Seasonal Station

I live walking distance from the only seasonal station on the DownEaster (Old Orchard Beach, Maine). It is just a platform next to a town parking lot at the local Chamber of Commerce. Usually operated first Monday in May until first Sunday in October, unstaffed, no services. Other times, S.O.L. I don't own a car, so it is a hassle to get to another station on the line, especially nights and weekends.

I was wondering what it would take to change its status, off season, from skipped to a flag stop.

You could start by contacting someone at the Maine DOT as they help sponsor the train.

Another suggestion might be to contact the NNEPRA - Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority - through their website: www.nnepra.com

NNERPA would probably be the place to start, as they're in charge of the train and are a pretty small organization. They would probably be able to tell you who else to call.

D.O.T. told me to contact Amtrak. I will try NNEPRA, as you suggested, since they hold a 20-year contract with Amtrak to operate DownEaster.

Why was this deemed a seasonal station in the first place? I assume that people "don't visit the beach" in the winter? What's the local year-round population there compared to other DownEaster stations? A few facts and figures may help your case. Good luck!

In addition to the beach, OOB station has a seasonal amusement park right across the street for all intents and purposes. The stop was probably deemed not that necessary during the "off season."

I can't see the harm to operating it as a flagstop. It's not like Amtrak changes the schedule in the winter to make it faster by skipping OOB.

This is honestly just a stab in the dark, but part of the reason for ORB being seasonal could be that there is not a lot (or practically nothing?) open in ORB for stores/restaurants/attractions/etc. after Columbus Day, so perhaps the town requested that it be seasonal only to not have tourists visit and be disappointed at the lack of things to do.

Keep in mind that SAO is not that far away and there is also (year round I believe) bus service between SAO and ORB stations.

Are there many other seasonal stations in the Amtrak system?

Thanks,

ainamkartma

As far as I remember the issue is snow. All the other station have heated platform edges I think and still you also have someone to come and clear the snow from access ramps etc. So it was probably deemed not worth the extra expense if there's only few passengers there in the winter.

jonkreisler said:

D.O.T. told me to contact Amtrak. I will try NNEPRA, as you suggested, since they hold a 20-year contract with Amtrak to operate DownEaster.

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Contacting people will only alert them to your presence. Next time you need to hide in the snow bank until the train comes into view. Then you can spring into action and grab on before anyone can stop you.

ainamkartma said:

Are there many other seasonal stations in the Amtrak system?

Thanks,

ainamkartma

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Only other ones I'm aware of are East Glacier (mid-spring through mid-fall) and Browning (the rest of the year), and Port Kent NY (only open when the ferry is running).

trainviews said:

As far as I remember the issue is snow. All the other station have heated platform edges I think and still you also have someone to come and clear the snow from access ramps etc. So it was probably deemed not worth the extra expense if there's only few passengers there in the winter.

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Oho. That seems likely.

neroden said:

trainviews said:

As far as I remember the issue is snow. All the other station have heated platform edges I think and still you also have someone to come and clear the snow from access ramps etc. So it was probably deemed not worth the extra expense if there's only few passengers there in the winter.

Click to expand...

Oho. That seems likely.

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Agreed, that explanation makes a lot of sense and is more credible than my theory.