Are there Amtrak trains that run straight from Harrisburg to Boston without changing trains?
No.
Patrick Boylan
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I see but why?
I don't know, but part of the reason may be that the trains to and from Harrisburg are relatively short, I assume because demand is relatively low, but trains to and from Washington are relatively long, again I assume because demand is relatively high. Demand to and from Boston I assume is also relatively high, so it may make sense to run trains there that are longer than Harrisburg service needs.
One of the 'surprise' one seat rides are on #65 & #66 between Newport News, VA and Boston.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
2013 had ~571,000 boardings and alightings at the Harrisburg station¹. But I doubt many people are travelling to Boston with any regularity. Most go to Philly. (plus the trains are supported in part by PA. So it makes no sense to run them the whole way to Boston).
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.
Why was this question not posted on the Passenger Train Forum?
I see. Thanks for your answers.
gardendanceI don't know, but part of the reason may be that the trains to and from Harrisburg are relatively short, I assume because demand is relatively low, but trains to and from Washington are relatively long, again I assume because demand is relatively high. Demand to and from Boston I assume is also relatively high, so it may make sense to run trains there that are longer than Harrisburg service needs.
I think another part of this is what the traffic to and from Harrisburg consists of. With the demise of the 'through' service to Chicago I'd expect most of the Harrisburg traffic to be intra-Pennsylvania (it's the state capital). "Through" service to Washington might generate more demand, but likely not enough for a whole trainset to run through on a regular basis. In any case, the Keystone service is of course subsidized by the state of Pennsylvania, so they're less likely to be interested in using the equipment they've paid for to serve out-of-state passengers, especially with a whole lot more track miles (as you'd have going north into New Jersey, Connecticut, etc.) or in competition with Washington-area commuter agencies.
I don't think there's enough 'value' in a one-seat ride to make the numbers work for a regularly-scheduled train running through from Harrisburg to New York with Keystone equipment ... let alone Boston. It reminds me of some earlier posts on run-through traffic between Philadelphia and Montauk. Yes, there would be some traffic; yes, it would be delightfully convenient for those who would use the service ... no, there aren't enough passengers to fill even a short train on a regular basis, and the age of cutting cars into a consist effectively ended with HEP if not with switching cost increases.
If changes can be made with a short dwell time, especially across the platform, the greater flexibility of connections outweighs any inconvenience. It's done all the time in Europe.
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
A train going south from Boston will have many more people going to Washington, Balto', etc., than to Harrisburgh. It's easier to have those few going to H'burg to change trains.
MidlandMike did you miss where I said the same thing a few posts ago?
gardendance MidlandMike did you miss where I said the same thing a few posts ago?
You might or might not have inferred the same thing, but you did not state the same thing. Also, I hope you are not expecting people to go back and re-read prior days posts before writing a new post.
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