Ridership on Amtrak’s Downeaster, which travels between Brunswick and Boston, is ahead of last year despite a series of weekend disruptions caused by construction and the Boston Marathon bombings during school vacation week.
This weekend marks the last bridge work preventing trains from reaching Boston until after Labor Day, said Patricia Quinn, executive director of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority.
Additional Photos
The disruptions have been caused by reconstruction of historic arch bridges over the Shawsheen River in Andover, Mass., by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Construction this year has prevented the Downeaster from reaching Boston on five weekends and part of a week in February.
“It’s work that needs to be done, so we understand that it needed to happen,” Quinn said.
To make up the disruptions this weekend, the rail authority was offering $5 weekend fares for stops between Brunswick and Haverhill, Mass., Quinn said. One-way fares typically range from $6 to $29.
The Downeaster was also celebrating National Train Day on Saturday with a family-friendly event in Brunswick, the beneficiary of expanded service late last year.
Each weekend the Downeaster failed to reach Boston because of the bridge reconstruction meant a loss of roughly 3,500 to 4,000 riders, and the Boston Marathon bombings on Patriots Day put a damper on southbound traffic during school vacation week, one of the busiest weeks for the train, Quinn said. Ridership was off for most of the week, and service was canceled altogether on Friday during a manhunt for one of the suspects.
Despite all that, ridership for the fiscal year that ends June 30 is up more than 5 percent and revenue is up more than 10 percent, mostly because of heavy travel toward the end of the calendar year as well as the expanded service to Brunswick and Freeport, she said.
“And we’re looking forward to a great summer season,” she said.
The Downeaster serves 12 communities: Brunswick, Freeport, Portland, Old Orchard Beach, Saco and Wells in Maine; Dover, Durham and Exeter in New Hampshire; and Haverhill, Woburn and Boston in Massachusetts.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.