Amtrak and passenger rail does well in smaller regional areas. Up here in eastern New England, we now have the Downeaster which connects Boston to Portland, now Brunswick, Maine. When NARP was working on restoring the service, the naysayers came out in full force to knock it down. It was going to cost money, lose money, not carry any passengers, their taunts went on and on. PanAm Rys even got in on the act and fought the track upgrades needed on the Boston to Portland portion of the line. Eventually the service started, and this has proven to be an extremely popular service both for daily commuters as well as tourists. There is rarely an empty seat, and reservations are required during the summer tourist months.
With it's popularity increasing, there are even thoughts and discussions going on about expanding the service to Augusta, Maine and perhaps then beyond. In the same region, where the DE runs, there are even thoughts and discussions, as well as some track improvements and rebuilding going on, to restore service from Portland to the White Mountains, perhaps up to St. Johnsbury, VT again, and or use the St. Lawrence and Atlantic and run via Bethel, and Gorham, and Berlin, NH to Montreal. These routes, some inactive since the mid-1980s, haven't seen passenger service in close to 50 or more years. The region, however, has become popular with tourists due to the scenic views and majestic mountains.
Will this happen? We don't know, but with increasing fuel costs (anyone else notice the 40-cent boost recently), this might be the only way to save the economies of some of the more remote regions in the US. We are already seeing increased freight service along our railroads up here, a much needed service improvement, as freight is moving to trains and off the badly maintained and crowded interstates in the region.
Again, these trains aren't the 3,000 mile long distance trains, but more regional 600-900 mile routes which can be a bear to drive, especially with tourists clogging the roads, and bad weather.
John
With it's popularity increasing, there are even thoughts and discussions going on about expanding the service to Augusta, Maine and perhaps then beyond. In the same region, where the DE runs, there are even thoughts and discussions, as well as some track improvements and rebuilding going on, to restore service from Portland to the White Mountains, perhaps up to St. Johnsbury, VT again, and or use the St. Lawrence and Atlantic and run via Bethel, and Gorham, and Berlin, NH to Montreal. These routes, some inactive since the mid-1980s, haven't seen passenger service in close to 50 or more years. The region, however, has become popular with tourists due to the scenic views and majestic mountains.
Will this happen? We don't know, but with increasing fuel costs (anyone else notice the 40-cent boost recently), this might be the only way to save the economies of some of the more remote regions in the US. We are already seeing increased freight service along our railroads up here, a much needed service improvement, as freight is moving to trains and off the badly maintained and crowded interstates in the region.
Again, these trains aren't the 3,000 mile long distance trains, but more regional 600-900 mile routes which can be a bear to drive, especially with tourists clogging the roads, and bad weather.
John