Unofficial New England Regional & Intercity Rail Proposals and Plans (Map)

[Nexis4Jersey]

Expansion of passenger trains in Maine takes slow track

NORTH TO AUBURN AND MONTREAL?

Extending service in another direction -- from the Portland terminal near outer Congress Street to Lewiston-Auburn -- also can't go forward without the construction of the Y track in Portland and the sidings in Yarmouth, where the junctions to both lines to Lewiston-Auburn are located. The Portland terminal would also need to be expanded to allow more than one train to be in the station at a time.

Auburn has long been the next goal for the Downeaster, in part because the tracks have already been upgraded as far as Yarmouth, just 20 miles short of the proposed Auburn Intermodal Passenger Center, where shuttle buses to downtown Lewiston would depart. Another attraction is that it would get Amtrak that much closer to Montreal on the legendary Grand Trunk, the railway that made Portland into the winter port of Victorian-era Canada and helped introduce the Quebecois to the sands of Old Orchard Beach.

"You have 4 million people in Montreal and 4 million in Boston and the Portland-to-Bethel corridor in between them; that shouts opportunity," says Auburn Mayor Jonathan LaBonte. "That's already a viable freight line, so any investment improvements would improve freight capacities into the state as well."

Both intercity rail expansions would require a lot of money, however, and a 2011 Maine Department of Transportation study suggests ridership would be limited.

Running three round-trips a day between Auburn and Portland on the Downeaster was estimated to require at least $107 million in upfront investments -- including a new train set -- and a $2.5 million annual operating subsidy. The study predicted 30,000 people would use it annually. Running the trains directly to Boston would more than double the cost while boosting ridership only to 45,800.

"Whereas it would be fun to have an intercity train that runs three times a day from Portland, that's not going to help," says LaBonte, who is most interested in connecting Lewiston-Auburn with commuter job opportunities in Portland. "In terms of where we can invest best for the dollar, I can help more people get access to jobs with a bus than with either an intercity or a commuter train."

COMMUTER TRAINS INSTEAD?

But Freeport Town Councilor Kristina Egan, former director of the South Coast Rail commuter project in Massachusetts, says commuter trains may provide a cost-effective alternative to buses moving commuters between Portland, Westbrook, South Portland and Lewiston-Auburn. Rather than using heavy passenger trains, the system might use self-propelled rail cars called Diesel Multiple Units that allow for more frequent and cost-effective service.

"The most expensive piece of getting a rail line ready is having a right-of-way. We already have a right-of-way in and around Portland," Egan says. "DMUs are more reliable than buses, carry more people, and are more attractive and comfortable."

One enthusiast of these self-propelled rail cars is touting a proposal that would establish service between Portland and Lewiston with or without the Downeaster's improvements. Tony Donovan of the Maine Rail Transit Coalition would take a different route into Portland, following the old Grand Trunk line from Yarmouth, which crosses the old trestle bridge beside Portland's B&M Baked Bean plant, and skirts the East End shore on the route currently used by the Maine Narrow Gauge Railway. The service would terminate at its own station on the city's eastern waterfront, not far from where the old Grand Trunk Terminal stood until 1966, when it was demolished to make way for a parking lot.

"The next rail service in Maine will be between India Street in Portland and Auburn, followed quickly by connections to the communities of Oxford County," Donovan says. "And it will not only pay for itself, it will bring renewed prosperity to the communities along the corridor region."

Last month, Portland city councilors directed city staff to renew studying the feasibility of both bus and rail commuter links to Lewiston-Auburn. The three cities are expected to apply for funding from the Federal Transit Administration to pay for the study.

http://www.pressherald.com/news/expa...013-02-04.html

[Nexis4Jersey]

Most people agree with me that a Auburn-Lewiston Commuter Rail would be better then the current Auburn Airport plan.... And Rockland should be a regional Rail line , along with up to Augusta.... Intercity should do long distance ,but shouldn't do commuter rail. Pricing needs to be different aswell , Mainers are will to use Public transit , but the Downeaster is to expensive and infrequent for most.

[Nexis4Jersey]

Passenger rail service for Western Massachusetts and Connecticut on track for development

Want to leave behind high fuel prices, parking problems, drivers who text, roads like skating rinks?

