Holyoke - Least Used Amtrak Station in Massachusetts

[@carolinefrancois9377]

I am SO excited about this series (and I want to join for one/some!!). You're the best!

[@MilesinTransit]

Thank you!!!

[@Molejules]

Gotta do the California one for sure.

[@trainandmore]

One day the T will go to western mass ( yeah right lol). I do wish there was a decent public transit way from Boston to Springfield, only for six flags and the same could be said for Canobie Lake park.

[@kendufresne]

Hopefully they do someday. Not sure if they'd be able to make it all double track between Worcester and Springfield. I've also heard they want to extend the Fitchburg line, all the way to Greenfield.

[@bnywtrains9482]

The entire Boston to Albany corridor needs a boost in rail service.

[@Jake_Broer]

@@trainandmore the fact that I have to take a bus from Springfield to get to a train station that goes to Boston, but I can get on any train that goes right to New York is nuts to me.

[@justinkratz2487]

Great video Geoff Marshall Jr! Keep them coming!

[@MilesinTransit]

Hahaha, thank you!

[@taxesv1nce142]

1:47 Best transition I've ever seen someone pull off. Nice job.

[@MilesinTransit]

Thank you!! It was completely unintentional but I was so happy when I stumbled across it when editing.

[@Koopzilla24]

Came back to this video in 2024 now that Holyoke has surpassed Framingham making Framingham the new least used Amtrak station in MA. Holyoke's annual ridership shot up by over 1000 with the additional Valley Flyer trips and rail resurgence bringing it to nearly 2,800 annual rider!

[@RobbieMaynardCreates]

I go to Holyoke often and I have never seen anyone get on or off. To be honest, I've never seen anyone at the station other than me lol

[@ursonate]

This station was very convenient for my "east coast tour" 4.5 years ago!

[@mike4523]

A disincentive of the Holyoke station is that, what should be a 10 minute ride to Springfield, is closer to 30 minutes because the train has to back into the Springfield east-west platform. It would be nice if Springfield had a small north-south connecting platform to skip the backing-up step. And this estimate is assuming none of the Pan Am freight long east-west trains do not jam things up. In other words, hard to compete with a local bus to springfield which is served by many many more trains.

[@eyemotif]

11:30 wow i cant wait for your 1000 sub livestream!! lol

[@thefareplayer2254]

The content I didn’t know I needed!

[@NorEaster_Cyclone]

That canals of Holyoke with the INTERNATION VOLLEYBALL HALL OF FAME 😮 is really cool. If I won the lottery I'd redevelop all those old mills and canals.

[@Molejules]

And this is why I've relied more on the Lake Shore Limited than the buses. Also, the northern route via FRTA and MART.

[@Molejules]

Also, big fan of T.ROOTS right across from Pulaski Park.

[@Molejules]

I'm unashamedly adding comments while I'm watching. That model train set at Union Station must've been added after I left Hartford! Also, hey! The Late for Sure does alright westbound! I've arrived early in Springfield!

[@MilesinTransit]

The model train set was WONDERFUL. The one time I took the Late for Sure westbound, we arrived an hour late...although I'm sure that was an anomaly!

[@timothyschollux]

You got me with the "Your driver is: Ned" sign - just hilarious

[@MilesinTransit]

Thank you!!

[@justinroig5858]

Holyoak also has the largest population by percentage of Puerto Rican in the country!

[@MrMatteNWk]

Wouldn't Puerto Rico have a higher population of Puerto Ricans in the US?

[@justinroig5858]

@@MrMatteNWk outside the US omg I forgot that part😂

[@himbourbanist]

I'm really surprised just how solid that station is. Holyoke seems pretty cute based on where it's located too. I'm really surprised that it doesn't see more ridership. Hopefully the city can hone in on that station and get some better local services running to connect it better to town.

[@MilesinTransit]

I will say if there are any least used stations whose score I'd lower, it would be this one (for not having any kind of indoor space), but on the other hand, it's designed to be more of a commuter station or a long-distance one!

[@Jake_Broer]

The problem is that Holyoke has a terrible reputation and isn't a great city. I went to school at HCC and it's not a place I like staying in when it's dark.

[@andrewschuschu3499]

Moving from Boston to Holyoke for work this coming August! Hope they don’t close it so we have a quick way back into the city if we want it! Great video!

[@petethetraveler]

I never knew that Holyoke was the least used station in Massachusetts, as I’ve got family living in the town and go their often, it surprises me. I find this series interesting and hope you make some more! I’d love to see Sanderson TX one day as well.

