NNEPRA Holds Pubic Forum on Improving Downeaster Service
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- Created: 11 March 2014 11 March 2014
NNEPRA held a public meeting on Wednesday (March 19th) to discuss the Amtrak Downeaster Service Development Plan. It was a well-attended public forum that focused on extending Downeaster service to Lewiston-Auburn, Augusta and beyond New England to New York City.
TrainRiders/Northeast spoke in support of multiple extensions, particularly an effort to connect Maine through Worcester to Penn Station in New York, where a whole new market for travel to and from Maine awaits.
Patricia Quinn, Executive Director of NNEPRA, answered the many questions regarding currently needed improvements (double tracking, speed and frequency of service) as well as new feeder services to the Brunswick-Boston core of the current Downeaster.
Here is Trainriders/NE's summary comments passed out at the forum.
Here is Tom Bell's reporting on the session in today's Portland Press Herald.
NNEPRA Reports Growth in First Half of FY 2014
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- Created: 24 February 2014 24 February 2014
FY 2014 to date (6 months) is doing amazingly well, with a 6% ridership growth as compared to the same period in FY 2013. The spreadsheet shows some 295,069 riders in FY 2014 YTD as compared with 278,404 in FY 2013 YTD. Revenue exceeded the same period in FY 2013 by 6.5%, or $282,545.
Patricia Quinn, Executive Director of NNEPRA, reported that On Time Performance continues to disappoint with an overall 68% record during this reporting period. She explained that "issues impacting OTP are varied, but constrained capacity between Portland and Boston accounted for approximately 45% of all delays, while infrastucture defects (slow orders) accounted for 40% of the delays."
NNEPRA Reports Growth in 2nd Qtr of FY2014
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- Created: 28 January 2014 28 January 2014
The Downeaster's performance continues on track as Executive Director Patricia Quinn reported on the second quarter of FY2014. Overall, when combined with the first quarter, ridership was up 5% and revenue grew by 7% over FY2013 to date.
On Time Performance remains troubling, due in large part to commuter and freight train delays.
The Downeaster's Overall Customer Satisfaction Score in December was 96%! When you take into account the delays which have affected 25% of the trains, the CSI score demonstrates that a welcoming and professional crew can keep riders satisfied even when they don't arrive on time.
Washington recently approved an "indefinite" extension of CMAQ funds for the use by state-sponsored railroads for operations (originally, the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality funds were to be only used for three years in startup transportation projects). 80% of the Downeaster's operating budget comes from CMAQ funding.