Welcome to TrainRiders/Northeast

News Brief

TrainRiders/Northeast's 30th Annual Meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn by-the-Bay in Portland on December 14th at 12:30. The timing is convenient for north and southbound trains with free transportation between the Portland Tranportation Center and the Holiday Inn. You'll soon be able to use this website to make your reservations and luncheon selections - stay turned!

NNEPRA Annual Meeting Celebrates FY2018

Details: Written by TRN Webmaster TRN Webmaster; Published: 30 October 2018 30 October 2018

The NNEPRA Annual Meeting was filled with the sweet smell of success.

FY2018 New records were set in FY18 - Ridership (7.7% more than FY17) ticket revenue (18.9% more than FY17) and passenger miles (10.7% more than FY17).

Nine months of FY18 set new ridership records.

The Downeaster maintained one of the highest customer satisfaction ratings in the country in FY18 at 90%.

The Downeaster has transported more than 7.1 million passengers and generated more than $107 million in passenger revenue since the service began on December 14th in 2001.

Executive Director Patricia Quinn announced that after discussions with PanAm, the fifth round-trip to Boston will now originate in Brunswick starting November 12th.

Ms Quinn summarized the good FY18 numbers for TrainRiders/NE.

Kennebunk Cancels Planned Downeaster Stop!

Details: Written by TRN Webmaster TRN Webmaster; Published: 10 October 2018 10 October 2018

...from SeacoastOnline.com by Donna Buttarattzi

KENNEBUNK -- The Board of Selectmen voted Tuesday to pull the plug on plans for an Amtrak Downeaster station that would have brought passenger rail service to downtown Kennebunk.

Four years after voters approved $300,000 for a seasonal train stop in town, the board voted unanimously Tuesday to officially halt the plans that appeared to be close to coming to fruition just a few weeks ago.

Board Chairman Dick Morin read a statement from the board saying, “As we narrowed the conversation regarding the details of the project with regard to things such as renting versus owning and space availability for parking and restrooms, it became more apparent that this location, with its significant limitations, presented a situation that would make us losers if it won, meaning if it was successful, and losers if the project failed at that location.”

NNEPRA Joins Other States to Keep the Dome Car Rolling

Details: Written by TRN Webmaster TRN Webmaster; Parent Category: TRNE News TRNE News; Published: 06 September 2018 06 September 2018

The bi-monthly Downeaster Operations Meeting was held on the Great Dome Car yesterday. It was an appropriate location after Amtrak announced plans to eliminate the very popular car from their fleet as of December 31st, 2018. The proposed "sunset" of the car was clearly on the minds of those who were interviewed.

NNEPRA Executive Director Patricia Quinn announced that a group of states, including Maine, have inquired of Amtrak as what it would cost to refurbish and keep the Dome car in service, rather than have it permanently taken out of service at the end of this year.

Come along for the ride and hear from those on board.

Trains Magazine Article Reported That Amtrak Would Halt Service on All Non-PTC Routes - That Included the Downeaster! Amtrak Issued a “Clarification”

Details: Written by TRN Webmaster TRN Webmaster; Parent Category: TRNE News TRNE News; Published: 28 August 2018 28 August 2018

An article in Trains Magazine set off a firestorm of conflicting statements and nationwide pushback after it stated that the Amtrak Board had decided not to run service on trackage that is not Positive Train Control equipped after December 31st of this year!

This would have eliminated Amtrak service on the Downeaster route and seven other essential Amtrak services.

TrainRiders/NE along with other grassroots passenger rail organizations joined with the Rail Passengers Association to demand clarification from Amtrak as the story contradicts Amtrak's previous position that risk assessments would be conducted to determine what adjustments might be needed on non-PTC trackage.

Trains Magazine has now received "clarification" from Amtrak top management:

"Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari tells Trains News Wire, "where PTC is not implemented and operational, it is expected that nearly all carriers will qualify for an alternative PTC implementation schedule under law.

"For those carriers and routes operating under an extension or under an FRA-approved exemption, Amtrak is performing risk analyses and developing strategies for enhancing safety on a route-by-route basis to ensure that there is a single level of safety across the Amtrak network.

"For those very limited routes where a host may not achieve an alternative schedule by year’s end, Amtrak will suspend service and may seek alternative modes of service until such routes come into compliance."

NNEPRA and Amtrak have been conducting a risk assessment of the Downeaster route and, according to a knowledgeable source, preliminary results do not indicate any factors which would jeopardize the Downeaster Service.

Phew!

NNEPRA's 2018 Fiscal Year Ends with Strong Numbers

Details: Written by TRN Webmaster TRN Webmaster; Parent Category: NNEPRA NNEPRA; Published: 30 July 2018 30 July 2018

The NNEPRA Board heard an impressive report on FY2018, which came to an end on June 30th.

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FY2018 Executive Director Patricia Quinn pointed out that FY2018 was the second strongest period in the Downeaster's history, missing setting a new record by just 5,000 riders. Ridership grew 7.75% over FY2017. There was also good news on ticket revenue. It came in at $10,245,061 - exceeding $10 million for the first time and the previous fiscal year by $1,624,943 or nearly 19%!

Ontime performance continued to be a problem. So far this calendar year it has averaged 70%. NNEPRA, Amtrak and PanAM will be meeting soon to how best to address the problem.

The Downeaster's overall customer satisfaction continued to outpace Amtrak nationally, 90-83.

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