Posted on 07/30/2010 10:59:36 AM PDT by Willie Green
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) ― Amtrak's Downeaster that runs between Portland, Maine, and Boston bounced back from a dip last summer and fall to finish the fiscal year with its best performance yet.
The Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority says 474,058 passengers rode the train during the fiscal year that ended last month. Ridership rebounded after losing ground in the first five months of the fiscal year to finish 1 percent ahead of the previous year.
Executive Director Patricia Quinn says revenue for the service hit an all-time high as well, at $6.7 million.
(Excerpt) Read more at wbztv.com ...
That’s about 1,000 passengers a day. Isn’t that about one train’s worth?
“Patricia Quinn says revenue for the service hit an all-time high as well, at $6.7 million.”
“Next week, work begins on the upgrade of 30 miles of track to bring the train to Brunswick in 2012. Quinn says the expansion will boost ridership by another 36,000 passengers each year.”
No mention of making a profit. I wonder why?
Did it turn a profit?
A) Does that revenue include subsidies?
B) How much profit did it make? (or is it still ,as we expect, running at a loss?)
A fraction of NYC subway ridership each work day. Day!
I think it runs 3 - 5 times a day. The night run leaves Boston after the RedSox game is over (indefinite time). The price of the round trip for that run is comparable to bus fare, other times are slightly more expensive.
Ctrl-F
Search for “profit”
“Text not found.”
Hey..I like the train. I’d rather give money to Amtrak than GM.
Hey..I like the train. I’d rather give money to Amtrak than GM.
“Next week, work begins on the upgrade of 30 miles of track to bring the train to Brunswick in 2012. Quinn says the expansion will boost ridership by another 36,000 passengers each year.”
There's no doubt that increased ridership will not only boost Amtrak's profitability on this route, it will also help stimulate economic development of the local communities.
The Times-Record
Friday, July 30, 2010 2:10 PM EDT
BRUNSWICK — Wiscasset Raceway can have Oxxfest 2010. Brunswick will host its own celebration of heavy metal on Monday.
Real heavy metal.
Very heavy metal.
In anticipation of the extension of passenger rail service from Portland to Brunswick, the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority will oversee delivery of “continuous welded rail” track along railroad lines leading into downtown Brunswick on Monday, according to a Brunswick Police Department release.
The delivery, tangible evidence that the long-awaited return of passenger rail to Brunswick is moving closer to reality, will trigger a celebration among dignitaries and rail aficionados at Maine Street Station. It also will cause traffic diversions on Union, Stanwood and Church streets.
The celebration, scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. at Maine Street Station, is likely to feature a Brunswick public appearance by Gov. John Baldacci, according to a release from its organizers. State and local officials will join Baldacci and representatives of the Federal Railroad Administration, Maine Department of Transportation, Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority and Pan Am Railway — which owns the tracks — for Monday’s event.
The downtown development at the site of Brunswick’s former train station includes a platform for rail passengers to climb aboard and disembark from Amtrak Downeaster trains expected to begin making runs to Brunswick by 2012. A visitors center, operated by the Brunswick Downtown Association, also awaits the arrival of rail passengers to town.
A $35 million federal grant announced in late January provides funding for the proposed passenger rail expansion to Brunswick. Current plans call for rail between Portland and Boston to be upgraded to accommodate Amtrak Downeaster passenger trains, which already connect Portland to Boston.
The rail upgrade aims to make it possible for passenger trains to travel up the coast from Portland, stopping in Freeport and Brunswick. The Maine Eastern Railroad currently operates excursion trains from Brunswick to Rockland, with stops available in Bath and Wiscasset.
Monday’s delivery is expected to disrupt traffic. The Brunswick Police Department issued a release Thursday to warn drivers to seek alternative routes for travel on Church Road, Union and Stanwood streets.
“The transport train is approximately 1,650 feet in length and will be blocking Union Street, Stanwood Street and Church Road at various time periods during the morning and early afternoon” on Monday, the release states. “The road closure of Union Street is currently set for approximately 8 a.m., and the roadway could remain closed until as late as noon.”
After completing its delivery in the Union Street vicinity, the train will head west to Stanwood Street and Church Road, where more new rails will be delivered.
I hate gubmint subsidies but I must say I love the Maine Eastern RailwayI'm certain that expansion of Amtrak to Brunswick will be mutually beneficial for both railways. And the boost in ridership will certainly contribute to Amtrak's future profitability.
Daily Willie Green Choo-Choo thread.
Has anybody ever told you that hallucinogens are dangerous ?
You gotta cut back on that stuff, Willie.
Thanks for the posts Willie. I see millions to be spent but no mention of the millions to be made. Losing money is bad, losing it at cyclic rate is insane.
The ticket revenue roughly equals taxpayers subisides: $1.3 million provided by the state and $5.3 million from the federal government.
Thanks for the posts Willie. I see millions to be spent but no mention of the millions to be made.
Well in 2008, the average fare in Maine for Amtrak's Northeaster was $17.
So 36K more passengers should add another $612K in revenue... or about $7.3 million total revenue.
I don't know if that's enough to push 'em up past the break-even point, but increased ridership is certainly headed in the right direction.
It'll pay off in the long run as gasoline prices continue to rise.
Besides those little battery electric cars probably won't work too well in winter New England conditions.
And the train will be much safer than driving on icy highways anyway.
Has anybody ever told you that hallucinogens are dangerous ?
Then why do you libertarians want to legalize it?
Is it because you want to profit from other people's addictions???
“...the average fare in Maine for Amtrak’s Northeaster was $17. So 36K more passengers should add another $612K in revenue... or about $7.3 million total revenue.”
Well you have half of the equation. The other half is the cost part. You know how much does labor, infrastructure creation, maintenance of infrastructure, insurance and the cost of capital (interest) cost to deliver one mile of rail transportation. If it is less than gross revenue, then you have a profit. On the profit, in normal business, taxes are paid to local, state and fed governments. I don’t recall Amtrak paying any taxes, so I assume they haven’t actually made any money. What they have achieved is pissing taxpayer money away to pamper a tiny minority of taxpayers with subsidized train rides. While this minority may be happy with the service, the opportunity costs for the majority of taxpayers is immense. The real jobs this money could have created when spent or invested by those who earned it did not happen. We don’t know what true growth industry could have occured had these monies been spent/invested by their rightful owners rather than by a politician. We know that nothing Amtrak has invested in to date has ever returned a profit, but the articles you post indicate a whole lot more taxpayer dollars will be negatively invested in the near future. It would be simpler and cheaper for all to provide real Railroad companies a tax write off provision for offering public rail service on their profitable lines than to create a Government entity to provide it.
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