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www. trainridersne .org THE NEWSLETTER OF TRAINRIDERS/NORTHEAST

NNEPRA Awaits FRA Decision t is common knowledge that after 20 years the with such a heavy backlog of work that we cannot even Northern Passenger Rail Authority guess at the time-frame needed to catch up. Had the shut- (NNEPRA) continues to maintain a first-rate busi- down not happened, we would have the decision by now. Iness relationship with . But the best is yet In the interim. excellent management has meant that to come: NNEPRA and Amtrak now look forward to ex- NNEPRA came in ONE MILLION DOLLARS UNDER BUD- panding service by adding up to five or even seven daily GET for the fiscal year. What other organization can you round-trips to Freeport and Brunswick Ridership num- name that has accomplished such a feat? (A hug from bers demand it. (On some runs, commuter pass holders your editor for anyone who can name a better national sit on the floor until seats open up, usually after a stop example. ■ or two. Sounds awful to your editor, but by and large they are a cheerful group. As one young woman said, Speak of That Economy “We’re so glad to have this and the economy com- Since inauguration of the expanded Amtrak ser- muter fare that we don’t mind having to sit on the floor vice in November of last year, six new businesses once in a while.” (Pass holders are familiar with the have contracted to build or move into existing build- fine print on the back of the ticket that points out that ings at Brunswick Landing on the site of the former passage is guaranteed, but not a seat.) US Naval Air Base. This brings the total number of Less than a year after the startup of service between businesses and schools to 24, added to which Bruns- , Portland, Freeport and Brunswick, ridership is wick Executive Airport realized 1,000 take-offs and more than double the projected numbers. landings of private aircraft since the first of this year We positively itch to discuss expansion to Lewiston- – impressive numbers for an airport that until three Auburn and Augusta, Waterville, Bangor and through- years ago was strictly military. service /Brunswick. But we would be get- One of the town’s oldest and most successful ting ahead of ourselves. For now the focus is Freeport bakery/cafes is soon to open a branch at Brunswick and Brunswick. Landing, and other local restaurants have made in- NNEPRA AWAITS FEDERAL RAIL AUTHORITY quiries. According to spokesperson Ben Sturdivant (FRA) DECISION of the on the Environmental Assess- of the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority ment draft for the layover facility to be built in the (MRRA), the only food currently available on the Brunswick rail yard, a site that now serves as the freight 3,200 acre site comes from two vending machines. interchange area for and the “The students are starving,” he quipped. Eastern Railroad. In the interim, the layover facility de- Is the burgeoning economy at Brunswick Land- sign is being updated. ing, which also features a good amount of residen- Due to the recent government shutdown, the FRA, tial housing, due in part to the ’s arrival like all federal agencies, was shuttered while its In-box- in town? If development that sprang up along the es filled up to the ceiling. At this writing, the FRA copes train’s NH and southern Maine corridor after 2001

