A great ride! Comfy with decent internet service and an awesome cafe car (love to get Shipyard Export). So great to see some lovely scenery, largely of some places I need to get to visit. A worthwhile 2.5 hours (I've done both Route 1 and I-95 up from Boston, and those arent' so fun). On my way back from Portland, I love to get a Moxie at the station (it tastes so much better in Maine, in its home). There are only two problems with it. One: There's no direct Amtrak service between North and South Stations (but everyone's well aware of that). And, two: you can't walk that point-five mile over to Congress Street. When the bus service is slower (or, on Sunday, non-existent), you don't want to wait, and a handful of the cabbies have to be bribed to take you anywhere between the station and Maine Medical. Other than that... just about perfect. read more

I recently traveled RT on the Amtrak Downeaster from Brunswick to Exeter. Because of my age and medical issues, I have been extremely careful about risks during this pandemic. I felt completely safe on the train as all the protocol was in place. Knowing in advance what % of the allowed seats had been sold was equally reassuring. It's time to get back on the train! read more

I'm leaving this 5 stars purely because of the convenience of this train to get from Portland to Boston. Seats were comfortable on my cheeks and the workers were pleasant. Only thing I will say is that it was raining outside and shortly into the trip the train sprung a leak onto where we were sitting. Luckily, I was wearing my waterproof hat so I had no fear of drowning. Then we moved seats. A little while later it started leaking above me in our new spot. This time it was dripping like the runny nose of a mountain troll from Harry Potter. By this time, the train had gotten busier than Michael Jackson at a daycare, so there was really nowhere for us to go. It really slowed me down from leveling up on my Sudoku app which i had hoped to obtain Master Sudoku status by the end of the ride (equivalent to a blackbelt in karate). Again though, the waterproof cap saved the day. Plus I just crushed a bangin breakfast sandwich and an 8 AM Allagash White. F the Yankees. I'll be back on a sunny day. read more

Love it, alway my choice to go to Boston and Portland. $25 and you don't have to drive, no mass pike and skip 93?! Oh hell yea! Wish they'd go a little faster. read more

Amtrak Downeaster - Transportation Near Me - Portland, Maine

I seriously love the Amtrak Downeaster train! I was somewhat nervous the first time I rode on it since I'd never traveled alone before, but it ended up being a very comfortable experience. There are plenty of seats to choose from and the seating areas are always very clean. The fact that there are electrical outlets next to each window seat and free wifi is definitely a plus! I also had a good experience when I recently checked out the cafe cart for the first time; everything was very reasonably priced and the woman at the counter (can't remember her name, unfortunately) was very sweet! The only change I'd make would be for the train to come midday as well as in the morning and evening. Still, I would definitely recommend the Downeaster to anyone who wants a fun way to travel for the day! read more

Never had an issue with the train itself. Always on time and gets me to saco in about 2 hours. The staff is obnoxious beyond belief. Buddy with the shaved head and beard (mid 20's im guessing). When someone asks you a simple question like where the bar or bathroom is, try replying without an attitude. I get it, you're probably asked the same question a million times throughout the day. I'm not looking for someone to hold my hand but a little courtesy would be nice. If it's such a pain in the ass for you to answer simple questions then maybe it's time for a new job not dealing with the public. read more

I commuted on this train for a summer to Boston. Train is always late every day count on at least 10 - 45 minutes and occasionally longer. Customer service is terrible both in - person and over the phone. Train conductors are rude. Very rarely is there not a headache with this service. read more

Took the Downeaster from Boston to Virginia today. Unaware of the rule, I was sleeping across two seats since it was 3am. The conductor comes to take my ticket and very rudely says "SIT UP- one ticket one seat". I wasn't planning to defy him and why he had to use such a rude and startling tone is beyond me. Usually, the conductors on Amtrak are pleasant but not today. If you don't enjoy your job, quit. read more

There are a few ways of getting to Boston. I think the Downeaster is a great way to do it, but it needs better reliablity. The price of the ticket is pretty reasonable. The cars are spacious (relative to a bus) and comfrotable. The problem is, the train is pretty unreliable. The times I've ridden, it's never arrived on time and has been up to 1.5 hours late. The train also seems pretty packed. They've turned non-ticketed passagers away. It would be nice if they added more trains/cars. read more