[@ryan225360]

HOLYOKE! Valley flyer time 😎

[@paulmatulavich7321]

Stumbled upon your video and while exploring your home page, under the 'About' tab, I saw your blog link. Clicked on it and was immediately impressed by the professional look. Visually very well done! Wondering if you would be better served if the blog link was on your home page.

[@MilesinTransit]

Thank you so much! Sadly KZbin doesn't let me put links on the home page, at least as far as I can tell...their channel customization options are pretty lacking.

[@paulmatulavich7321]

@@MilesinTransit KZbin is lame in that regard. But your blog page has an exceptional look. Did you create that yourself using some sort of template? Please tell me more.

[@joshwhiting2768]

I love undertone slopper

[@CRtrain]

Wow what a crazy cluster*ck of a commute. Fun video though! Looking forward to visiting that station nonetheless.

[@jg-7780]

I'm hyped for that 317 bus. The only reason I knew it existed before you mentioned it is because it's the closest bus to Six Flags Great Adventure besides the one express bus from NY/Newark. Embarrassing how such a major destination has such little transit. They should really at least run a bus back and forth between the park and Trenton.

[@MilesinTransit]

I think they used to run one from Philly to Six Flags but got rid of it :(

[@qjtvaddict]

They used to have a Trenton one it was canceled

[@qjtvaddict]

They could have streamlined the 317 bus and create a new local bus to replace the Lakewood to ft dix area

[@AA_8184_1]

Very cool that you could get the person who wrote the grant for this bud route on the video!

[@scott.macdonald]

Busses between Hartford and Worcester/Boston are always popular, which makes it really confusing why Amtrak shut down the Inland Route. I take Lake Shore Limited from Boston to Springfield pretty often so that I can take the Hartford Line down to Connecticut and visit my family. It's not terrible, but skipping the transfer at Springfield would make the trip a lot more enjoyable. I wonder if the Hartford Line could run a trial train once a day to and from Boston, just to see if it would be popular. Springfield to Worcester would be the only privately owned track section, so I think it could work.

[@MilesinTransit]

Ooh, that's an interesting idea. I know Massachusetts wants to improve service between Boston and Springfield, but having a train do the full inland route would be really cool. If anything, I'd love to see Amtrak do that, maybe initially with two trains a day in each direction or something. Even if no one takes it all the way, it's still bolstering frequency on lines that could stand to have it improved!

[@kendufresne]

I used to work for Peter Pan in Worcester for several years and you are right. The most popular routes out of Worcester, were Hartford/NYC and Boston. From what I recall, Amtrak changed the timing for the lsl and wanted to use the old time slot for the inland route to Washington. CSX said no and there went the inland route. I'm sure there was more to the story, but that is all I remember.

[@scott.macdonald]

@@kendufresne That's why I hope the MBTA or MassDOT can eventually buy some of the tracks in western Mass. Pan Am wants to sell the Northern Tier to CSX now, why can't the MBTA make an offer?

[@tictoctoe6920]

I love that the station has the MBTA font

[@kendufresne]

Are you going to do a video of the new B79 route that operates between Amherst and Worcester and has connections to the commuter rail?

[@MilesinTransit]

I'm back in Philly now but I definitely want to ride it when it's easier for me to get to!

[@kendufresne]

@@MilesinTransit awesome. The best of luck to you in your studies!

[@MilesinTransit]

Thank you!

[@qjtvaddict]

Woah

[@BostonElevatorDude]

7:48 that’s a very know railfan term in Boston lolz

[@IaHarbour]

I like the usage of MBTA style signage lol

[@Jake_Broer]

The more trips I take out east, the more annoyed I get at the hoops I have to jump through, to travel in-state. It's ridiculous, especially when you consider that the infrastructure is all there, but corporate greed and bureaucracy that has blocked progress has really hindered the progress of the entire commonwealth

[@andyjay729]

There are dinosaur footprints in Holyoke, actually right next to the river.

[@psychorabbitt]

I knew you were in Worcester before you said it just from recognizing that curb.

[@Poosaytube]

Why does Holyoke have a sign that's stylized like a MBTA sign? Is it on MBTA right of way?

[@MilesinTransit]

No, I'm not really sure why that is!

[@Whaliam]

Penn Jillette's old stomping grounds!

[@greattrainadventure8523]

After doing all of the other least used Amtrak station videos , I feel like if you came back to this one you would give it a 9/10 after experiencing the other stations. I’ve been to Mass. once and I swear they do everything right there

[@MilesinTransit]

Oh, I'm actually of the opinion that I scored this one too high - there are no indoor elements to speak of here!

