Downeaster officials pleased with ridership

DOVER, N.H. – The group boosting the new passenger train between Boston and Portland, Maine, is pleased by early rider figures.

The Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority says the train attracted more passengers last month than the group expected.

From the first day of service on Dec. 15 to Dec. 31, the total estimated ridership was 14,071, said Nate Moulton, the authority’s deputy director. If correct, that figure amounts to 879 per day, slightly more than what is needed to reach the goal of 320,000 riders per year, Moulton said.

The most popular northbound train leaves Boston at 6:15 p.m. and arrives in Portland at 9 p.m. The busiest southbound train leaves Portland at 8:45 a.m. and arrives in Boston at 11:30 a.m.

Moulton said rail authority officials may have to wait until the end of January to receive a more detailed report from Amtrak. They also are waiting to receive numbers from Epicurean Feast, the company that provides food and beverages in the cafe car.

Another number that rail authority officials are anxious to see is how many monthly rail passes have been sold to people in Maine and New Hampshire who use the Downeaster to commute to Boston. Based on what he has seen and heard, Moulton believes many commuters are New Hampshire residents who can get to Boston from Exeter in an hour and 20 minutes and to Boston from Dover in an hour and 48 minutes.

Moulton said the trains were running on time 98 percent of the time in December and 96.4 percent of the time so far in January.

Moulton said authority members also are working to link the train passengers with other methods of transportation, such as buses or boats.

For instance, Moulton said, an agreement with a bus company like Concord Trailways might allow train travelers to use their round-trip train ticket to take a bus home from South Station in Boston if they wanted to return at a time outside the train schedule.

They also have had discussions with the Scotia Prince cruise line that takes travelers to Nova Scotia every spring, summer and fall. Such a partnership would enable people who want to take the boat to the Canadian province to travel to Portland by train and be shuttled to the ship.