ABOUT US

Trainriders Northeast – a brief history:

• 1989 Three people came together to discuss what it would take to extend Amtrak service north from Boston to Portland. Three grew to 21 then to 300.
• 1990 The group took on the name TrainRiders Northeast (TRNE) and gathered 25,000 signatures to assess public opinion. A political ction group was formed and collected 90,000 signatures of registered Maine voters requesting passage of a “Maine Passenger Rail Service Act,” which required the Maine DOT to reinstate passenger rail service between Boston and Portland.
• 1991 The Maine legislature passed the “Maine Passenger Rail Service Act” which became the first citizen-initiated bill ever adopted by the legislature. The people spoke, and our elected officials acted.
• 1991-1995 TRNE:
  1. Sponsored rail awareness conferences and special trains
  2. Promoted bipartisan federal and state support for our vision and was granted $38.6M in federal funds.
  3. Together with Maine’s DOT, TRNE then created language and legislation authorizing the formation of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority (NNEPRA).
• 1995 NNEPRA came into existence to manage the proposed new train service on behalf of the State.
• The Downeaster service had its inaugural run on December 14, 2001, with fare-paying passengers climbing aboard the following day.
• 2004-2005, TRNE organized and led meetings with Brunswick and Freeport business, community, and political leaders to expand the service north to those municipalities.
• 2012 TRNE celebrated the initiation of expanded service to Freeport and Brunswick.
• 2026 On TRNE’s 37^th birthday our work continues: We seek to improve and expand passenger rail service in the Northeast. Projects include:
  1. Creating a cross-platform connection at North Station to provide passenger rail service between Boston’s North Station and New York City through Worcester, Springfield, Hartford, and New Haven. In addition, we have supported the
  2. Expanding Downeaster service north to Bangor.
  3. Protecting Maine’s rail infrastructure by preventing the removal of rail from state-owned rail lines and the use of those corridors solely for trail purposes.
  4. Organizing and expanding our station host program to ensure that passengers at each Downeaster station have a pleasant travel experience.
  5. Working to improve the frequency, reliability and speed of the Downeaster service by working with NNEPRA and CSX and local communities.
• Moving forward - Celebrating our success while looking to expand and improve rail passenger service in Northern New England.

The Downeaster remains popular with the traveling public, often being called “America’s Favorite Train,” with some of the highest customer satisfaction ratings in the Amtrak system. The service thrives with the excellent oversight and management of NNEPRA, the efficient and pleasant Amtrak crews, the quality of the food service, the demanding work of the host railways, and the helpful and knowledgeable station ambassadors provided by TRNE and various local groups in several station communities.

TrainRiders Northeast will continue their work with ongoing support from our members and other business supporters.

Stay with us. With your help, we will change the way the Northeast travels.