(The following article was posted on the Portland Press Herald website on January 13.)
PORTLAND, Me. — Ticket price increases for Downeaster train service won initial approval Wednesday.
Directors of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority voted to keep fares in Maine mostly the same, while adding $1 to the price of one-way travel between stations in New Hampshire, northern Massachusetts and Boston.
They backed similar increases on commuter passes for those routes.
The increase would apply only to travel between the Downeaster’s six stations outside of Maine. Ticket prices would not increase for trips from those stations to Portland or other Maine stops.
The only increase for Maine riders would be a $1 hike on one-stop trips within the state. A passenger, for example, would pay $5 instead of $4 to take the Downeaster from Old Orchard Beach to Saco.
Patricia Douglas, the authority’s manager of marketing and development, said the directors favor increases at the New Hampshire stops because of their strong increase in ridership and limited competition for passengers from other forms of transpiration.
The Downeaster has seen ridership in Portland decline.
The money the Downeaster is expected to gain from the higher fares would go to fund operating costs. The 3-year-old line faces a potential cut in federal aid, a jump in Amtrak’s cost to operate the Downeaster, and the inflation of normal business costs, Douglas said.
The board of directors will take public comment before making a final decision Feb. 9. The new rates would take effect this summer.
The authority has not heard from riders yet on the proposal. Stephanie Svenonius, who commutes on the train from Exeter, N.H., to Boston, said the projected $17 increase in her monthly pass would cause her to switch to Massachusetts’ commuter train.
She likes the comfort of the Downeaster and the location of its station but could not justify paying about $45 more a month than what it would cost for the Massachusetts pass.
“It just doesn’t make sense,” Svenonius said.
New Hampshire riders could face a new surcharge as well. The Maine Legislature is considering an additional charge on New Hampshire train tickets to help pay for track improvements.
The authority’s rate increase is not connected to the bill or discussions between Maine and New Hampshire about how to pay for the Downeaster, Douglas said.