CapeFLYER
|
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| country | United States |
| Catchment area | Southeast Massachusetts |
| Type | Regional passenger train |
| Installation | May 24, 2013 (planned) |
| operator |
CCRTA with trains of the MBTA |
| Northern terminus | Boston South Station , Boston |
| Southern terminus | Hyannis Transportation Center , Hyannis |
| Route length | 78 mi (125.5 km ) |
| Gauge | 1,435 mm ( standard gauge ) |
CapeFLYER is the name of a seasonally operated passenger train in the southeastern area of the state of Massachusetts in the United States , which commutes between Boston and Cape Cod . The train, somewhat comparable to a German regional express , is operated jointly by the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority (CCRTA) and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). The route is owned by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation .
The train only runs on weekends (Friday through Sunday) between the US holidays Memorial Day and Labor Day . The annual operating costs were just under 200,000 before operating on $ appreciated. It has been the first regular service to Cape Cod since Cape Codder was discontinued by Amtrak in 1996 and the first connection between Boston South Station and Cape Cod since 1959 - the Cape Cod and Hyannis Railroad operated a liner service from Braintree to Cape Cod from 1984 to 1988.
The first trip of the CapeFLYER took place on Friday, May 24th, 2013. On the first five weekends of operation, the train carried just over 6,000 passengers - 310 people per week are required to recoup the operating costs.
business
The locomotives and wagons are provided by the MBTA, which is a subcontractor of the CCRTA. The route follows the Middleborough / Lakeville Line from Boston and continues on the Massachusetts Coastal Railroad's Cape Main Line, which is normally used exclusively for rail freight traffic , to Hyannis.
In January 2013, the CCRTA announced that the train would leave Boston South Station on Fridays in the late afternoon and, after stopping at some smaller stops , would reach its terminus in Hyannis . The trains that leave Boston early Saturday or Sunday morning, however, run without stopping to Middleborough / Lakeville station and then via Buzzards Bay to Hyannis. Trains to Boston leave Hyannis early Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings. In addition, the CapeFLYER runs on Memorial Day , the US national holiday on July 4th, and Labor Day .
Average travel time is given as around 2.5 hours - due to speed limits on parts of the route, the train can travel at a maximum of 30 mph (48.3 km / h ) in some areas . If the train is commercially successful, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation has already announced that it will expand the route so that the train can run faster across the board. Funding for this is basically available.
Connection connections
In Hyannis there is an indirect connection to the ferry terminal of Hy-Line Cruises via the connection to the local bus service of the CCRTA , from where ferries go to Nantucket .
In Buzzards Bay, shuttle buses connect the train station with the Steamship Authority ferry terminal in Woods Hole , which connects to Martha's Vineyard .
Finances
The operating costs of the train are mainly to be covered by ticket sales and other income on board. According to the CCRTA, 700 passengers are required per weekend to avoid losses. One-time costs for the maintenance of the line (renewal of the superstructure , signals and sleepers , modernization of the stations in Buzzards Bay and Hyannis, and repairs to level crossings ) total $ 3.4 million.
Services
Free WiFi access and other discounts are offered on board .
List of stops
The CapeFLYER stops at the following stations:
Map with all coordinates of the CapeFLYER stations: Use of the route over time
The last scheduled train left Hyannis in the direction of Boston on June 30, 1959 at 5:34 p.m. after the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad had ceased operations on the Old Colony Lines . Up to this point, trains such as The Cranberry , The Sand Dune or The Buttermilk Bay ran regularly on this route. Operations to Provincetown ceased in 1941.
In the meantime there have been repeated efforts to successfully operate passenger trains between Boston and Cape Cod. Among other things, the then owner of the Penn Central lines negotiated with local and state authorities in 1974 to restart operations. In order to be able to use the route at least for rail freight traffic , the Commonwealth of Massachusetts bought the remaining routes on Cape Cod in 1976.
