March 20, 2006
Southbound | Hopping the Downeaster's morning run to Boston with a group of regular York County commuters
By Jess Kilby
It's 6:55 a.m., and the 680 to Boston is running late. Word circulates among the small group huddled on the train platform at the Wells Regional Transportation Center, and they shuffle back inside to the warmth of the passenger terminal. "This never happens," says an Amtrak security official. "Really. It's just because there's a reporter here."
He chuckles with the regular commuters ˆ a crowd of only three on this Friday morning ˆ and they nod in agreement. Yep. The 680 is usually on time.
Punctuality is crucial to the Downeaster, the only train service between Boston and Maine. The 680 is the first run of the day, leaving Portland at a bleary 6:20 a.m. and pulling into Boston's North Station two-and-a-half hours later, at 8:50 a.m. That leaves barely enough time to dash to the office, especially for commuters who work a significant distance from North Station.
But none of the 15 or so travelers at the Wells station this morning seem much perturbed by the delay, neither the regulars nor the February-vacation day-trippers. Everyone is mellow. Civilized. When the train finally rolls into the station around 7:05 a.m. ˆ five minutes after its scheduled departure time from Wells ˆ and conductor Ed Baker steps onto the platform, the passengers board the train in an orderly single file. Baker exchanges hellos with the familiar faces.
The atmosphere of courteous, relaxed routine is sustained through the remainder of the trip, even when the 680 pulls into Exeter, N.H., and boards its largest population of regular riders. The 200-person train is now filled to near capacity, but there is no chaos. No lurching or jostling, though the ride does get a little rattled for a stretch just outside of Boston. There is only the occasional child, conspicuously well behaved, skipping up the aisles to the cafe car and returning with a precariously balanced armload of snacks. Some quiet conversation here and there, some bird watching along the Merrimack River. It is, altogether, a serene experience.
Terry Vaughan likes to read on the morning ride, or do crosswords. Martin VanDenburgh likes to sleep. ("Except during school vacations," he notes dryly.) Both York County commuters view the train as a key element of their work-life balance, enabling them to maintain both jobs and homes that they love. Vaughan, a U.S. Park Ranger who splits his duties between the Freedom Trail and the USS Constitution, has been riding the Downeaster to work since he and his wife moved to Kennebunk from Wakefield, Mass., in 2004. "Having the train was a major factor," he says. "It made the move possible."
Vaughan, who also rode the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter rail from Wakefield, says he's been taking the Downeaster "from day one" of his relocation to Kennebunk. "I never even thought about driving," he says.
VanDenburgh, on the other hand, knows the stretch of highway between Maine and Boston all too well. He's been commuting from North Berwick to his job as a computer programmer at Brigham & Women's Hospital since 1988. Until the Downeaster service launched in December 2001, this meant sharing an apartment in Boston with other commuters and only coming home to his wife on the weekends. "It wasn't great," he says.
Down the line
VanDenburgh has been riding the Downeaster since its inaugural run and is well versed in the demographics of the train's ridership. Today, he notes, is a "light day" for commuters from southern Maine, because of the school vacation and the fact it's a Friday. "A lot of people have flexible schedules."
VanDenburgh estimates there are about three regular riders from Portland and Saco each, and about 10 to 15 who board in Wells. Most are professionals, and some have forged friendships on the daily commute. "We have a number of professors, somebody who works at the Smithsonian in Cambridge, a pharmacy student," he says. "There's a group of people who know each other just from riding the train ˆ sometimes they have parties. That's mostly Exeter though; there's more of them."
Despite this sense of community, mornings on the 680 are a solitary time for most riders. The aroma of warm coffee wafts comfortingly from the cafe car, and on clear days sunshine floods through the large windows in the Downeaster's passenger cars. The motion of the train is barely perceptible. It's easy to get lost in a snooze, a book, a project; reclining seats, tray tables and an electrical outlet in each row make this even easier. "It's just a wonderful, civilized way of travel," Vaughan says. "It's a smooth ride, the countryside is beautiful. I go to work stress-free and I come home stress-free."
Regular commuters like Vaughan and VanDenburgh have learned to further adapt the ride to their own comfort levels. VanDenburgh, for example, is particular about his morning trip. He picks his seat based on where the sun is shining in, and tries to distance himself from the blocks of facing seats where families and groups tend to settle. "Everybody has a preference, where they sit," he says. "Some people don't like the noise from the whistle, in which case it's better to be at the back if you want to sleep."
Winding its way along a scenic route denied to I-95 commuters, the Downeaster also has made nature-watchers out of some riders. Beavers regularly leave evidence of their handiwork along a stretch of the Merrimack just south of Haverhill, Mass., and a small population of eagles returns to the area each February.
