Winter Damage Slows, Cancels Amtrak Downeaster Runs in Maine

(SOURCE:  Portland Press Herald By J. Craig Anderson canderson@pressherald.com)

Amtrak Downeaster passenger service has been delayed or canceled this week because damage along the track has forced trains to slow down dramatically in some places, said the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority’s top official.

click image to enlarge

Amtrak says it could take weeks to repair winter damage to tracks.

An engineer with Amtrak climbs toward the cab of a Downeaster train in Portland in 2009. About 65 people use the train to commute to their jobs in Boston from Portland and from Maine train stations south of Portland.

Rail inspectors determined that harsh winter weather and heavy snow melt had destabilized the ground under about 27 noncontiguous miles of track between Freeport and Boston, said the authority’s executive director, Patricia Quinn, who expects it could take weeks to repair the damage.

Winter-related track damage isn’t unusual, she said, but the delays it is causing this year are particularly severe because the damage occurred in places where the trains normally run fastest.

“Obviously, this is not something we’re happy about,” Quinn said.

The rail authority’s website said two runs have been canceled for the rest of this week – the 686 train that leaves Portland at 2:35 p.m. weekdays and arrives in Boston at 5:05 p.m., and the 683 train that leaves Boston’s North Station at 11:35 a.m. weekdays and arrives in Portland at 2:05 p.m. Quinn said the cancellations would prevent overlapping “delay cascades” and give work crews more time to repair the damaged areas.

All other runs are expected to take an average of 35 to 45 minutes longer than normal because rail officials have issued “slow orders” for the damaged areas. The orders require the trains, which normally run as fast as 80 mph, to slow down to as little as 10 mph.

Delays likely will continue for another week or two but become shorter each day as damaged areas are repaired, Quinn said.

She said she is not certain whether the cancellations will continue into next week. “It’s my hope that we won’t be in a position to have to cancel trains next week,” she said.

Brian Beeler, manager of passenger services for the rail authority, said he has received dozens of telephone calls and emails from passengers who have been affected by the delays.

“We’ve certainly seen some very irate customers, and then there are those who are taking it in stride and saying they understand why this is happening,” he said.

Beeler said repairs are being handled by the track’s owner, Pan Am Railways, which is responsible for maintaining the 138 miles of rail between Brunswick and Boston. The line runs for 116 miles between Portland and Boston.

Amtrak owns and operates the Downeaster trains, and the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority manages the transportation system.

Beeler estimated that 65 people use the Downeaster to commute to their jobs in Boston from Portland and from Maine train stations south of Portland. In New Hampshire, 150 to 180 people use the train to reach their jobs in Boston.

Wayne Davis, chairman of the passenger-rail advocacy group TrainRiders/Northeast and a volunteer at the Downeaster’s Brunswick station, said commute times for the trains running between Brunswick and Boston have been extended by as much as 53 minutes since the weather damage was revealed by a geometry car, an automated track-inspection vehicle.

“Nobody wants to ride the train if they’re going to be 53 minutes late,” Davis said. “You’re going to be late for work, and you’re going to be late getting home.”

Bill Lord of Kennebunkport, who used to ride the Downeaster to his teaching job in Boston, doesn’t ride the train regularly any longer, but he serves on the board of directors for TrainRiders/Northeast.

He said it’s good that repairs are being done now, before the tourist season.

“Too many times, we get caught up in getting to work on time. No one wants to be delayed, but people need to realize that this is a safety issue,” Lord said. “It is not going to be a quick fix. The reality is, these things take time.”

The Downeaster’s on-time performance in March was 81.3 percent, and its 12-month average was 74.9 percent, according to Amtrak’s website. About 1,400 passengers ride the Downeaster on a typical day, Quinn said.

The Downeaster’s ridership has grown steadily since it started running between Portland and Boston in 2001. Service was extended to Freeport and Brunswick in 2012.

In the service’s most recent fiscal year, which ended June 30, ridership increased about 5 percent over the previous year, with a total of about 550,000 riders.

1898 NYNH&HRR Cotton Bale Delivery Notice - Durfee Mills, Fall River MA

Westford Officials: Concerns Growing Over Pan Am

(SOURCE:  Lowell Sun)

WESTFORD MA -- The May 6 meeting between local officials and Pan Am Railways will go beyond the Feb. 19 train derailment, and also focus on the need for track repairs and herbicide spraying, Town Manager Jodi Ross said.

Ross said she doesn't want the meeting to focus on the past, but on how to move forward and improve communication with the Billerica-based rail company.

"I think that in that communication improvement, we'd like to know exactly what products are being transported through the town and also understand the condition of the rails," Ross said. "We've heard they're in poor condition."

Further, Pan Am will start spraying near Stony Brook from May 1 to July 1 to "control nuisance vegetation" in the ballast portion of the railroad right-of-way and also near switches and signals.
"We don't use pesticides according to our town policy," Ross said, "but we don't have any jurisdiction on what the rail does on their (area)."

Relations have been tense between local officials and the company since five cars carrying liquid petroleum gas hopped the tracks. Town officials were not notified, and learned about the incident when Fire Chief Joe Targ drove by the next morning. Ross has said she and Targ were threatened with arrest for trespassing at the site.

She said she has not heard from Pan Am since that day.