Who cares about wind and snow, go Amtrak. If you can go.WiFi, cafe, big seats, warm.... The train was delayed but let's just say, the service was great and this winter has been BRUTAL to say the least. For those folks who complain about delays and getting stuck in snow and how dare the staff not clear the way for you. .....go be a frikin princess and get a limo. I would like to see YOU shovel or clear snow from the train tracks. Lazy complainers! (This goes out to some gal who was a bit miffed she couldn't make her Valentine's Day dinner in Boston. LIFE HAPPENS!!! Yes, I shovel tons of snow, but I feel sorry for all the workers in town and for Amtrak who have worked non-stop to help us, YOU AND ME, get around, so quit whining) Anyways, the lovely staff folks on the train were exasperated with the delays too as they are human. But they were nice, helpful and we , the customers, were understanding. We take Amtrak as often as we can. We love it. For their delays, they gave each of us a one way voucher. So , next time I go to Boston, I can go for FREE. So how nice is THAT!! Of course, hopefully ,Mother Nature will be a bit more kind. read more

I use the Amtrak Downeaster to travel back and forth between Boston and Portland/Brunswick. I qualify for the 6-ride student pass, which is much cheaper than the bus. Pros: The trains are clean, there is free wi-fi (most of the time), and the staff is polite. Cons: The Downeaster is rarely, rarely on time. On a normal day is it usually 20 to 40 minutes late. However, if it is above 80 degrees, the company that owns the train tracks tends to issue a heat restriction, capping travel at 40 mph. This often results in trains being well over an hour late, sometimes closer to two. Amtrak doesn't inform passengers about this beforehand, so keep it mind. Bottom line: if you qualify for a multi-ride discount and don't care about time (i.e. can afford to be quite late), it's a decent deal. If you're paying full price or time is a factor, take the coach. It's the same price and 1-2 hours faster. read more

Worse trip ever. First I made my reservation 2 months in advance. I received 3 notices over those two months that the return train time had changed, first it was 10:30 pm, then 11:45 pm, then back to 10:30 pm. Waited for train and a bus pulled up to shuttle us to another station. Staff in dining car was very rude. Finally get to Boston-was there 20 minutes and received a call that the return train was CANCELED! I called and was on hold for 48 minutes. When I finally got a rep they said that the last train out would be 5 pm....We went to the station to find out what the hell was going and they didn't even know the trains for that evening had been canceled!!! Their own station did not know that the last 2 trains for the evening weren't running!! I was with a group and we had reservations for events that evening that were non-refundable. They would not refund money- offered a voucher or to send us home next day-- of course we would have to pay for the overnight. We all ended up taking the bus back to Maine and that was really nice and took an hour less time to get back. I will NEVER use Amtrak again. read more

Took the Downeaster from Boston to Portland. Delays are unavoidable, but Amtrak handled them very poorly. The train smelled on both parts of my round trip. Andddd the food car was empty, except for a sad breakfast sandwich. Amtrak did not send us an email to warn us about train delays-- I just stumbled across the info on their site. The web page was unclear. It said the trains were 45-90 minutes late arriving in destination cities, but didn't say if they were departing late or on time. It gave a number to call for more info. I called it and got an automated machine that couldn't understand what I was saying. (For the record, Amtrak, I'm a native English speaker. If your machine couldn't understand me, you can be sure that a customer with an accent is totally screwed.) Googled the number for a human (1-877-444-4773) but the estimated hold time was nearly an hour. Emailed the customer support... Pleasantly surprised that I got an email response within a few hours, but it was just a copy/paste of the original web page that I got the email address from. Useless. So I went to the train station on time. The train was listed as on time until it 15 minutes before departure, when they posted a 45 minute delay. At least if they'd done that from the beginning, I could have grabbed food from nearby. All of the cars smelled strongly. The smell was like an industrial bathroom cleaner. But, no matter how far away from the restroom I was, I couldn't get away from it. This was the case across every car, both on the way to Portland and back to Boston. Finally, the amtrak station location in Portland sucks. Clearly, you've taken the train, so you're depending on walking or using public transportation to get into the city. But the train station is really too far to walk (with luggage) to most of Portland, and there isn't any shuttle. It's probably better than driving, but still a crappy mode of transportation. read more

Rough ride. Slower than taking the bus to Boston. Obnoxious staff. Concord Trailways is the way to go.