Cape Porpoise commuter Bill Lord runs the website Downeastriders.us, where, in addition to profiling riders, conductors, engineers, volunteer hosts and cafe attendants, he chronicles the annual first sighting of the big birds. And sure enough, as we pass through the area Lord has helpfully pinpointed via satellite photo on his website, VanDenburgh lifts a finger toward the window. "See?" he says. "There's one there."
It's a dark flash, a shadow gliding down the corridor of the river. It's beautiful; it's huge. It banks away and is gone. The train chugs onward to Boston.
Rolling home
Though customer satisfaction on the Downeaster is high, even its most loyal riders admit the service isn't perfect. The train has become, to some degree, a victim of its own success: The 685, which departs Boston at 6:15 p.m. and is currently the only evening option for Maine commuters is plagued by overcrowding. Vaughan says he's had to sit on the floor during the Boston to Exeter stretch on a few occasions, and notes that the crowds mean there can be a long wait before the cafe car is accessible. "So I've learned to buy a little snack at McDonald's to tide me over," he says.
The fact is, the Downeaster schedule is less than ideal for many commuters. Part of the problem, VanDenburgh says, is that the Downeaster was not originally intended to be a commuter train. "But," he notes, "it's turned out that way."
Conductor Peter McHugh agrees. "It was set up to be a general purpose train," he says, "but it automatically became a commuter service when it started."
McHugh says the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority is "always tweaking" the service to better support commuters. NNEPRA was created in 1995 by the Maine State Legislature to develop and oversee all passenger rail service in the state; although the authority has contracted Amtrak to run the Downeaster, NNEPRA is still ultimately responsible for the service.
One major improvement that likely will resolve many commuters' problems with the service is at hand: NNERPA has finally received the final piece of funding to implement a fifth daily run between Portland and Boston.
This past November, after more than a year of wrangling, NNEPRA and other Downeaster supporters finally convinced New Hampshire officials to spend $1.6 million in federal funds for the construction of a side track in Dover, N.H. The track, part of a larger, $6 million construction project NNEPRA has been planning for several years, will alleviate congestion on the main track and make room for another Downeaster run.
The schedule for the fifth run hasn't been finalized yet, says NNEPRA Executive Director Patricia Douglas, but McHugh describes a scenario that Douglas says is "exactly what we're hoping to accomplish."
"Too early is bad. But if a train could arrive [in Boston] around 8:30 a.m., that would be a great help," McHugh says. "And as I see it, we could definitely use a second evening train ˆ maybe at 5:30, and keep [the 685] as well."
An 8:30 arrival would make the Downeaster a viable option for commuters with rigid schedules, and an earlier evening train would lighten the load on the 685. That train currently serves both the commuters who come down on the 680 and a large number of the day-trippers who travel south on the Downeaster's mid-morning train. The average 685 run was 106% full last year, according to NNEPRA's September 2005 performance report. By contrast, ridership on the next (and final) Downeaster train of the night, which leaves North Station at 11 p.m., was typically 26% of capacity.
Douglas says NNEPRA is looking ahead to the upcoming track improvements as an opportunity to improve daily service. "We know frequency and scheduling are the most important issues for our riders," she says. "There's no problem with the service itself ˆ once we get people on, they tend to be hooked. So the more convenient we can make it for them, the better."
NNEPRA's performance numbers indicate that Douglas is correct. In stark contrast to the MBTA's commuter rail, which has seen its ridership decline by more than six percent since 2003, the Downeaster's ridership numbers for January 2006 are 34% higher than the same month last year. Revenues for the month are 39% higher. And while the Downeaster has yet to match its annual revenues from 2002 ˆ the train's first full year of operation ˆ total ridership numbers for 2005 did squeak past 2002 figures by 0.6%.
On this Friday evening, the 685 certainly feels about 106% full. There's not an empty seat in sight, and everyone is in motion ˆ talking, laughing, shedding jackets and briefcases. Getting comfortable. Riders flock to the cafe car, which sells wine and beer, where a group of Exeter commuters settle at tables with their drinks. It's social hour for them, and clearly a tradition. "The cafe car is really only for eating and drinking; when you're done you're supposed to go back to your seat," says Nancy Mawhinney a volunteer with the non-profit Trainriders/Northeast's Train Host program. "But regular commuters are usually allowed to stay up here the whole ride."
Mawhinney does a stint on the Downeaster about once a month, providing riders with maps and other information about Portland and Boston. Using the cafe car as her base of operations, she has plenty opportunity to observe the commuter culture on the train. "Many of the regulars have formed very strong friendships," she notes. "Train families, you could say."