In the summer of 1979 a passenger train was used on a trial basis between Hyannis, Buzzards Bay and Falmouth for a week after the tracks had been repaired. Politicians hoped for a new regular operation by 1981 at the latest - in fact, however, the operation did not get beyond this test week. In the summer months from 1984 to 1988, the Cape Cod and Hyannis Railroad operated a passenger train between Braintree and Cape Cod and last carried 89,000 passengers per year with this.
In February 1989, despite its success, the railway company had to cease operations because the Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation had to end subsidizing the route due to the state financial crisis at the time. From 1986 to 1996, Amtrak operated a passenger train known as Cape Codder , which ran from Washington Union Station in Washington, DC or from New York Pennsylvania Station in New York City to Hyannis. The train used a route between Attleboro and Taunton that had previously been part of the Taunton Branch Railroad . To get from Hyannis to Boston, passengers had to transfer to the Providence / Stoughton Line of the MBTA or the Northeast Regional of the Amtrak at Providence Station in Providence, Rhode Island .
In the spring of 2011, a consulting firm was commissioned by the CCRTA to investigate "[physical and other] obstacles and financing options in connection with a revitalization of rail passenger transport to Cape Cod". The start of operations was planned for 2012, but was postponed to 2013 to counter the impression that the new train could further exacerbate the financial problems of the MBTA.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Patrick Cassidy: Weekend passenger rail service to run seasonally between Cape and Boston. In: The Standard Times. December 13, 2012, accessed March 22, 2013 .
- ^ Emily Overholt: For some, train to Cape Cod beats the traffic jams. In: The Boston Globe . July 10, 2013, accessed August 13, 2013 .
- ^ A b c Transportation Planning and Resource Group: PHASE I Project Report: Cape Cod Seasonal Passenger Rail Service. May 2012, accessed on March 22, 2013 .
- ^ Edward F. Maroney: Signs of the times. (No longer available online.) In: The Barnstable Patriot. January 24, 2013, formerly in the original ; accessed on March 22, 2013 (English). ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ MassDOT Releases 21st Century Transportation Plan. Massachusetts Department of Transportation , January 14, 2013, accessed March 22, 2013 .
- ^ Rail Service Returns to Cape Cod with Woods Hole Bus Link. Martha'sVineyardPatch, March 15, 2013, accessed March 22, 2013 .
- ^ Katharine Q. Seelye: Massachusetts Plan Starts Small for Big Upgrade to Rail System. In: The New York Times . March 25, 2013, accessed March 27, 2013 .
- ^ Frank Falacci: Cape Grim as Trains Quit. In: The Boston Globe . July 1, 1959, accessed March 23, 2013 (English, paid article).
- ^ Boston and Cape Cod Timetable. New Haven Railroad, April 28, 1957, accessed March 23, 2013 .
- ^ To End Train Service Between Yarmouth, Provincetown on Cape. In: The Boston Globe . June 24, 1941, accessed March 23, 2013 (English, paid article).
- ↑ Paul Deveney: Penn Central 'opens door' for renewed Cape rail service. In: The Boston Globe . January 6, 1974, accessed March 23, 2013 (English, paid article).
- ^ Marvin Pave: 85 miles of track acquired by state. In: The Boston Globe . April 5, 1976, accessed March 23, 2013 (English, paid article).
- ^ Russel Garland: Trial run for Cape train. In: The Boston Globe . August 12, 1979, accessed March 23, 2013 (English, paid article).
- ↑ Fred Pillsbury: Hyannis, Falmouth, All Aboard! In: The Boston Globe . June 30, 1984, Retrieved March 23, 2013 (English, paid article).
- ^ Dukaki's Budget Would End Braintree-Cape Rail Subsidy. In: The Boston Globe . January 28, 1989, accessed March 23, 2013 (English, paid article).
- ↑ Michael C. Bailey: CCRTA Pushes For Passenger Rail Revival In 2012. (No longer available online.) In: The Enterprise. March 18, 2011, archived from the original on January 25, 2012 ; accessed on March 23, 2013 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Sean Corcoran: 'Tourist Train' Status: Delayed. (No longer available online.) In: WGBH. April 27, 2012, archived from the original on May 1, 2012 ; accessed on March 23, 2013 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
