by newpylong
Come on guys - Portland to Montreal as a viable service? Early April Fools?
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newpylong wrote:Come on guys - Portland to Montreal as a viable service? Early April Fools?"Viable" is probably not the right word.
gokeefe wrote:I think there's another factor you're missing, though, and that's the population density between the two endpoints and the possibility for ridership from and between intermediate stations.newpylong wrote:Come on guys - Portland to Montreal as a viable service? Early April Fools?"Viable" is probably not the right word.
However, I think it is more "viable" than Boston - Montreal which as others have mentioned has all kinds of transportation links that work quite well. Portland on the other hand does not, and there is probably going to be a preclearance facility built in Montreal which means that Portland - Montreal by train will proabably be more "viable" than it has been in the past.
Cowford wrote:I think it would be appropriate to define "viable" here!Whatever the exact word we are using, what I'm postulating is that however unlikely or outlandish the chances are of service to Montreal from either Boston or Portland, Portland has a better chance (however small that additional increment might be) than Boston of getting service due to the general difficulty of travel to Montreal from Portland.
Portland has a better chance (however small that additional increment might be) than Boston of getting service due to the general difficulty of travel to Montreal from Portland.But the point that several of us have been making is: how many people want to make that trip, by some means other than private automobile? Is the number large enough to justify the expenditure of limited taxpayer funds?
TomNelligan wrote:There are two strong primary markets, seasonal travel by Canadians from Quebec in the summer to Old Orchard Beach and seasonal travel by Canadians in the winter to Sunday River (Bethel, ME, on the SLR). There are also strong secondary travel markets for Canadians coming from Quebec in the fall for the foliage season.Portland has a better chance (however small that additional increment might be) than Boston of getting service due to the general difficulty of travel to Montreal from Portland.But the point that several of us have been making is: how many people want to make that trip, by some means other than private automobile? Is the number large enough to justify the expenditure of limited taxpayer funds?
newpylong wrote:So the only justification is so Canadians can get to OOB (3 months a year) and Sunday River (5 months a year)? I can personally tell you (I used to have a Seasons Pass) there arent many Canadians at all that go to SR, they mostly go up to Tremblant.Fair enough, thanks for the clarification. I was under the impression that some did go, perhaps even occasionally in groups by bus.
newpylong wrote:That said, the deciding factor isn't "how hard" it is to get to Montreal from Portland and vice versa. It has to do with how many possible riders there are. There are more people within 5 blocks of my office here in Boston than live in all of Portland. That is why if Montreal service ever returns (and I don't see it besides from NYC) it will be from Boston and not Portland.Since this is mentioned....could you (or anyone else who might know) please clarify whether or not there are capacity issues on the line between Boston and Springfield?
Since this is mentioned....could you (or anyone else who might know) please clarify whether or not there are capacity issues on the line between Boston and Springfield?Yes, there are. Worcester-Springfield is largely single track thanks to Conrail, which ripped up most of the second track in the mid-1980s. CSX has historically not been receptive to additional passenger trains on what is still a busy freight route, however my guess is that they could be persuaded to run at least one more passenger train to/from Boston once the Vermonter is rerouted via Greenfield.
trainsinmaine wrote:Does anyone here think that the construction of the preclearance facility might possibly give a green light to the reinstitution of The Atlantic Limited between Montreal and Halifax? The several times I rode it in the '80s and '90s, it was nearly full, and there are many of us in Maine and the Maritimes who sorely miss it.Setting aside the very practical and real reasons why this won't happen as things stand right now. If it were restored it would not have to be as a "sealed" train through Maine. Yes, the masses could travel by train to Jackman once again.