McHugh agrees. "The commuters all help each other," he says. "During a storm, if somebody needs to be shoveled out ˆ I've seen them all pitching in, as we pull away. It's a good crowd."
He chuckles with the regular commuters ˆ a crowd of only three on this Friday morning ˆ and they nod in agreement. Yep. The 680 is usually on time.
Punctuality is crucial to the Downeaster, the only train service between Boston and Maine. The 680 is the first run of the day, leaving Portland at a bleary 6:20 a.m. and pulling into Boston's North Station two-and-a-half hours later, at 8:50 a.m. That leaves barely enough time to dash to the office, especially for commuters who work a significant distance from North Station.
But none of the 15 or so travelers at the Wells station this morning seem much perturbed by the delay, neither the regulars nor the February-vacation day-trippers. Everyone is mellow. Civilized. When the train finally rolls into the station around 7:05 a.m. ˆ five minutes after its scheduled departure time from Wells ˆ and conductor Ed Baker steps onto the platform, the passengers board the train in an orderly single file. Baker exchanges hellos with the familiar faces.
The atmosphere of courteous, relaxed routine is sustained through the remainder of the trip, even when the 680 pulls into Exeter, N.H., and boards its largest population of regular riders. The 200-person train is now filled to near capacity, but there is no chaos. No lurching or jostling, though the ride does get a little rattled for a stretch just outside of Boston. There is only the occasional child, conspicuously well behaved, skipping up the aisles to the cafe car and returning with a precariously balanced armload of snacks. Some quiet conversation here and there, some bird watching along the Merrimack River. It is, altogether, a serene experience.
Terry Vaughan likes to read on the morning ride, or do crosswords. Martin VanDenburgh likes to sleep. ("Except during school vacations," he notes dryly.) Both York County commuters view the train as a key element of their work-life balance, enabling them to maintain both jobs and homes that they love. Vaughan, a U.S. Park Ranger who splits his duties between the Freedom Trail and the USS Constitution, has been riding the Downeaster to work since he and his wife moved to Kennebunk from Wakefield, Mass., in 2004. "Having the train was a major factor," he says. "It made the move possible."
Vaughan, who also rode the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter rail from Wakefield, says he's been taking the Downeaster "from day one" of his relocation to Kennebunk. "I never even thought about driving," he says.
VanDenburgh, on the other hand, knows the stretch of highway between Maine and Boston all too well. He's been commuting from North Berwick to his job as a computer programmer at Brigham & Women's Hospital since 1988. Until the Downeaster service launched in December 2001, this meant sharing an apartment in Boston with other commuters and only coming home to his wife on the weekends. "It wasn't great," he says.
Down the line
VanDenburgh has been riding the Downeaster since its inaugural run and is well versed in the demographics of the train's ridership. Today, he notes, is a "light day" for commuters from southern Maine, because of the school vacation and the fact it's a Friday. "A lot of people have flexible schedules."
VanDenburgh estimates there are about three regular riders from Portland and Saco each, and about 10 to 15 who board in Wells. Most are professionals, and some have forged friendships on the daily commute. "We have a number of professors, somebody who works at the Smithsonian in Cambridge, a pharmacy student," he says. "There's a group of people who know each other just from riding the train ˆ sometimes they have parties. That's mostly Exeter though; there's more of them."
Despite this sense of community, mornings on the 680 are a solitary time for most riders. The aroma of warm coffee wafts comfortingly from the cafe car, and on clear days sunshine floods through the large windows in the Downeaster's passenger cars. The motion of the train is barely perceptible. It's easy to get lost in a snooze, a book, a project; reclining seats, tray tables and an electrical outlet in each row make this even easier. "It's just a wonderful, civilized way of travel," Vaughan says. "It's a smooth ride, the countryside is beautiful. I go to work stress-free and I come home stress-free."
Regular commuters like Vaughan and VanDenburgh have learned to further adapt the ride to their own comfort levels. VanDenburgh, for example, is particular about his morning trip. He picks his seat based on where the sun is shining in, and tries to distance himself from the blocks of facing seats where families and groups tend to settle. "Everybody has a preference, where they sit," he says. "Some people don't like the noise from the whistle, in which case it's better to be at the back if you want to sleep."
Winding its way along a scenic route denied to I-95 commuters, the Downeaster also has made nature-watchers out of some riders. Beavers regularly leave evidence of their handiwork along a stretch of the Merrimack just south of Haverhill, Mass., and a small population of eagles returns to the area each February.