Just was told by one of the conductors that anyone with a pass of any sorts has to sit on the floor on oversold trains. Um. Are you kidding me? Suggestion- add more cars to the train if you're overselling them. read more

Portland's train station is out of the way and a ways from the city itself, and you'll have to make do with vending machines, but it's clean and straight forward. I had to hang out here for 2 hours when I transferred from bus to train in my Brunswick, Maine adventure. Of note, for future reference for you and me, there is a bike rental! I shall make use of this next time.. Re: the Downeaster itself -- I LOVE being able to catch a train and spend a night in an exotic city in the north! Love it! The business class does give you a slightly bigger seat and a beverage, but it does NOT guarantee a quiet ride, since (as we all know) New Englanders in general, and Bostonians especially, are oblivious to anyone around them. So my ride up to Brunswick was great! Quiet, peaceful, I enjoyed the scenery outside the window. My ride back to Boston had the Loud Family in back with a loud child loudly proclaiming things and her father loudly talking on his cell phone at full voice. And directly behind me were two women who decided the business car was their actual office, in which they could carry on LOUDLY discussing every item of business and hold loud phone calls for 2 freaking hours. Really? Why I didn't suggest they carry on in the cafe car is something I definitely regret, but why didn't the conductor do something? New England rudeness is something I will never ever get used to as long as I live here. I took advantage of the wi-fi and watched something on my iPad the whole ride back, because there's no way I would have been able to read. read more

The schedule is not at all conducive to normal working hours - when the EARLIEST train gets into Boston at the same time that most people have to be AT work (and usually is at least a few minutes late, on top of that), it's really not the best option... The least Amtrak can do is have one earlier train so people have SOME hope of getting into the city before 8AM. The schedule is not realistic for anyone whose job starts earlier than 9. read more

Do not ever take the amtrack downeaster thinking it will be better than sitting in traffic. Every time we take it...extreme delays!!! EXTREME!! Sick of this crap!! The yrain just plain s*cks!! read more

If you are ok with delays, delays and MORE delays then this actually is a very pleasant way to travel between Southern Maine and Boston. I just find it ironic that the bus (concord coach) is more reliable. I have traveled this route numerous times and honestly, I can not recall an instance when we have arrived at either destination (Portland or Boston) actually on time, summer or winter. Also, they do not bother to update the webpage or the customer service people with known delays (hello track work for the last 3 months has YET to be online despite the entire crew being aware that we will be anywhere from 20 minutes to 1.5 hours late). If they could get their act together this would be an awesome way to travel, as the crew are usually top notch and the local fair (food and brew) really add to the experience. Al read more

I take the train every weekend. As there have been horrendous delays where my one hour one way will take multiple hours. However, the staff has been nothing short of understanding and very accommodating. read more

Amtrak Downeaster:I'm Santa Gerard from New England Santa.I love Amtrak, I love L.L.Bean I love Maine foliage, and I love The Downeaster's generous pricing for seniors.We ventured from North Station last Sunday at 9;45am destined for Freeport,Maine.After a soothing spectacular ride through classic New England towns like Exeter,Dover,Durham and Wells,we arrived at our destination, Freeport,Maine right on time.A great day shopping for winter wardrobe and writing down lists and checking them twice.We headed back to Boston's North Station relaxed and happy with a day full of wonderful memories.Santa Gerard is organizing a senior trip to Freeport the end on October and the middle of November.Please check the Downeaster schedule from North Station on Saturday,October 20th and Sunday,November 19th.Santa Gerard and all his senior friends will be taking Amtrak's equivalent to The Polar Express on these dates.All aboard with Santa Gerard.gerard123046@gmail.com read more

What a mellow way to get to Maine. I went to Portland for a day trip and was totally relaxed by the time I got there. The conductors were so friendly. I highly recommend this very civilized way to travel. read more

The Amtrak Downeaster is far by the best way to get Boston with spacious seating, friendly conductors and on-time performance. We rode it back and forth Portland, ME to Boston, MA and encountered no troubles at all. The best thing about the Downeaster is the ability to actual stretch out, kick back and be lazy because there is some much room in between seats. The cafe car is nice too being able to grab a bite to eat or just a water and it's nice that it features Local Maine Food. Be advised that the WiFi is iffy and sometimes the network on your phone is stronger for browsing the internet then that of the trains WiFi. read more

Love all the happy reviews from the one time travelers who take The Downeaster on the weekends with no time restraints. Let me give it to you straight from a monthly pass holder. It used to be a good reliable form of daily transportation to Boston. But now the Downeaster is an EPIC FAIL. Going from Portland to Boston it's the FIRST TRAIN OUT in the morning and it is late everyday from an estimate of 20 to 95 minutes. The same happens in all their trips including at night leaving Boston. If you have an important appointment or just want to get to work or home on time, you are better off choosing the C&J bus or driving. The conductors in the morning have a cocky uncaring "not our fault" attitude. They have lost about 30% of their loyal customers and that is climbing. Take my advise: take the bus. read more

