Rail service between Boston and Brunswick is expected to expand as soon as November, provided a critical rail project is completed on time. The Downeaster expects to make five round trips per day on its entire line as soon as it finishes the $9.4 million construction of a secondary passing rail line in Falmouth and […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Construction to disrupt Amtrak Downeaster schedule for weeks
Railroad construction in Southern Maine and New Hampshire will disrupt passenger rail service from the Amtrak Downeaster starting this weekend through early October. Weekday service between Brunswick and Dover, New Hampshire, will be limited and passengers on most of the line should expect to take part of their trip by bus, said Patricia Quinn, executive […]
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Posted inMaine
Downeaster to run on Maine tracks without positive train control
BANGOR (AP) — Officials say Amtrak’s Downeaster will continue to run from Massachusetts to Maine even without the automatic braking technology known as positive train control. Patricia Quinn, executive director of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, tells the Bangor Daily News the Downeaster doesn’t have to have the technology because less than 12 trips travel […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
New Downeaster rail pass offers low-cost service between 6 Maine stations
The Downeaster is asking tourists traveling to popular Maine destinations to ditch the car and try the train. On Wednesday, the Downeaster launched the Discover Maine Rail Pass, a cheap, multitrip ticket between six stations in southern Maine. Most of the stations are within walking distance to a downtown or an attraction, making the train […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Gauging interest in passenger rail service
Eileen Coyne of Leeds, left, at a gathering Wednesday at the Lewiston Public Library to gauge interest in creating a passenger rail connection between L-A and the Amtrak Downeaster in Portland. Coyne points to a map as she explains the route that had been traveled by the now-defunct ski train to Bethel. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal) LEWISTON — […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Amtrak drops plan to extend Downeaster to Rockland this summer
ROCKLAND — There will be no passenger train service between Brunswick and Rockland this summer. Amtrak was unable to conduct a risk assessment of the 58 miles of track along the route, which is necessary before service can resume, Patricia Quinn, executive director of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, said Tuesday. Quinn said […]
Posted inBusiness, Maine, sj-web
Downeaster to test service to Rockland with weekend summer schedule
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 […]
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 inBusiness, sj-web
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 […]