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Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New England

Moderators: MEC407, NHN503

 #1241661  by george matthews
 
Sun Chronicle wrote:
The cost for a round-trip ticket would depend on the accommodations chosen by the passenger. The most expensive would be an individual sleeper, at about $300, and the least expensive would be a coach seat, at $180.

That’s less than it would take to fly from Montreal to Boston, which is about $410 round trip, and comparable to the bus, which is $180 round trip, according to numbers put together by Rebello and Bennett.
Are those dollars US or Canadian? $300 seems rather a lot to me, in either currency.
Last edited by MEC407 on Thu Jun 13, 2019 7:33 am, edited 1 time in total. Reason: excessive quoting
 #1241676  by MEC407
 
Good question about the currency. I'm not sure of the answer (the article doesn't specify), but the current exchange rate is 1 US Dollar equals 1.09 Canadian Dollars, so it's not a terribly huge difference.

The article does say that it would be less expensive than flying to Boston, and about the same as taking the bus. They offer no comparisons for Montreal-Portland or Montreal-Old Orchard Beach (other than the strange mention of flying to Portland in the beginning of the article) because currently there are no public transit service between those places.
 #1241687  by CN9634
 
george matthews wrote:
Are those dollars US or Canadian? $300 seems rather a lot to me, in either currency.

They aren't targeting people who are commuting... it is a luxury/vacation package.
Last edited by MEC407 on Thu Jun 13, 2019 7:34 am, edited 1 time in total. Reason: excessive quoting
 #1241690  by MEC407
 
Perhaps one of the Amtrak-knowledgeable members among us could say whether or not the $300 sleeper fare is comparable to what one would pay for an Amtrak sleeper on a route of similar mileage.
 #1241846  by gokeefe
 
This paragraph in particular made no sense to me:
In addition, the proposal would need the approval of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, which runs the Downeaster passenger train, with daily runs to Boston, and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
NNEPRA doesn't 'control' passenger rail in Maine. The only reason I could see for doing this would be if the partners intend to try to have NNEPRA contract for this service through Amtrak which would then bring Amtrak's universal access rights into play. Unfortunately at that point the for-profit aspect of this venture becomes very complicated. I thought the fares sounded remarkably low and I would be concerned about whether or not they're high enough.
 #1511234  by gokeefe
 
While checking on some other items I found this reference in the Official Guide of July 1896 to a named train on the Grand Trunk in Maine that ran seasonally all the way through from Chicago. Full name was, "The Seaside and White Mountain Special Vestibule Limited". It operated with an all Pullman configuration and must have been quite the sight.
 #1514040  by John Smythe
 
The States of Maine & NH can't get their acts together to even rehab either the MEC Mtn. Division or The Conway Line to even Ossipee Pit. All these 2 states seem to like to do is raise toll revenues & undertake more widening projects of existing highways in a never ending " Big Dig " process.

Just wait till there's some massive disaster that effects the availability of motor fuel or raises the price to over $10 - $12 a gallon. The public will be screaming for answers as to why there were train tracks that could have been rehabbed That use very much less fuel to travel hundreds of miles.
 #1514042  by MEC407
 
John Smythe wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 5:33 pm All these 2 states seem to like to do is raise toll revenues & undertake more widening projects of existing highways in a never ending " Big Dig " process.
It's been almost 20 years since the last major highway widening in Maine. I have no idea what goes on in NH, but Maine is definitely not aggressive about widening highways or building new highways.

Furthermore, Maine's toll increases have been minimal, infrequent, and have only been implemented in order to keep up with the costs of maintenance and labor.
 #1514045  by John Smythe
 
My family owned a vacation home on Sebago lake since the 1960's, we sold it about 2000-2001. Up until the late 1990's it cost $1.00 from York to exit #8. For endless years fro the 70's - the time we sold the property the Toll Road was always undergoing construction, sometimes down to one lane, other times switching over to the other side of the highway, sometimes just dirt & dust for long stretches, all the windows rolled up on a hot Summers day.

Now the toll cost between the same 2 locations is $4.00, the exit numbers are the craziest thing I've ever seen. Yes the toll road looks great but what happens after you exit onto one of the local highways / routes after leaving the toll plazas? All those cars & trucks which always pay more, must be great to be a toll road employee, pay wise that is.

Of course we have our Mystic River Bridge, for all the times it's been torn up, re decked, painted, etc they could have built a tunnel under the river and tore down the bridge. The problem was even though the toll collectors were paid $99,000 a year, they still caught them stealing money, made the papers on a regular basis. Well enough of that.
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