Volume 21, Number 3, November 2013 ◆ Stephen R. Piper, Editor, e-mail: [email protected] TrainRiders/Northeast, Box 4869, Portland, ME 04112-4869 ◆ (207) TRY-RAIL ◆ [email protected] ◆ www.trainridersne.org Guest editor for this issue: Paula Boyer Rougny can be used as a guide, YOU BET. THE DOWNEASTER AS ECONOMIC ENGINE At a former off-base housing site FOR OTHER TOWNS three miles away, near the rail sta- In Old Orchard Beach, $22 million was invested within a tion in an enclave of leafy green few blocks of the station after the train began stopping in 2001. trees and curving streets, houses are Saco-Biddeford has seen $300 million in investment within walk- gradually being released to the mar- ing distance of its station. FYI, the Saco-Biddeford station is a ket. A realtor told me they tend to cool piece of architecture, so welcoming inside that community go under contract within 24 hours groups use it for meetings. High ceilings, handsome furniture of being marketed. Is this phenom- — and thanks to volunteer station hosts, no vandalism — and enon also due to the Downeaster? huge windows for watching approach. “Without a doubt,” said Sturdivant. Freeport has a $2.5 million project in the hopper, and even Real estate ads for other hous- prior to the arrival of train service in Brunswick, private develop- es located in-town Brunswick cite ers invested $30 million in the station building — two restaurants, “WALKING DISTANCE TO AMTRAK a primary care walk-in clinic, upstairs office space, and a new STATION” as part of the appeal, and hotel. The adjacent UNH Dairy Bar (ice cream cones for eating several houses in my own neighbor- while you watch the train arrive, also soups and sandwiches) and hood, which is a mile from the sta- a bicycle rental shop (next to the station’s parking lot) and have tion, have sold in the past several also, thanks to the Downeaster, boosted the local economy. months without reaching the open All the above is what happens when a train stops in town and market. ■ people step off. ■ In August, NNEPRA Mad Mad Mad Success Paul Theroux on Reported that of Summer Train Passenger Rail FY2013 was the Service to Cape Cod Paul Theroux is one of those Downeaster’s The CapeFlyer between Boston and cranky, sometimes mean-spirited BEST YEAR EVER Hyannis had passengers cheering as the writers whose work I hate to Moreover, ticket revenue intercom system not only flashed pictures admit I like. The habit began of $8.1 million surpassed of backed up vehicular traffic to the Cape 30 years ago when I opened up that of $7.4 million, another but frequently announced that traffic on the one of his early books to read record high in FY2012. By infamously slow Bourne Bridge was backed the opening line. I no longer my count, 10 of the past 12 up for two hours. remember the exact words, but years, when the Downeaster The train, operated by the Cape Cod they had the author standing began cruising up to Maine, Regional Transit Authority, ran weekends on the crowded Boston subway have been record break- only and was slated to end on Labor Day. during morning rush. Other ers for both ridership and Demand by riders led to operations being riders, he noted were hurrying to revenue. continued through Columbus Day. In the work and to school but he — he The Yuppie Train beginning, the authority did not dare set was on the first leg of a rail trip to Once upon a time (late its sights on a more expanded schedule for Patagonia. The book is the classic 20th century, pre-train), fear of failure. (The last direct train Boston/ The Old Patagonian Express. pundits dismissively re- Hyannis ended a half-century ago; the last Following is a quote from ferred to our train as “The indirect one stopped 18 years ago.) one of Theroux’s later books, Yuppie Train” and “a nov- The CapeFlyer needed 315 passengers The Kingdom By The Sea: “It was elty to ride once.” THE per weekend to break even, or roughly only seven miles from Dover to DOWNEASTER HAS NOW 50 on each run. How many passengers Folkestone, but the railway line PUMPED $64 MILLION showed up? Give or take, 1,200 per run. Said had the magnificence that in ticket revenue into the administrator Thomas Cahir, “We’re pretty ■ economy. confident we’ll make it.” They did. continued on page 4

