Downeaster aims to woo back riders
TIM GREENWAY
Patricia Quinn, executive director of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, which runs Amtrak's Downeaster service, said she's confident she can lure passengers back.
After a year marred by poor on-time performance attributed to construction projects running longer than normal and the harsh winter, the Downeaster trains returned to normal schedules on Saturday for the first time in four months.
The Portland Press Herald noted that performance suffered over the past 15 months, so the Downeaster is trying to get riders to come back.
According to the newspaper, the Downeaster is offering some time-sensitive promotions on its website to lure back passengers: here are some of the promotions currently available at amtrakdowneaster.com:
• Children ride free on Tuesday.
• Two tickets for the price of one for certain trains to Maine.
• Discount fares for certain trains.
When the rail service’s books closed June 30, it reported an annual on-time performance of only 30%, which is less than half of Amtrak’s national average of 71%. In May, the Downeaster’s worst month, not a single train arrived on time, according to the newspaper. And 488 trains, or 13% of the total, were canceled in fiscal 2015, mostly due to construction.
Patricia Quinn, executive director of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, told the newspaper she’s confident she can get passengers who sought alternate transportation to give the Downeaster another chance.
“We are going to be more reliable than we have been in a long time,” she said. “It will take some time, but we will have to earn that reputation back.”
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