[@greattrainadventure8523]

@@MilesinTransit That is true, but in North Charleston Amtrak station we don’t even have a raised platform… in the most used Amtrak station in South Carolina. I guess I’m just used to awful southeastern train service. Anyways make more Amtrak content I’m pretty sure I’ve watched all the trip reports twice over, your better than Paul or Jeb who do it with ease

[@danib62]

You gotta love those weird MBTA style station signs

[@lauraberrios1627]

Were going for stop for Amtrak en Holyoke

[@joefitz531]

MBTA signage in Amtrak colors is funny looking

[@Cliffdog01]

I know this is likely way too late, and you've probably been to N. Dakota already and have no plans to go to Hawaii since there is no Amtrak or Trains (it does have buses, though). But N. Dakota has a thing called Best For Last, and if you visit all 50 States and do them last, you get a certificate. Given all you're achievement goals that might be something you'd want to do.

[@MilesinTransit]

Oh darn, yeah, I've done North Dakota already! That's hilarious!

[@TWCAlex802]

For some reason I thought it would be Greenfield...I usually never see more than 3 people getting on/off at a time there 😂 And I stop or pass thru there quite a bit on both the vt'er and valley flyer

[@MilesinTransit]

Greenfield is fourth-least used! It's behind this, Framingham, and Worcester.

[@TWCAlex802]

@@MilesinTransit I'm surprised that Worcester is one of the least used in MA. The station is plenty big w/lots of bus & MBTA commuter rail passengers. I'd think given Worcester's size more Amtrak passengers would use it

[@MilesinTransit]

It's because it only gets the one Lake Shore Limited per day!

[@jackbates7467]

Funny, this series started in the only state with rail service in every county.

[@VulcanTrekkie45]

Just discovered this and I'm super excited for this series! If you want a companion for the least used stations in New Hampshire or Maine, let me know!

[@damiancooper3063]

Well if there wasn’t this line what would be the least used station?

[@andrewinnj]

Now that I know I'm landing in Jersey City in April, would you consider doing a PATH overview and/or Hudson-Bergen light rail review? I've done a lot of KZbin research but nothing exists with your level of quality commentary or expertise.

[@MilesinTransit]

You know, I really should do that! Jeremy and I have floated the idea of doing a PATH speedrun because it would be such an easy thing to bang out.

[@andrewinnj]

@@MilesinTransit that would be so cool! I'd be very happy to watch that video. If I'm in the area at the time of filming, I'd also be stoked to meet you two to say hello and thanks for all the great content!

[@EmmaKAlexandra]

Can’t believe I found the first one

[@MilesinTransit]

Congratulations!

[@mikeobrien901]

Lol why did you not jump on Amtrak Valley flyer to holyoak lol

[@QuarioQuario54321]

What will least used in Idaho look like?

[@TravelsByTransit]

The new least used Amtrak station in MA is Framingham! You should make another video about Framingham and take MWRTA to the Natick Mall!

[@MilesinTransit]

For now I'm sticking with the 2019 numbers to reflect a single point in time but we'll see...

[@TravelsByTransit]

@@MilesinTransit ahh... Ok

[@adambuesser6264]

How many trains and buses go between Boston and Albany, NY/Springfield, MA?

[@MilesinTransit]

Boston to Albany: 1 train, 2 Peter Pans, 2 Greyhounds Boston to Springfield: 1 train, 6 Peter Pans, 2 Greyhounds

[@StevesWanderlust]

I'd guess the least used station in my residence of MN to likely be Staples, MN

[@MilesinTransit]

Detroit Lakes!

[@foreverbrod]

what state are u doing next for this 46 video like series LOL?

[@MilesinTransit]

I believe Delaware will be next!

[@Aaron-cs9rt]

smh not going to the west coast to livestream those TUESDAY ONLY routes

[@MilesinTransit]

That's for 10K ;)

[@Aaron-cs9rt]

already thinking bigger, are you? 😉

[@MilesinTransit]

I mean, realistically I doubt it, but we can always dream ;)

[@PANDORAZTOYBOKZ]

Thai Thai is great!

[@kicka11]

Peter Pan to Hartford is a depressing ride and destination.

[@twobeerandomland856]

Can you least used station in California?

[@MilesinTransit]

At some point I will!

[@andrewmazzarini2742]

OH MY GOD I CAN'T BELIEVE I MISSED THE MODEL TRAIN LAYOUT AT UNION STATION WHEN I WAS THERE LIKE 2 MONTHS AGO.

[@kevinhoward9593]

My Grandpa is buried in Holyoke

[@cathydoherty6875]

I wouldn't leave a car or bike there.

[@WilsonCalvert]

NED

[@stevemarkarian5553]

Way to mask up! Nice mask too

[@foreverbrod]

first 😎