A citizen rail advocacy group that successfully lobbied for a decade to link Portland with Boston via rail, has unveiled its latest vision: better rail linkage between Portland and New York City.
Currently, riders on the Amtrak Downeaster face a cumbersome station change in Boston if they're planning to go on to New York, says Wayne Davis, Chairman of TrainRiders/Northeast.
But a plan proposed by Davis' group would avoid the Boston "bottleneck" and send riders through Lowell Junction, onward to Worcester, Massachusetts, and from there to New York City, or any number of connections to Chicago, Albany, and Toronto via Springfield.
"It opens up so many possibilities for connections- single seat rides- for a state that's traditionally been isolated." says Davis.
And the more direct route to New York should be a boon for business travelers, according to the group.
"Really, think about it," says Davis, "If you could board a train in Portland and in about, the estimates are you are looking at about five and a half hours later, you'd be going up on the escalator at Penn Station in New York's Herald Square."
Part of the speedier trip is expected to come from track upgrades in Massachusetts that will allow trains to travel 110 miles per hour. Those upgrades are expected to be complete by the end of 2015.
The Portland to New York proposal would be a two year project. Costs have been estimated, says Davis, but are being kept under wraps for now. The rail group says the ultimate plan for Maine is still to extend rail service from Brunswick and northward to Augusta, Waterville, and Bangor. But, says Davis, improving Portland's connection to the rest of the busy Northeast region will produce "more bang for the buck."
