Boston bound: Downeaster hikes monthly fares, Cape Air to launch Portland flights
Photo / William Hall
Monthly passengers will have to pay more starting next week for train service to Boston aboard the Amtrak Downeaster, here stopping at Freeport on a recent morning run.
Commuters and other Mainers who take the train regularly to Boston may soon pay 6% more, as fare hikes for the Amtrak Downeaster rail service go into effect next week.
The cost of a monthly pass for trips between Boston’s North Station and all points in Maine will increase from $319 to $339 on July 15, according to the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, which manages the Downeaster.
The new fare also applies to trips between most Maine stations and Woburn, Mass. The price of a monthly pass between Wells and Woburn will go from $299 to $319 — almost a 7% increase.
One-way tickets and other fares for Maine stops are unaffected by next week's changes, according to NNEPRA.
The Downeaster runs five times a day to and from Boston, and makes six Maine stops: Wells, Saco, Portland, Freeport and Brunswick, as well as a seasonal stop in Old Orchard Beach. The train has three Massachusetts stops and three in New Hampshire.
The increases are based “on growing demand for peak commuter-hour arrivals and departures into Boston and limited seat capacity on peak commuter trains,” the quasi-government agency said in a June 7 report analyzing the current fares.
The NNEPRA board of directors approved the changes June 24, Executive Director Patricia Quinn said Friday.
“Every couple of years we look at all the fares, and after looking at the Boston market, we felt a fare increase was warranted.”
In 2017, monthly fares to Boston increased from $299 to $319, she said.
In addition to the most recent hikes in Maine, the cost of 10-ride tickets between some New Hampshire and Massachusetts stops increased slightly, according to NNEPRA.
The rail service carried more than 550,000 passengers in 2018, the most ever in its 17-year history. Recently, NNEPRA has explored the expansion of Downeaster service to Maine communities including Lewiston/Auburn and Rockland. Last October, the Kennebunk Board of Selectmen tabled plans to develop a seasonal stop in that town.
Cape Air takes off
Mainers headed to Boston will get another transportation option in September, when Cape Air begins daily shuttle flights between Portland and Boston's Logan International Airport.
The regional airline, based in Hyannis, Mass., will fly four round trips a day beginning Sept. 18, according to the Portland International Jetport website.
The first flight takes off from the jetport at 7:55 a.m., and the last flight leaves Logan at 6:39 p.m. Flying time is about 50 minutes, and ticket prices at press time started at $79 for a one-way fare.
Founded in 1989, Cape Air currently serves 34 destinations in the Northeast, Midwest, Montana and the Caribbean region. Flights include four daily round trips to Augusta State Airport, three to Hancock County-Bar Harbor Airport, and four to Knox County Regional Airport near Rockland.
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