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

Moderators: MEC407, NHN503

 #1524500  by Cosmo
 
riffian wrote: Thu Nov 07, 2019 11:58 am Note in photo caption - the bus is going directly to South station in Boston. It would appear that there is enough bus to train traffic to warrant this service.
Not really, that's just where the bus station is.
Has been for decades.
 #1524514  by kilroy
 
Reads more like a PR News Wire release than a newspaper article.
 #1524596  by FatNoah
 
TBH, I'd expect a higher ridership discrepancy between the Downeaster and the bus. The bus has far more route miles, direct rides to Logan Airport and NYC, and 28 daily trips between Portland and Boston. If anything, this article highlights the popularity of the train, and that multiple transit modes are well supported.
 #1524600  by gokeefe
 
FatNoah wrote: Fri Nov 08, 2019 9:04 am TBH, I'd expect a higher ridership discrepancy between the Downeaster and the bus. [...] If anything, this article highlights the popularity of the train, and that multiple transit modes are well supported.
My thoughts exactly, especially with regards to "multiple transit modes".
 #1524602  by daybeers
 
NRGeep wrote: Thu Nov 07, 2019 11:19 am A private bus company with public subsidies.
Not according to the article linked above:
The company receives no subsidies and its only partnership with Maine Department of Transportation is a publicly funded station off the Maine Turnpike in Auburn operated by the bus company.
 #1524673  by MEC407
 
The argument could be made that they receive an indirect subsidy in terms of traveling on public roads rather than a private company-owned right-of-way; I'm not sure if that's what NRGeep was referring to, but that's one way of looking at it. The reverse argument would be that the bus company pays back that indirect subsidy by doing us all the favor of taking cars off the roads.
 #1524787  by gokeefe
 
I would agree that they are not "subsidized" in the sense of cash assistance. That is of course not the case in New Hampshire where Concord Coach operates quite a few bus lines that receive cash assistance from NHDOT.

In Maine Concord Coach is one beneficiary of what is probably best described as a very successful "3P" or "public private partnership". The State benefits through provision of bus service that provides very high quality transit and supports others modes (air and rail). Concord Coach benefits through proximity to state supported facilities (parking lot) and state supported modes (air and rail).

Although there is a strong case to be made that they are indirectly subsidized I think any argument of such has to acknowledge to likelihood that their operations reduce the costs of certain tax payer supported services. This challenges the concept of "subsidy" even on an indirect basis and is why I think "partnership" is truly the most appropriate description.
 #1524922  by NRGeep
 
All good points. Not implying anything "off the books" yet it seems possible that Concord Coach could be more amenable to private/public partnerships etc in Maine due to receiving generous subsidies in New Hampshire.
 #1580135  by b&m 1566
 
I stumbled upon this article today, it's dated from June 8, 2021.
It appears the Maine state senate, voted to approve the funding to study passenger rail between Portland & Lewiston and Portland & Bangor (via Augusta). The article didn't really go into detail if the study was for a separate commuter rail authority or if Lewiston/Bangor would be an extension of the Downeaster. I know technically Lewiston is already on the expansion list for the Downeaster but to what degree of frequency? The Augusta route is interesting considering there's a push to turn the line into a rail trail
The Maine Senate voted unanimously Monday for two bills that would fund studies of expanded passenger rail to Lewiston, Augusta, Waterville and Bangor.
Click here to read the rest of the article.
 #1580149  by BandA
 
Is there busy bus service on those routes, indicating demand? Or is the rail lines more direct than the highways? Are people in Lewiston and Bangor working in Massachusetts? Are there Park-and-Ride lots that are nearing capacity?
 #1580181  by JBlaisdell
 
So would the Downeaster split at Portland? With service already running to Brunswick, it makes more sense to me to go via Augusta, with less interference from freight traffic.
 #1580192  by NHV 669
 
That doesn't make any sense at all; the track between Brunswick/Augusta is OOS, unmaintained, and at the very least, there has been no bridge here: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Richm ... 88!5m1!1e4 for four years. The track is also missing/built upon in multiple spots in the Augusta area. A complete non-starter for a couple money-losing trains per day.
 #1580244  by backroadrails
 
Well in all honesty, I rather have my tax dollars spent on reactivating rail, instead of being used to build bike paths. At least with rail, there will be some return on the initial investment.
 #1580278  by NHV 669
 
Perhaps if freight was involved; you aren't going to get much of a return on an already subsidized operation that still loses money on an annual basis.
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