Amtrak President Joins Our 35th Annual Meeting!
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- Created: 09 May 2024 09 May 2024
Our 35th Annual Meeting welcomed Amtrak President Roger Harris as our keynote speaker. Mr. Harris is a proven leader with more than 25 years of experience in the transportation industry.
Since April 2019, Mr. Harris has served as Executive Vice President, Marketing and Revenue, and Chief Commercial Officer. In this role, he managed the Marketing, Loyalty, eCommerce, Product Development, and Pricing & Revenue Management functions, along with the Northeast Corridor, State Supported, and Long Distance Service Lines. Roger joined Amtrak in early 2019 as Vice President, Long Distance Service Line.
He spoke knowingly about the Downeaster's success and its various proposed projects - a new Portland Station on the Main Line and a pilot program between Brunswick and Rockland this summer. Introduced by TRNE President F. Bruce Sleeper, Mr. Harris took questions in a live thirty-minute session via the Internet. Below is an edited version of his time with us.
Our thanks to Mr. Harris and his support team for making this happen.
The Downeaster is one of Maine's success stories, thanks in large part to TrainRider/Northeast's vision and NNEPRA's creative and professional management!
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NNEPRA's Patricia Quinn Outlines Goal of New Portland Station
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- Created: 07 May 2024 07 May 2024
NNEPRA Executive Director Patricia Quinn, appearing at our 35th Annual Meeting, presented her 'Downeaster by the Numbers.' Ridership during the last 12 months was 585,000 - record growth! The Pandemic is definitely in the rearview mirror. Can 600,000 be far behind?
It was the proposed new Portland Station that took center stage. Patrica detailed the impacts associated with the current Transportation Center stop as she listed the annual passenger inconvenience and financial costs associated with the move to and from the current station.
Her summary was beyond convincing, "In CY 2023, 125,000 passengers experienced the 15-minute backup move into Portland Station. This collectively wasted 31,250 hours of passenger time, 3,650 hours of crew overtime and consumed 8,600 gallons of fuel. That total cost is $973,00 annually!"
NNEPRA and MeDOT are zeroing in on three possible sites along the mainline and after final evaluation, a preferred location will be selected. The station will have customer parking for 101 cars. A detailed report on this project can be found on the NNEPRA website.
NNEPRA's other goals:
- Implementation of 'Positive Train Control' which will allow increased frequency of train service.
- Continue work on the double tracking at Wells and the addition of a northbound platform.
- Examine a new stop in Falmouth.
- The much anticipated pilot project service between Brunswick and Rockland this summer (NNEPRA, Amtrak and the MeDOT are in discussions).
The Downeaster is one of Maine's success stories, thanks in large part to TrainRider/Northeast's vision and NNEPRA's creative and professional management!
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Wayne Davis Honored with Governor's Tourism Award.
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- Created: 04 May 2024 04 May 2024
The last week in April was a banner period for Wayne Davis and TrainRiders/Northeast! We had our 35th Annual Meeting in Freeport, which included addresses from the Amtrak president, NNEPRA's Executive Director, Conway Scenic Railroad's president, UNH Special Projects Director, and Miss Maine!
Wayne's Governor's Award honored his personal dedication to customer service. It was his vision that resulted in the creation of the Amtrak Downeaster. Below is the video shown to hundreds of attendees at the Governor's Tourism Welcome Awards in Portland - honoring his and several other organizations/companies' hospitable approach to tourism in Maine.
Our Washington delegation - Senators Collins, King and Representative Pingree added their congratulations.
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