Vermonter CT River Line Reroute set for December 29

[fairviewroad]

Amtrak Line in Western Massachusetts Sees Boost in Riders; Business Impacts Unclear

In Greenfield, the train stops next to a transit center built a few years ago. Inside the center is a waiting area. However, there is no place to buy train tickets -- you have to do that online.

I guess this reporter's never heard of a telephone. :huh:

 

[Bus Nut]

Amtrak Line in Western Massachusetts Sees Boost in Riders; Business Impacts Unclear

In Greenfield, the train stops next to a transit center built a few years ago. Inside the center is a waiting area. However, there is no place to buy train tickets -- you have to do that online.

I guess this reporter's never heard of a telephone. :huh:

What are these new fangled things called smart phones? I call them dumb phones, can't even figure out how to make a phone call. It doesn't even have keys! Yup, I carry a Jitterbug. You can keep your QR codes and texts and twitters and email attachments.... /////s

(I rode from Essex Jct earlier this year. People flooded in on buses and taxis. Some hadn't bought tickets. The station is staffed. Customers were directed to buy their ticket on their smartphone. Mostly young people riding and they figured it out right quick.)

 

[Bus Nut]

Amtrak Line in Western Massachusetts Sees Boost in Riders; Business Impacts Unclear

Great article, thanks.

I'm sure it will be up more than 84% by the end of the year as word gets out. This is a much better route. If there are any overnight accommodations in Northampton central city they will see a boost because parents from NY-NJ metro area may choose to take the Vermonter to the area instead of renting a car. The downtown area of Northampton is walkable. The Amtrak is really, really close to Smith.

It's also right on Rt 9 which has a frequent bus back to Amherst, MA to Amherst College and UMass, although it's more likely that traffic would go the other way, UMass students taking public bus to Northampton to train north or south for a weekend. Most UMass students come from Eastern Mass and Amherst kids are rich kids that you never see on the bus.

 

[Bradenmeridian]

A new station also means new problems.

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2015/01/greenfield_celebration_of_amtr.html

GREENFIELD — Some people are so happy that Amtrak is once again running passenger trains through their towns that they're dancing. Some are mad about the lack of ticket availability. They're dancing too.

What was to have been a celebration of Amtrak service at the John W. Olver Transit Center has turned into a sort of war dance over the lack of a ticket kiosk at the facility. Last month, Amtrak started running its Vermonter passenger train, also known as the Knowledge Corridor line, through Northampton and Greenfield for the first time in decades. Formerly, it dog-legged through Amherst. Service will resume in Holyoke as soon as the city provides a platform for customers.

In this era of smartphones and the Internet, Amtrak is relying on customers to get their tickets online. This isn't going over well in Greenfield, according to Linda McInerny. McInerny, the artistic director at Old Deerfield Productions, has been planning a celebration of the passenger service, complete with music and dancing. Now it's more like a demonstration. She's calling it "Ticket to Ride."

According to McInerny, potential customers have come away from the Olver Center in dismay after learning that there's no ticket kiosk there. Tina Cote, who operates a booth there for the Franklin Regional Transit Authority and cannot sell train tickets, has been shouted and spit at, McInerney said.

Did the regional leaders have any idea that there'd be no Quik Trak when they talked to Amtrak? I mean, it's one thing for the station to not have any Amtrak staff, but it's completely different that there's no kiosk, especially when the displaced station is home to FIVE colleges and universities and students from said displaced town are now using Northampton. As for the people taking it out on Ms. Cote, grow up and talk to your leaders for not guaranteeing more concessions from Amtrak.

FIVE colleges and universities....believe me, every college kid knows how to buy a ticket with a smartphone with no paper ticket.

 

[CHamilton]

Via the Amtrak Vermonter group on Facebook:

[At Train Day] on Saturday the mayor [of Northampton] announced that ridership is up 62%. (when comparing 1Q2015 Northampton and Greenfield vs 1Q2014 Amherst).

 

[Palmetto]

Is there a way to get to the info as a non-Facebook user?

 

[CHamilton]

Is there a way to get to the info as a non-Facebook user?

I don't believe so, but that's the complete post. Here's more from the mayor:

David Narkewicz added 3 new photos.May 9 at 4:38pm

This afternoon I joined area train enthusiasts at NHT station to celebrate "Amtrak Train Days" in the City of Northampton. After greeting the northbound train with the crowd I issued a special proclamation marking the occasion. Participants were then led on a tour of historic Union Station by one of its new owners, Jeremiah Micka. Since the Amtrak Vermonter returned to its original Northampton route at the end of 2014, ridership is up over 62%. If you build it, they will ride!

 

[Thirdrail7]

Holyoke is entering service at the end of the month.

 

[afigg]

It is official. Press release: Amtrak Vermonter Service to Holyoke to Begin on August 27. By the way, the code for Holyoke is HLK.

NEW YORK – Amtrak announced today that Vermonter service to the Knowledge Corridor will expand to include a stop in Holyoke, Mass. starting on August 27, 2015. Tickets are now available for purchase at Amtrak.com and all other booking channels.

Service to Northampton and Greenfield began in December 2014. The restoration of passenger rail service to the Knowledge Corridor has been a goal of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, which has been leading the effort to improve the infrastructure and shorten trip times within the Commonwealth. Funding for the project was provided through the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The Vermonter operates daily between Washington and St. Albans, Vt., with service to Philadelphia, New York, Hartford, Conn., Springfield, Mass. and Essex Junction, Vt., and other intermediate stops. In Fiscal Year 2014, ridership on this route increased 6.6 percent, providing service to more than 89,000 passengers.

So when do the trip time savings for the CT River Line start to show up in the schedule?

 

[Palmetto]

They're still doing some track work on that area as far as I know. I would hope by the onset of the winter season, things should tighten up a bit, but we'll see.

 

[SubwayNut]

Well the Vermonter is about to be busituted on Saturdays between NHV and SPG because of construction on that new commuter rail corridor.

 

[MikefromCrete]

There's going to be construction between New Haven and Springfield for the new commuter rail service that will last a year. No hurry to mess with schedules until that is finished.

 

[keelhauled]

I was under the impression that the through trains along the route, including the Vermonter, were going to continue running. Or have the plans been updated?