NNEPRA Board Meetings
Summaries of NNEPRA's monthly board meetings
Good News: The Downeaster Set a Ridership Record for the Month of January!
- Details
- Created: 08 March 2017 08 March 2017
January & February are normally lean months for Downeaster ridership, so it was a pleasant surprise to learn that "America's Favorite Train" set a January record. NNEPRA Executive Director Patricia Quinn reported the numbers at 37,915 as compared to 30,979 for January of 2016.
February is expected to set a new record as well (Amtrak has yet to release those numbers). Attendees to the Patriots parade in Boston on February 6th packed the trains - an extra coach was even added to one of the trainsets.Congratulations to the NNEPRA staff, the Amtrak crews and the dedicated passengers who chose to "ride the rails" rather than fight traffic and take out a second mortgage for parking.
Here's the full Board Packet that was distributed at the meeting.
August, 2016 NNEPRA Board Meeting
- Details
- Created: 22 August 2016 22 August 2016
Preliminary Report FY2016: The numbers showed continued recovery of the Downeaster service from the botched tie-job of FY 2015 and part of FY2016.
Ridership: Projected ridership was down by 2% and revenue by 3%. However, this June's ridership numbers showed an increase of 23,109 to a total of 42,605 over the paltry 19,496 of the previous June.
On Time Performance: I'll pick last year's worst OTP month - May of 2015 was 0% This May it was 81% - not the 90ish NNEPRA is aiming for, but a spectacular return to normalcy.
Overall Customer Satisfaction - June, 2016: The Downeaster continued to eclipse Amtrak service elsewhere with a 92% rating as opposed to Amtrak's 86%.
FY2017 Begins: July, the first month of of the new fiscal year, set a new ridership record of 51,402 passengers and that's an increase of 14,053 riders over July of FY2016.
Fall Tie Replacement: There remains considerable track work to be done this Fall. From October 1st to November 21st, some 15,000 ties will be replaced between Portland and Wells. This will necessitate no Downeaster service between Brunswick and Wells. Special bus service will bring southbound passengers from Brunswick, Freeport, Portland and Saco down to Wells. Similar service will transport northbound passengers after they reach Wells on the Downeaster. Another painful reminder that maintaining the tracks keeps railroad service up to expectations.