(The Associated Press circulated the following on July 23.)
PORTLAND, Maine — The Amtrak Downeaster train will soon be adding new and faster trips between Portland and Boston, train officials announced Monday.
The Downeaster will add a fifth daily round trip on the line beginning Aug. 17. The addition of a fifth trip had been anticipated following the completion of a $6 million track construction project that has been under way since last fall.
Under the new schedule, the Downeaster will no longer run a bus for its late-night trips on week days, using a train instead. On weekends, there be five train trips rather than the current four.
The trips also will be five minutes faster than they are now. The 21⁄2-hour trips will be cut to 2 hours and 25 minutes; trips that are now 2 hours and 35 minutes will be cut to 21⁄2 hours.
The new schedule is expected to have a positive impact on the train’s ridership, said Patricia Quinn, executive director of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, which manages the train service.