Pan Am has been cited with a wide gauge track issue which typically carries a $5,000 fine from the Federal Railroad Administration. The state Department of Environmental Protection has ordered the company to evaluate whether Stony Brook was contaminated.

The meeting will include the town's representatives on Beacon Hill, state Sen. Eileen Donoghue, D-Lowell, and Rep. James Arciero, D-Westford. plus representatives of U.S. Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, and Rep. Niki Tsongas. Markey's spokesman, Eben Burnham-Snyder, said Pan Am responded in a timely manner to their requests for scheduling the meeting in Westford.

"I'm certainly hopeful getting all the necessary parties around the table we can come up with a game plan and understanding as to how these incidents will be handled," Donoghue said. "This last incident underscores the need for that."

In a statement to The Sun, Tsongas said she and her colleagues want Pan Am to discuss this matter in a more "open manner."

"The goal is for transparency and open communication to assuage lingering public safety concerns related to derailment, as well as to give the community a chance to address all its questions about the overall health, environmental and safety impact of the Pan Am line," she said.

Arciero added he is pleased to have the opportunity to express his "strong concerns" face-to-face with Pan Am next month.

"It's clearly unacceptable that such an incident as serious as a train derailment would not automatically trigger notification of state and local officials," he said. "Protection of public safety and water supply of the residents of the town is a non-negotiable point."

The meeting with Pan Am will be held on May 6 at 3 p.m. in Town Hall. Residents with questions or concerns are encouraged to email Ross directly at jross@westfordma.gov.

Foot Traffic to Ayer's MBTA Station Detoured by Property Owner's Fence

(SOURCE:  Lowell Sun)


AYER -- Riders on the commuter rail are finding a fence blocking their usual path to the rail station, after private-property owner Phil Berry erected the fence along the lines of his property in a surprise move on Sunday.

The fence, which runs along the track and makes a right angle along Archer's Mobil, redirects people to walk around the lot behind Carlin's Tavern and by the gas station to get on the commuter-rail platform.

The town did not receive official notification, according to a public advisory sent to Nashoba Publishing today by Town Administrator Robert Pontbriand.

"This appears to be a property dispute between Mr. Phil Berry and the MBTA," the statement reads. "The town of Ayer does not own any of the property in dispute."

But MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo clarified that there is no property dispute between the MBTA and Berry, who told the MBTA he has been trying to work with the town and the Montachusett Regional Transit Authority since last year, Pesaturo said.

"The MBTA will work with the town of Ayer, the Montachusett Regional Transit Authority and the property owner to identify and implement a resolution," Pesaturo said in an email.

Pesaturo said the MBTA inherited the Boston & Maine railroad right-of-way decades ago, including "deeded rights" that allow the public to walk over the property to get to the train.

Commuters can typically access the train by walking across the lot Berry owns behind Carlin's Tavern, but the newly constructed fence forces passengers to walk on the outskirts of his property along the gas station.

The town is in consultation with the MBTA and MART over the matter, according to the statement from Pontbriand, but it has no legal jurisdiction over Berry's property or the platform and property owned by the MBTA.

"The town of Ayer will respond to public safety/health emergencies at the train-station platform only," the statement reads.

When reached by phone on Sunday, Berry offered no comment and hung up.

Bruno Fisher, deputy administrator for MART, said the MBTA, MART and the town have been working with Berry on establishing safe access to the station for about a year.

The town received $3.2 million in October for the expansion of the Rail Trail parking lot, but Fisher said one stipulation requires clear access to the station.

Fisher said MART does not have a preference on station access, but is leaving it up to the wishes of the MBTA and the Federal Transit Administration, which approved the grant.

But some parcels along Park Street must be sold before the project comes to fruition, Nashoba Publishing reported in October. Berry also owns property on Park Street.

The dispute, Fisher said, is really between the MBTA and Berry, as the MBTA has the easement allowing commuters to walk across Berry's property.

"I gather it's his contention that he owns the property," Fisher said.

"He's going to apparently try to dictate the pathway that he wants to have used out there for the commuter rail patrons that use that specific station."

Standing near the fence early Monday morning, Police Chief William Murray said police are not making any changes to their regular game plan, noting that their issue is only getting people across the street safely.

The Look of Things to Come... MBTA #2001

MBTA #2001 pushes an inbound commuter through Ayer MA, on the way to Boston.  In time, the sound of EMD engines will become less common on T rails...

Pedestrian Hit By MBTA Commuter Train in Framingham MA

(source:  Fox News Boston)

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. -- A pedestrian has been hit by a commuter rail train in Framingham.

The incident happened at the corner of Waverly and Concord streets. The victim, an unidentified 77-year-old woman, was transported to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. MBTA officials initially said the victim had died, but later issued a correction saying her condition is unknown.

Officials said the victim was hit at the railroad crossing.

The intersection of Rt. 135 and 126 remained shutdown through the morning commute. The Middlesex County District Attorney's office, Transit police, and Framingham police are investigating.

N Scale Rockingham Junction Kit Re-issued

The N-Scale Architect has reissued their N scale wood kit of the Rockingham Junction structures.  According to their site:

This popular station located at the former junction of the Boston & Maine’s Portsmouth - Manchester Branch and Portland - Boston Main Line is NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER !!!  Kit includes BOTH the STATION & FREIGHT HOUSE  Item #10022