Very disappointed in the service. If there are known major delays, there needs to be a better way to alert passengers before they get on the train and it leaves the station. We had an 8:30am appt in Boston at the hospital, train schedule shows 7:50am arrival, should be fine, right? Wrong! Due to "track work" the train was delayed by an hour. There was an optional bus waiting in Exeter NH but sadly that would not get us there in time either and introduced even more risk due to unknown traffic conditions on the road (my main reason for taking the train!) There are so many ways this could have been avoided. 1. Put a sign in the waiting room at station and/or on the platform. 2. Inform the volunteer host in the waiting area to warn people. 3. Put a giant warning box on the web page right before you let me press OK and then take my money to buy the tickets. 4. Put a monitor or digital sign in the station window with updated status info. If I was alerted properly, I could easily have chosen to drive to Boston. Instead, 5 minutes into the trip we were informed of the hour delay. This is a poor example of customer service. Come on Amtrak, it doesn't take too much effort to improve this for your customers. read more

Don't take the Downeaster if you need to be somewhere on time. I ride the train every so often and it is consistently late - 99% of the time it is on average 45 minutes late and moves slowly. Not a good fit for me any longer. I have had it. Take Concord Coach if you need to fo from Portland to Boston. DO not take the Downeaster!! read more

We received a gift certificate from a family member for Amtrak and used it to purchase two tickets. When our family member purchased the gift certificate she was told that two tickets would cost around $75.00. But it was not that much and there was a balance of unused money remaining - $24.00. We were told that it could not be used in the food car or refunded. We would have to use it within a year on more tickets - and since we have no train travel plans we have lost $24.00. We would have to spend more money trying to plan another trip in order to use the $24.00. Crazy. Very unfair by Amtrak! Don't buy gift certificates from Amtrak - you could lose money. There is no way to know exactly how much a ticket is going to cost - so give some one cash instead. read more

Frankly better than the Acela or Northeast Corridor train. Friendly and effificient. Wi-fi works well and everything, even the bathrooms are clean and nice. read more

Be warned! You don't get to ride the train into Boston. Second trip that I have to take the damn to Haverhill. I could have taken the bus the whole way. No warning. No DISCOUNT this sucks read more

Never had a worse experience with customer service. We usually take the concord bus down to Boston from Portland (often) but wanted to try out the Downeaster for the first time. We had a red eye train ticket home but missed it because Boston public transportation was locked up over a Red Sox game. So in addition to being stranded for the night, when we boarded the train the next morning out we were told our tickets were no longer valid and that we had to purchase new ones. I called Amtrak and pleaded with them that it was our first time using the train and that we weren't familiar with their policies. I asked them to transfer the tickets for us to the train we were on. I was told the funds for those tickets had "expired" (meaning they processed the payment and kept our money for nothing). They refused to help and forced us to buy additional tickets, claiming that it's no different than an airline ticket... except when I miss a flight, the airline just puts me in the next available seat. They missed an opportunity to create lifelong customers out of me and my family over the price of a one way ticket. Bad form, terrible service, will not use again and definitely would not recommend. Amtrak will hang you out to dry. read more

Have taken the downeaster over half dozen times. Boston to old orchard beach. The train gets you there,but never on time. Today's ride home is fairly typical. Now scheduled 20 minutes late into boston. Snack bar is poorly stocked,the wi fi doesn't work and the air conditioning has it freezing in one car and hot in another. America's infastructre is a disgrace,amtrak is a prime example. read more

The train because of track work went as far as Haverhill, Ma. The bus company that Downeaster chartered took us rest of way to NS. We were told by bus driver that bus would pick us up at drop off. What we didnt know was DE reassumed track service early. It was supposed to be continued next day. It was restarted the night before. DE never alerted us to the change. We have email and text on our phones and were even signed up for text alerts with Downeaster. Us and 2 other parties were stranded at NS. We called and Downeaster said we should have known. So 5 adults and 5 kids were waiting until almost midnight to get back home. Downeaster said as a favor that would transfer our tickets but we should know better. This is the worst train experience we ever had! read more

EXTREME delays during track repair May to July 2015 : AVOID !! Tonight's train from Boston was 1 hour and 24 minutes late, a 50% increase in expected transit time. Very disappointed this is not communicated to the passengers when ticket is purchased. read more

Can't stand this train. I constantly travel from Boston to Portland and usually take concord coach, 2 hour bus ride, easy peasy. On a whim, I decided to take the train, NEVER AGAIN. Firstly, I get to North Station and it's 90 minutes late..fine, things happen, I'm in no hurry. Then the train arrives and everyone rushes to board. Now they say it's going to be about a 2 hour and 30 minute trip to Portland..all lies. More like 3 hours and 45 minutes. We had no delays on the track so why the blatant misinformation? If I'm going to be on the train for 4 hours...just tell me I'm going to be on the train for 4 hours. Now, I've slept most of the ride, I wake up and ask an employee where we are/how long to portland, the answer? "Listen honey, we'll get there when we get there." Ooookay then (also my answer to the employee). In conclusion, I don't know how this train is still in business as they have rude employees and take double the time as the bus. Stay away if you're in a rush. read more

