More Trains on Track for the Downeaster
The Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority (NNEPRA) has announced that starting August 17th, 2007, Amtrak's Downeaster will operate 5 daily round-trips between Portland and Boston and will make the trip in 2 hours and 25 minutes. The new schedule will enhance the opportunities for tourism because it adds a new evening departure at 8:10pm from Portland, Maine. The new schedule also returns the 11:20pm northbound departure from Boston, currently operated by bus on weekdays, to a daily train.
See how far we've come as the result of the cooperative efforts amongst NNEPRA, Pan Am Rail, Amtrak, the MBTA and the Maine DOT during the past few years. The Downeaster has become America's Favorite Train with the highest ridership increases and some of the highest customer satisfaction ratings of any Amtrak train in the nation. The recent $6M upgrade, including over $1.5M from New Hampshire have made many improvements possible. When the original service began on 12/15/01, the four round-trips - at 60mph - took two hours and 45 minutes.
On August 17th, the Downeaster service will consist of 10 trips per day between Portland and Boston at speeds up to 80mph. Dare we hope for 12 trips?
TrainRiders/Northeast's volunteers are all still here doing what we've been doing since 1989 - working to give citizens in northern New England more transportation choices. We appreciate your support for our efforts and encourage your continued participation.
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