ROCKLAND (AP) — Transportation officials say train service previously limited to Brunswick is planned to run farther north in Maine this summer, at least during weekends. The Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority says the Downeaster service is planned to run weekend trips up to Rockland this summer, expanding its current service that terminates in […]
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Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Amtrak train speeding 50 mph over limit before deadly derailment
DUPONT, Wash. (AP) — Federal officials confirmed an Amtrak train was hurtling 50 mph over the speed limit when it careened off an overpass south of Seattle, spilling cars onto the highway below and killing at least three people. Bella Dinh-Zarr, a National Transportation Safety Board member, said at a Monday night news conference that […]
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Amtrak train hurtles off overpass; at least six people killed
DUPONT, Wash. (AP) — An Amtrak train making the first-ever run along a faster new route hurtled off an overpass at an estimated 80 mph Monday south of Seattle and spilled some of its cars onto the highway below, killing at least six people, authorities said. Seventy-seven passengers and five crew members were aboard when […]
Posted inMaine
Brunswick police plans to use drones to patrol Amtrak rail lines
A plan by the Brunswick Police Department and the Federal Railroad Administration could make the department the first in the country to use drones to patrol for trespassers along railroad tracks in town. The project, which is still in its infancy, also would make the Brunswick Police Department the first in Maine to use drones […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Railroad authority exploring plan to expand Downeaster service to Rockland
ROCKLAND (AP) — A railroad authority is exploring a pilot program that would bring seasonal Amtrak service to Maine farther north. The pilot program is being explored by the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, which is responsible for handling Maine’s contract with Amtrak’s Downeaster service line. The Downeaster line currently begins in Boston and […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Amtrak Downeaster reports high ridership for fiscal year
PORTLAND (AP) — The Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority says the Amtrak Downeaster train’s ridership for fiscal 2017 exceeded last year’s total and this year’s goal. The authority says more than 511,000 people rode the Downeaster in fiscal 2017, which ended on June 30. It says that total exceeded fiscal 2016 ridership and fiscal […]
Posted inFranklin
Wilton man in possession of fentanyl arrested in Brunswick
BRUNSWICK – A Wilton man was arrested Tuesday after getting off a train in downtown Brunswick with 120 grams — 1,200 doses — of fentanyl in his pocket, according to a release from Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Public Safety Department. The drugs had a street value of $20,000. Maine Drug Enforcement agents from […]
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Amtrak’s Downeaster marks 15 years with more riders, more communities
PORTLAND — Fifteen years after passenger train service resumed between Boston and Portland, Amtrak’s Downeaster has been a runaway success, with increased speed, ridership and service. Thursday was the anniversary of the resumption of service between Massachusetts and Maine. It took a decade of lobbying and more than $50 million for track upgrades for the first […]
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Amtrak’s Downeaster back to normal after rail improvement
SACO — Track upgrades that disrupted Amtrak’s Downeaster are complete. The Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority says Pan Am Railways concluded the tie replacement project on the track between Portland and Wells ahead of schedule. Normal service resumed Thursday. All told, 15,000 railroad ties were replaced over a six-week period. During that time, trains […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Amtrak train hits equipment on track; 2 workers die
CHESTER, Pa. (AP) — An Amtrak train struck a piece of heavy equipment just south of Philadelphia on Sunday, causing a derailment that killed two Amtrak workers and sent more than 30 passengers to hospitals, authorities said. Train 89 was heading from New York to Savannah, Georgia, at about 8 a.m. when it hit the […]