWolf wrote: ↑Tue Aug 10, 2021 1:16 pm

GWoodle wrote: ↑Mon Aug 09, 2021 10:34 pm How many cities have a Game Day Express where fans can get tickets to attend games? Titan fans on the east side buy 500 or more tickets on Titan home games. This last weekend sold 300 tickets for Music City Grand Prix.

In the old days seem to be more excursions for fans of teams to get to games.

Used to for MARC's Camden Line, but someone in the Feds got wind of it and shut down such things. It's a shame, since it was a good idea considering that the line goes all the way up to where the Orioles play.

Why did the Feds shut it down?

MattW wrote: ↑Tue Aug 10, 2021 11:04 pm Why did the Feds shut it down?

From what I heard, it was because a regulation that prevented MTA from charging more than regular fare for the specialty train. The price at the time was $20, while an equal round trip was more like $10-$16... but because you took the train *back* and it ran on CSX's line to DC... MTA couldn't cover the cost of running that return trip at a moment's notice on regular fares. It did try to work around it with buses but the same rule applied.

Hmm, I know we're getting a bit off topic, but that's really weird to me. How did MNRR's train to the game work? Because it wasn't a regular route?

I suspect that's it. I don't know what the regular fare would be from a point on the Harlem or New Haven Line to a point on the Hudson Line (zone to zone with transfer at 125th St.?) or maybe they didn't need to charge a higher fare since, unlike MARC, they were on their own tracks and didn't have to negotiate with a freight railroad for an extra trip out of normal hours?

But they do have to negotiate with NJT which I understand became a regular NJT train at Penn Station. But again, between Penn and New Haven, it's very much not regular service.

STrRedWolf wrote: ↑Wed Aug 11, 2021 6:29 pm

MattW wrote: ↑Tue Aug 10, 2021 11:04 pm Why did the Feds shut it down?

From what I heard, it was because a regulation that prevented MTA from charging more than regular fare for the specialty train. The price at the time was $20, while an equal round trip was more like $10-$16... but because you took the train *back* and it ran on CSX's line to DC... MTA couldn't cover the cost of running that return trip at a moment's notice on regular fares. It did try to work around it with buses but the same rule applied.

Do we know if the regulation still exists?
Or could a third party contract with MARC/kelios , to run said trains.
I took one when they were running, and they were packed.

scratchyX1 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 12, 2021 1:11 pm Do we know if the regulation still exists?
Or could a third party contract with MARC/kelios , to run said trains.
I took one when they were running, and they were packed.

Lets set something clear: MARC trains on CSX territory are operated by Bombardier/Alstom, not Kelios. MARC trains on Amtrak track are run by Amtrak. MARC itself is owned/operated by MTA Maryland (it's called "MARC and Commuter Bus").

You still got to pay CSX for a floating slot. Their track, their dispatchers. MARC's stuck.

MattW wrote: ↑Thu Aug 12, 2021 8:25 am But they do have to negotiate with NJT which I understand became a regular NJT train at Penn Station. But again, between Penn and New Haven, it's very much not regular service.

Oops -- I was thinking of Yankee Stadium. Service to the Meadows would depend on the arrangement MN has with NJT:
Trackage rights -- NJT performs the entire service and pays NJT for the use of their tracks (but with NJT crews paid for separately by MN, with an MN engineer on board as pilot).
Joint through service -- MN turns the train over to NJT at NYP and NJT provides crews and operates the train from there with an MN engineer as pilot, receiving a portion of the revenue on each ticket.
Anybody know what has been in effect on previous trips? I assume they changed crews at NYP, with an MN engineer on board as pilot, as above.

As to the question raised by Scratchy, it would be interesting to know whether that requirement is in the MARC enabling legislation or part of a regulation issued by a State agency; it seems beyond wacky to forbid a subsidized transportation provider to increase its revenue.