Cape Porpoise commuter Bill Lord runs the website Downeastriders.us, where, in addition to profiling riders, conductors, engineers, volunteer hosts and cafe attendants, he chronicles the annual first sighting of the big birds. And sure enough, as we pass through the area Lord has helpfully pinpointed via satellite photo on his website, VanDenburgh lifts a finger toward the window. "See?" he says. "There's one there."
It's a dark flash, a shadow gliding down the corridor of the river. It's beautiful; it's huge. It banks away and is gone. The train chugs onward to Boston.
Rolling home
Though customer satisfaction on the Downeaster is high, even its most loyal riders admit the service isn't perfect. The train has become, to some degree, a victim of its own success: The 685, which departs Boston at 6:15 p.m. and is currently the only evening option for Maine commuters is plagued by overcrowding. Vaughan says he's had to sit on the floor during the Boston to Exeter stretch on a few occasions, and notes that the crowds mean there can be a long wait before the cafe car is accessible. "So I've learned to buy a little snack at McDonald's to tide me over," he says.
The fact is, the Downeaster schedule is less than ideal for many commuters. Part of the problem, VanDenburgh says, is that the Downeaster was not originally intended to be a commuter train. "But," he notes, "it's turned out that way."
Conductor Peter McHugh agrees. "It was set up to be a general purpose train," he says, "but it automatically became a commuter service when it started."
McHugh says the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority is "always tweaking" the service to better support commuters. NNEPRA was created in 1995 by the Maine State Legislature to develop and oversee all passenger rail service in the state; although the authority has contracted Amtrak to run the Downeaster, NNEPRA is still ultimately responsible for the service.
One major improvement that likely will resolve many commuters' problems with the service is at hand: NNERPA has finally received the final piece of funding to implement a fifth daily run between Portland and Boston.
This past November, after more than a year of wrangling, NNEPRA and other Downeaster supporters finally convinced New Hampshire officials to spend $1.6 million in federal funds for the construction of a side track in Dover, N.H. The track, part of a larger, $6 million construction project NNEPRA has been planning for several years, will alleviate congestion on the main track and make room for another Downeaster run.
The schedule for the fifth run hasn't been finalized yet, says NNEPRA Executive Director Patricia Douglas, but McHugh describes a scenario that Douglas says is "exactly what we're hoping to accomplish."
"Too early is bad. But if a train could arrive [in Boston] around 8:30 a.m., that would be a great help," McHugh says. "And as I see it, we could definitely use a second evening train ˆ maybe at 5:30, and keep [the 685] as well."
An 8:30 arrival would make the Downeaster a viable option for commuters with rigid schedules, and an earlier evening train would lighten the load on the 685. That train currently serves both the commuters who come down on the 680 and a large number of the day-trippers who travel south on the Downeaster's mid-morning train. The average 685 run was 106% full last year, according to NNEPRA's September 2005 performance report. By contrast, ridership on the next (and final) Downeaster train of the night, which leaves North Station at 11 p.m., was typically 26% of capacity.
Douglas says NNEPRA is looking ahead to the upcoming track improvements as an opportunity to improve daily service. "We know frequency and scheduling are the most important issues for our riders," she says. "There's no problem with the service itself ˆ once we get people on, they tend to be hooked. So the more convenient we can make it for them, the better."
NNEPRA's performance numbers indicate that Douglas is correct. In stark contrast to the MBTA's commuter rail, which has seen its ridership decline by more than six percent since 2003, the Downeaster's ridership numbers for January 2006 are 34% higher than the same month last year. Revenues for the month are 39% higher. And while the Downeaster has yet to match its annual revenues from 2002 ˆ the train's first full year of operation ˆ total ridership numbers for 2005 did squeak past 2002 figures by 0.6%.
On this Friday evening, the 685 certainly feels about 106% full. There's not an empty seat in sight, and everyone is in motion ˆ talking, laughing, shedding jackets and briefcases. Getting comfortable. Riders flock to the cafe car, which sells wine and beer, where a group of Exeter commuters settle at tables with their drinks. It's social hour for them, and clearly a tradition. "The cafe car is really only for eating and drinking; when you're done you're supposed to go back to your seat," says Nancy Mawhinney a volunteer with the non-profit Trainriders/Northeast's Train Host program. "But regular commuters are usually allowed to stay up here the whole ride."
Mawhinney does a stint on the Downeaster about once a month, providing riders with maps and other information about Portland and Boston. Using the cafe car as her base of operations, she has plenty opportunity to observe the commuter culture on the train. "Many of the regulars have formed very strong friendships," she notes. "Train families, you could say."
McHugh agrees. "The commuters all help each other," he says. "During a storm, if somebody needs to be shoveled out ˆ I've seen them all pitching in, as we pull away. It's a good crowd."
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