Rail travel - already an option for Pioneer Valley people - is going to loom larger in the future for mass transportation across the region, says Timothy W. Brennan, a rail booster and executive director of the Springfield-based Pioneer Valley Planning Commission.

An exciting component of improved rail travel is the multiphase $78 million reconstruction of Union Station in Springfield. It should become a state-of-the-art transportation center, according to Brennan.

The first phase, to cost $48.6 million, includes demolition of the baggage warehouse. In its place, contractors will build a 24-bay bus terminal and a 146-space parking garage. Another four bus bays will be built adjacent to this garage.

Inside, the plan is to reopen and restore the first floor of the terminal building and the great hall. It will have ticket counters for Amtrak, Peter Pan Bus Lines, Greyhound and the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority, plus limited retail.

The city will also reopen and restore a pedestrian tunnel linking the station with train boarding platforms that are now accessible only from Lyman Street. Once the tunnel is done, people will once again be able to walk from Lyman Street into Union Station itself.


Union Station was the site of a press conference in July, at which U.S. Secretary of Trandsportation Raymond H. LaHood, announced the grant to start the project.
The Republican/Mark Murray

Amtrak's Vermonter train stops in Springfield already, but a project is underway that will have that train also stop in Holyoke and Northampton, as well as possibly run more than one Vermonter train a day each direction.

The Pioneer Valley Planning Commission already had a study of rail travel underway when President Barack Obama announced plans for $8 billion in federal stimulus money available for high-speed rail improvements between cities. The study and planning was also in progress before a casino was proposed by PennNational Gaming for the city's North End neighborhood surrounding Union Station.

Because only states could apply, the planning commission worked with Massachusetts on the application for funding to improve train tracks on the Vermonter line through Western Massachusetts, Brennan said.

Work has already begun on the project to improve the tracks - funded with $73 million from the federal stimulus money applied for by the state.

That will affect rail Amtrak passenger rail from Springfield north to the Vermont line on the Vermonter. When completed, the Vermonter - which now has stops in Springfield and Amherst - will see stops added in Holyoke, Northampton, and Greenfield.

Brennan said because the condition of the track along the Holyoke and Northampton sections was so poor Amtrak would only run slow freight trains on it, not passenger trains.

“That’s how the detour to Palmer came about,” he said. In Palmer no passengers get on and off but there is a switching exercise to a secondary line to continue to Vermont.

The project will get the trains running from Springfield to Hoyoke to Northampton to Greenfield, with stops in those places.

The only options to board the train have been in Springfield or Amherst, Brennan said. With the rerouting of the train to the rebuilt track, the Amherst stop on the Vermonter will be gone, he said.

http://www.masslive.com/business-new...ern_massa.html

[Nexis4Jersey]

Enfield Asks State To Build Rail Station In Thompsonville

HARTFORD ——
Enfield officials asked state lawmakers Wednesday to build a high-speed rail station in the Thompsonville section of their town.

The local officials who testified at the legislature's transportation committee public hearing say they want Enfield to be a stop on the proposed high-speed railway between New Haven and Springfield. Putting a station in Thompsonville would improve the community's economy, said town Councilman William Edgar Jr.

"Enfield is the hub of north central Connecticut," Edgar said, explaining that many town residents work in either Hartford or Springfield.

Asnuntuck Community College is also in town, and Thompsonville is located near major roadways like I-91 and Route 5, he said. A rail stop would bring people from surrounding communities to Enfield, he added.

"This station would be a game-changer," Edgar said.

Another town councilor, William Lee, said if the state agrees to build a rail station in Thompsonville it would allow the town and state to capitalize on nearby development projects, he said.

Lee specifically mentioned the Bradley Airport development zone, which was created in 2010 to offer tax incentives for businesses in Windsor Locks, Suffield, East Granby and Windsor. He also mentioned that the town could benefit from a casino in Springfield, Mass., if it had a stop on the high-speed rail.

Lori Longhi, a member of Enfield's planning and zoning commission and a member of the Thompsonville revitalization committee, said it's important to know whether Thompsonville will have a stop on the rail line before Enfield starts rezoning that section of town.

http://www.courant.com/community/enf...,5503941.story