gokeefe wrote:In light of the recent very successful Amtrak excursion on the Northeast Corridor, the continuing track improvements on the Wildcat Branch in MA, the expected new flexibility in the single level coach fleet pool, Section 216 of the PRIIA which encourages Amtrak to run more special trains, and quite simply the onset of winter, I thought it would be a good idea to bring up the Ski Train (aka Snow Train) again.
First and foremost I think the excursion operation in PA was a major game changer. Amtrak made a lot of money on those trains and their reservations and capacity management systems functioned flawlessly. Given the opportunity to do much the same thing again I would think it would be nice if NNEPRA at least considered operation of a "test train" to Bethel. I would propose non-stop operation from Boston North Station and consider adding baggage cars to the train.
I wonder if NNERPA could do the same as the Cape Cod people did with the CAPE FLYER: piggyback on a Downeaster run, using the CAPE FLYER equipment.
That would earn some revenue for the CAPE FLYER folks who otherwise would just have the equipment sit idle in their off-season. OR:
If Amtrak is able to scrounge up enough equipment to run a rather lengthy excursion train like the one recently, I'm fairly confident that they could find 3-4 cars for this service.
Ski package deals would be a plus, too.
A concern would be, though, that if the ski season is lousy, what would the ridership be like? There's not much to do at Sandy River if the skiing isn't happening.