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 […]
downeaster
Posted inOp-Eds
Passenger rail to L-A not feasible
Albert Einstein allegedly defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Why, then, would Lewiston’s City Council vote to share the $500,000 cost of a study of proposed rail passenger service to Lewiston-Auburn when a thorough analysis was done as recently as 2011? An exhaustive 108-page report, commissioned […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine legislative oversight panel OKs rail authority audit
AUGUSTA — The Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee voted unanimously Friday morning to launch a performance audit of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, which oversees the Amtrak Downeaster train service from Maine to Boston. The investigation was requested by Sen. Stan Gerzofsky, D-Brunswick, who said his chief concern is transparency within the agency around […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Amtrak Downeaster to add seasonal stop in Kennebunk
KENNEBUNK (AP) — Amtrak will begin stopping in Kennebunk within the next two years. The Portland Press Herald (http://bit.ly/1yHWmLk ) reported Amtrak will establish the stop in the spring of 2015 or 2016. The move will restore passenger train service to Kennebunk for the first time in more than 50 years. The train will stop at […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Bob Morrison: Downeaster’s run to Brunswick a poor investment
Everyone loves trains. But when passenger rail enthusiasts get wound up, basic rules of business — such as cost efficiency, the law of supply and demand, even common sense — go right out the window. Such is the case with columnist Doug Rooks. In a recent column (“Making the trains run on time,” July 27), […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Amtrak’s Downeaster wrapping up difficult month
PORTLAND (AP) — Amtrak’s Downeaster is wrapping up the worst month for train cancellations since the passenger rail service launched more than a decade ago. The train’s on-time performance usually runs around 80 percent but it dipped to about 15 percent in July and ridership has dropped because of delays and cancelations caused by track […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Pedestrian struck, reportedly killed by Downeaster train in North Berwick
NORTH BERWICK — A pedestrian was struck by an Amtrak Downeaster train on Main Street in North Berwick, according to a report by WMTW. The North Berwick police chief confirmed that the pedestrian died, according to a tweet from WGME reporter Katie Sampson. The incident occurred on Main Street shortly after 7 p.m. Wednesday. No […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Lawmakers question plan to build Downeaster layover facility in Brunswick, suggest South Portland
BRUNSWICK — Six Democratic legislators are urging the organization that operates the Amtrak Downeaster to reconsider building a controversial, 60,000-square-foot layover facility in Brunswick and instead build it in South Portland. In a June 18 letter to Patricia Quinn, executive director of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, Sen. Edward Mazurek of Rockland and […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Judge nixes stormwater permit for proposed Downeaster facility in Brunswick
BRUNSWICK — Opponents of a proposed 60,000-square-foot layover facility for Amtrak Downeaster passenger trains claimed victory on Tuesday after a superior court justice vacated a stormwater management permit for the project because abutters did not receive proper notification. In a decision dated July 2, Justice Joyce A. Wheeler determined that although the plaintiffs’ properties are […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Winter track damage slows, cancels Amtrak Downeaster runs
PORTLAND (AP) — Amtrak Downeaster passenger rail service between Boston and Maine has been delayed or canceled this week so damaged tracks can be repaired. The Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, which manages Downeaster service, said inspectors determined that harsh winter weather and heavy snow melt had destabilized the ground under about 27 noncontiguous […]