(The following story by Mike LaBella appeared on the Eagle-Tribune website on March 26.)
HAVERHILL, Mass. — Have you taken Amtrak’s Downeaster train to Portland, Maine, on a weekend but found you had little time to linger because it leaves for Haverhill too soon?
Are you a Red Sox fan who always has to rush to catch the train back home?
As of next month, you’ll have more time to spend in that down-Maine city as well as more time to get to Boston’s North Station stop after a Sox game at Fenway Park.
The popular Downeaster train, which formerly departed Portland at 3:40 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, won’t be leaving there for Haverhill until 6:40 p.m. The change will begin April 2 and continue throughout the summer.
“A lot of people like to take day trips to Maine, and if you get to Portland at noon and you have to leave three hours later, it doesn’t give you a lot of time to shop or dine,” said Patricia Quinn, executive director for Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, which contracts with Amtrak to provide the Downeaster service.
Red Sox fans who found themselves rushing to catch the Downeaster after a weekend game will have a little extra time to get to the station as well. And fans who attend weeknight games with a 7:05 start time will have a little extra time to catch the bus out of North Station.
Effective April 2, the Downeaster weekend train will leave Boston’s North Station at 11:20 p.m. instead of 11 p.m., giving Sox fans an additional 20 minutes to get to the station.
Quinn said the 11 p.m. weekday bus departures from North Station will be moved from 11 to 11:20 p.m. on nights of Red Sox home games that start at 7:05 p.m.
Additionally, this year’s Seasonal Downeaster service to Old Orchard Beach, Maine, will start April 2. The train stops in the heart of Old Orchard Beach – just steps from the sand, shopping, dining, famous pier and amusement park.
Starting from Boston’s North Station, the Downeaster makes stops in Woburn and Haverhill; Exeter, Durham and Dover, N.H.; and Wells, Saco/Biddeford, Old Orchard Beach and Portland, Maine. The Durham station is popular among students attending the University of New Hampshire.
Since its inaugural run on Dec. 15, 2001, the Downeaster has experienced a boom in ridership, particularly from 2005 to 2006 when it had a 32 percent increase. From July 2005 to June 2006, 329,265 passengers rode the Downeaster, compared with 250,535 the previous fiscal year.