Comfortable, relaxing and a very enjoyable way to travel from Boston to Brunswick and many great destinations in between. Way more fun than driving. Highly recommended! read more

It's just so late, so often, that it isn't worth it. It's slower than the bus even when it runs on town, and it apparently never runs on time. I've taken trains all over Europe--it can be done. This is absolutely incompetent. We were so happy when we heard there would be train service to Maine--except there really isn't. read more

I took my first trip on the Downeaster from Portland to Boston, (a return trip). The Portland Station has a lot to be desired. In the winter, its a cold walk from the station to the train. Nonetheless, it was better than having to drive my car into Boston. Trains was comfortable, but I had to wear my winter jacket all the way to Boston. The train was frigid! Very little heat. I didn't use the bathrooms although I had heard adverse comments about its cleanliness. Would I use the train again? YES, it's a lot better than driving my car. The train personnel were polite and helpful. I do recommend the Downeaster and look forward when they start operating from Brunswick to Boston. read more

I love the idea of a train between Portland and Boston. Sadly, the Downeaster has failed me every single time. I now have a stack of those little vouchers they give out when the train is late. Folks, if you have nothing to do but sit on a train going nowhere for five hours, by all means, take this train. If you need to do something else with your day, take the bus. I know the crew and staff mean well but if government is not willing to support this service, it just needs to go away. read more

The Amtrak Downeaster is a great mode of transportation to use, if you don't need to be anywhere on time. Another great part about the Amtrak Downeaster is that they don't let you know when the train will ACTUALLY be getting to the station. The schedules on their website are a joke. They want the trains arrival to be a SURPRISE. Don't bother trying to download their app! That doesn't usually have the times your looking for either! Neither does the volunteer at the station! I would use Amtrak Downeaster again, as long as I had no one waiting to pick me up and I didn't have to be anywhere at a certain time. Perfect for people who love waiting at stations for at least 1/2 hour over their scheduled time. You'll love it! read more

The only reason why I gave this one star is because we did actually make it. In the last 6 months my fiance and I had received 3 one way vouchers each because of bad service on the train, mainly due to being stuck in the middle of nowehere on the train for over half an hour each time. We were able to use 4 of the 6 vouchers, but the timeframe for their expiration is so tight if you don't travel on the train on a regular basis it's very hard to redeem them. With this said, I decided to mail the vouchers to my father who lives near Portland and invited him down for a free daytrip earned from our misfortunes. The vouchers are good anytime except certain blackoout days and they also don't allow you to reserve a ticket with them, you just hop onboard and give the voucher to the conductor. I'm sure you might be thinking that it's wierd that you can't reserve a seat with the voucher given to folks as a token of apologies for their horrible service. Well, their track record for their horrible customer appreciation was able to shine this week. My father tried to come down on Marathon Monday, whiich anyone would think would be a great day trip for someone, and was turned away as soon as he entered the parking in Portland by the attendant letting him know his voucher wasn't good that day. This was before 8am. So, he took it on the chin, returned home, and we scheduled him to come to Boston today. Thank God he lives close to Portland, imagine if you just traveled a couple of hours to be denied. Anyway, I thankfully looked at the schedule late last night and saw that the 8am train was recently sold out during the evening and he'd have to take the 5:45am train if he was up for it. He agreed and I met him this morning at 8:15am at North Station and we had a great day in the city. As we were enjoying lunch I decided to pull up the tickets on my cell phone and realized that once again, sometime between 10am in the morning till 3pm in the afternoon, the 5 and 5:40pm train had been sold out. We decided to go to the train station to see if they could help us. The person at the counter told me that it was up to the conductor and he had no control. We walked out to the conductor and I couldn't even get two words out explaining what we went through before he was saying, "sorry, you're out of luck, please let others who have tickets pass you!" I couldn't believe it. I was trying to turn in my voucher which was received for their horrendous service and got even worse service than what the free voucher represented!! With all this said, I brought my father to South Station and welcomed him to the new location he'll be traveling to and from from Portland. Myself and my fiance will also be following in his footsteps. The service completely sucks when they stiff their customers like this. There's a bus every hour and is cheaper than the train. For those that this hasn't happened to, enjoy it while it lasts, because it's due to come....... and for those who have chosen this train for their regular commute, God bless read more