Portland Passenger Rail

TIL that the current rail bridge across the harbor is not the same one that stood there in the 1940's and earlier. (Of course, unless you found a map that showed both you'd be hard-pressed to tell them apart.)
 
Per RR.net and confirmed by Amtrak employees...

The Downeaster, after months of rumors and some blowback from NNEPRA, is formally swapping out Amfleet coaches for surplus Midwestern Horizon cars. The interior livery is very similar, but the Horizons have harsh commuter rail-style lighting, no automatic doors, and an established rep for door problems during cold weather. They'll start getting added to sets one by one, so there'll be weeks to a couple months of mixed Amfleet+Horizon consists before they go all-Horizon. Cars will be shipped in/out of Boston the typical route for Downeaster equipment swaps: via Albany and extra non-revenue cars attached to the Lake Shore Ltd.

I guess start pining for the Airo cars in about 5 years, because this is somewhat of a downgrade.
 
Replace maybe one car with one like this and make it reserved seating with a $15 per seat upcharge. Create an app purchase and delivery system for food and drink like the airlines do, for the entire train, with more and higher priced offerings. The Downeaster has potential to bring people up from Boston, and not just round trips by Mainers. This car would not need overhead storage. There are ways to increase revenue without having to invest a lot of initial capital. I'd find a private company to partner with, one that knows how to make money. Call it "The Downeaster Sky Car."

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