2 BEST EVER BELIEVE IT OR NOT ANNUAL MEETING Three Hundred Adults and Children The TrainRiders/Northeast Annual Meeting in Rode the Downeaster for Five Bucks October was the best ever. Never did so many people That’s because National Train LAUGH AND SMILE AND APPLAUD with so much Day, which usually selects major cit- spirit and go home so pumped up. ies as the site of celebrations, not only The crowd gave keynote speaker John Robert chose Brunswick this year but, as it Smith, who is Co-Chairman of Transportation for Amer- happened, picked one of those days ica, a formal standing ovation, but more later on this. last spring (we endured them with Other strong presentations were made by the follow- patience) when bridge repair in Shaw- ing: Gene Skoropowski, Senior Vice-President of All sheen, MA meant no trains could Aboard Florida; David Bernhardt, Maine Commissioner cross. Hence no through service exist- of Transportation; Patricia Quinn, Executive Director of ed Boston/Brunswick, just Haverhill/ the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority; Brunswick or any stop along the way. and David Fink, President of Pan Have lemons, make lemonade: No matter where rid- Am Railways. ers chose to go on that Saturday in May, long- or short- Keynote Speaker John Robert haul, it cost $5 per ticket. Smith is a former member of the The lion’s share of five buck passengers rode all the Amtrak Board of Directors, a for- way up to Brunswick. They got off, joined the festivities mer four-term mayor of Meridian, at the station – most popular display, model train set-up Mississippi, and now Co-Chair of in the waiting room – and dispersed on foot to the town’s Transportation of America (Web- many shops and restaurants, the appealing Bowdoin Col- site: t4america.org), which is a co- lege , and the mall, which is a mall in the original alition that advocates for a better sense: large old trees, grass, walkways, food vendors, a future in which we spend dollars at the federal, state, twice weekly farmer’s market, a bandstand and, in winter, and local levels to create a safer, cleaner and smarter an ice skating pond. Station stop communities along the transportation system that works for everyone. line all had booth representation in the covered arcade of Members of the group include individuals, orga- the Brunswick Station complex, and of course, TNE had a nizations, public officials, government agencies, and booth manned by our volunteers seeking new members businesses from all over America that work together and offering our B&M Railroad history books for sale. to create a closer alignment between transportation The Downeaster remained parked, and free tours investments and other issues at the top of the public were the order of the day, complete with free munchies agenda — climate change, energy security, economic in the café car served by NNEPRA staff. Executive Direc- competition, health, housing, and community develop- tor Patricia Quinn kept the folks moving from that car ment — as a way to improve and enrich sustainability to the coaches where TNE’s Chairman Wayne Davis kept and a better quality of life for all. them moving through the rest of the train after time al- Go to t4america.org (the group is also on Facebook lowed to sit and enjoy their food. Red, white and blue and Twitter) to see for yourself such specifics as the balloons floated in small hands, and a good time was had concern over our country’s 66,000+ structurally defi- by all. cient bridges (and photos of collapsed ones) and advo- The 300 returned in time to settle into coach seats cacy for making a safer environment for children who and begin the quiet but exciting moment of hearing the must walk on streets because no sidewalks exist. diesel horn, hooooo whoooooo, hooooo whooooo, as the Transportation for America is a dynamic organiza- Downeaster began to slowly and smoothly pull out of the tion (TNE was one of the first members to join some station, and by degrees go faster . . . and faster and faster years back) and Smith was a dynamic speaker. ■ and faster. ■

3 THE TRAINRIDER Box 4869, Downtown Station Portland, Maine 04112 (207) TRY-RAIL (879-7245)

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Theroux continued from page 2 Chairman’s Update

Though we’ve communicated Standup Display for public events. all lines do when they run beside through our website (thanks to the on- • A portable DVD projector. the sea... the inevitable tunnel going efforts of our tireless Webmaster, • We could also use some more the roar of the engines and the Bill Lord, some may have missed that clerical help in the Portland crashing of waves, the surf just our Strategic Planning Committee has office and a bunch more of Station below the tracks, the flecks of been busy preparing a recommenda- and Train Hosts. Those programs salt water on the train windows. tion to TNE’s Board of Directors to en- have become a popular feature and . . It was man’s best machine sure the continued success and longev- many current volunteers – after 13 traversing earth’s best feature ity of TrainRiders/Northeast. years of volunteerism are ready to — the train tracking in the nar- In addition, on the evening of our 25th retire. row angle between vertical Anniversary meeting, we submitted rock and horizontal water.” a letter to NNEPRA asking for a pre- And as always, without your kind liminary cost analysis for one of our and generous donations – we can’t sur- www. original goals – through trains between vive so please – we’re on a roll – help trainridersne Brunswick, Portland and New York City us continue. .org via Lowell Jct., Ayer, Worcester, Provi- dence and New Haven. As we gear up for this effort, (more details in our next Consider On TrainRiders/Northeast’s website, trainridersne.org, you can read policy newsletter and on our website) let me Membership in statements from Chairman Wayne list a few capital needs. TrainRiders/Northeast Davis and make comments on them. You will also see news feeds on We need an angel or two. other Amtrak activities; learn how to • New Computer (current ones are 7 years become a train host on the Downeas- years old – and cranky) ter; view videos, and much more. We are also now on • Replace our 25 year old Portable www.trainridersne.org25 Facebook.com/TrainRidersNortheast.

TrainRiders Northeast Board of Directors Wayne Davis ME (Chair) Andrew Hyland ME (Vice Chair) Ed Bonney ME Ellen Fogg ME James Oikle ME Eve Reed MA Don Briselden NH Robert Hall NH Christopher Parker VT Robert Rodman ME Elizabeth Buckley ME Valarie Lamont ME Stephen Piper NH Paula Boyer Rougny ME Mike Duprey NH William Lord ME Benjamin Kirkland NC (At Large) Fred Smith MA Janet Brown CA (At Large) F. Bruce Sleeper (Clerk/Counsel)