Home > Rafi on the Rails > Archives > 2007 > September > 27 > Entry
Day 2: The Downeaster, a state-supported train
Since I’m something of a train afficionado (see the video to be posted later today), people often ask me why Amtrak doesn’t just add more routes to make its service more convenient, because outside of the Northeast corridor, Amtrak trains don’t run every hour, or even every day in some cases. The simple reason is obvious: money. What may not be so obvious, however, is the fact that Congress has mandated that Amtrak, as a federally subsidized private company, may not start a new service without first guaranting that it is fully funded. That means that the financial burden falls to the states in which the service is going to run. Some states have embraced this philosophy: last year, Illinois instituted additional frequencies on many of its Chicago-based routes; North Carolina makes the Piedmont and Carolinian services possible; Washington state funds the Cascades service; and Vermont cuts a check for both the Vermonter and the Ethan Allen Express trains. Perhaps the poster child for state-funded services, however, is the Downeaster, which runs from Boston to Portland, Maine, and is funded primarily by the State of Maine. And the Downeaster is heralded by many of its supporters as the best performing short-hault route on tne entire Amtrak system. The on-time-percentage is extremely good, the cafe car carries Maine-native products, and the conductors are notoriously congenial.
The track on which the Downeaster runs is historically part of the Boston & Maine railroad, and service once extended much farther north past Portland on what was the Maine Central railroad. The state of Maine is now seriously talking with Amtrak about once more extending regular passenger rail service farther north to cities like Rockland. In the meantime, seasonal riders can hop aboard the Maine Eastern railroad, which runs from Rockland to Brunswick, Maine (the schedule fluctuates by the season, so check their website for specifics).
So, again, if you visit Maine, take some time to ride the Downeaster and the Maine Eastern. You’ll be stepping back into time, and the scenery is just beautiful.
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