Amtrak Downeaster Ticket Office

This is for the service not the station. Booked from Freeport to Boston. February 3rd 2025 443 am, snow storm. Train came a few minutes early and halted for no more than 30 seconds. Conductor saw me on the stairs and the train left I spoke to him as it left. If other doors were open I could have easily jumped on. This cost me the train ticket, my flight to Paris and a night’s stay.I’ve used this service twice before. Amtrak will explain here that this is normal. It’s not. The conductor showed no concern but I’m sure he was smiling inside. And to think this service is subsidized and usually empty. Take the bus instead and cancel this service. It is terrible.

Love Amtrak's Downeaster trains to Boston and their newest schedule revision. Now 5 trains weekdays leave and return to Brunswick! All stop in Freeport, Portland, Wells, Saco, Dover, Durham, and towns in Ma before Boston arriving at North Station. Cafe car on each train or bring your own. Wifi is free and each roomy leather seat reclines and most have seat tables and electric plugs for recharging. Bathrooms are in each car. Friendly conductors. So much more room than the bus.

I love riding the train from Portland to North Boston. The Amtrak agent was helpful and courteous.

I use the parking lot to park when I fly out of PWM its only 4.00 per day! Versus 15.00 at the airport. I recommend this parking lot. Its safe and secure.

We had never visited a train station in Portland, Maine before, but this one turned out to be a cozy spot. The restrooms were clean, and there was plenty of seating available while waiting for our train. We also noticed that the station was used for buses as well. The staff was extremely friendly, and if we need to use this mode of transportation again, we definitely will.

It's a ticket office. Plenty of places to sit, lots of vending machines, and abundant TV displays. I come here a lot and have never missed a train/bus, so I think that counts for something!

A very comfortable way to visit Boston from Portland , business class is worth the extra few dollars, wifi worked fine and service staff all friendly and helpful.

I recently took the Downeaster from Freeport to Portland. It's been YEARS since I was in that "station". What in the hell happened to it??? I totally enjoyed the train, All the staff have been amazing! If I was rating Amtrak I would give it a 5+ start! But the station itself is disgusting. The carpeting is filthy/stained, the walls look gross, they took the ATM out so I couldn't use a can...I had to get an Uber. The building has definitely had better days! FYI - I'm from the Philly/New York so I think of 30th St Station, Penn Station, and Grand Central Terminal. I know there can't be any comparison. But my point is, those stations are significantly older but are clean and beautiful. Why can a much smaller and newer station look so horrible?

Perfectly pleasant location. I took a 2 hr Concord Bus ride from Boston's South Station to here, and it got the job done. I arrived, I used the restroom, which was clean and useful, and immediately exited where my friends were waiting for me in the small parking lot. On the return, I had an hour wait. There is a small seating area where they say you can get free wifi. Otherwise, there are boards that detail all arrivals and departures, and staff were very friendly when I had questions.

Gets the job done efficiently. Absolutely no amenities to speak of (other than a couple vending machines which I wouldn't trust to eat a package of crackers out of). Can a bit crowded depending on when your departure is, but again, its a small regional station and gets you on your train on time. The last time we were here we took the train to Boston and the ride was smooth with some nice views along the way. Certainly beats fighting traffic to get to Beantown.

This is the only method of transportation I used to get down to the Boston area now for the Red Sox, Bruins of the Celtics. The Downeaster is worth every penny, especially in business class. Business class is located at the front of the train attached to the food and drink car. You have individual seats, that recline, have newspapers for the morning commute and you get a complimentary non-alcoholic beverage to start before the food car opens. It takes about 2.5 hours to get from Portland to Boston's North Station and it beats the 2.5 hours of driving and sitting in traffic only to have to find parking and then pay for it. Yes, you can drive to one of the T-stations, park there for $7 and then take the T to North Station, but that still requires 2 hours of driving and traffic between three states. The staff on all my trips has been friendly, interactive and in some cases offer some great humor and stories about their travels. The food and drink car get very busy, so if you want something, get their quick once they announce it is open. You could wait as long as 5-10 minutes as the line builds up.

Facility is clean and provides an abundance of seating, clean bathrooms, and vending machines. The building is dated but as a quick place to sit and wait for the bus or train, it works. They do have a couple overflow parking lots for busier days. I definitely recommend arriving 10-20 minutes early on game days to provide time to find a parking spot as the lots get crowded.

A bit crowded and not much to do. At least it's warm and dry and there are bathrooms and vending machines

So Portland basically has two bus station options: 1. The Greyhound Bus Lines This place is no less than absolutely traumatizing. It's one of the filthiest places in town (both inside the station and out), it is consistently inconsistent with it's timing and availability, all of the people who work here are basically copy and pasted clones of Argus Filch, and it just feels a little, for lack of a better word, stabby. 2. The Portland Transportation Center In comparison, this place is basically a high-end resort for road travelers. There's plenty of parking; it's airy and bright inside; it's clean (even the bathrooms felt really spacious and sterile [in a good way]); the customer service that I experienced was great (the people working were patient with questions asked and all around very helpful); the buses were insanely prompt both going to and coming from Logan Airport (and, yes, had complimentary waters and pretzels)... actually, whenever I've had to pick up anyone from this location they've always been on time; the bus drivers seemed friendly enough (one let me keep my enormous bag on my lap instead of forcing me to put it under with the other luggage because it was full of breakables [no, really, it was]); and, the price made sense to me (under $50 for a round-trip ticket from Portland to Logan). So - yeah - in comparison to the other option in town or driving yourself (which can get pretty expensive when you factor in gas, tolls, parking, state troopers looking to make quota, etc.)... this is basically perfection. My only knock? The awful movies playing on the ride. #FirstWorldProblems #IKnow

Portland Transportation Center FTW! I recently had the pleasure of trying to find the PTC - and then embarking on a free-wifi-laden Downeastah trip to New Haven via Boston. I thought the PTC was easy to use, friendly, and clean - once I actually found it, tucked away in a weird area of Congress Street by the 295. Unlike the other reviewer, I wasn't bothered by whether or not I can chow down at a place like this - one that isn't a stop-over but a destination or a starting point. Like I said, this place is clean, friendly, and efficient. I had purchased my Amtrak tickets online, and there was hardly a queue at the ticket counter a mere hour before the train left, so that was no problem. The man who printed my tickets was exceptionally friendly and even offered to explain how to use the Boston subway because I would have to do a quick commute between North Station and Back Bay to make my New Haven train. Cute, sir, but I definitely know how to use the T; still, invaluable if you don't travel much. I thought the Red Sox were away, but apparently they were home, and I got to sit with a pack of Sox fans who were in a frenzy because Ortiz beat the bejeezus out of someone the night before. I'm definitely a huge Red Sox fan, but when you're just trying to get from one place to another, rabit sports fans can be overwhelming; however, no one got too drunk on the train ride to Boston - I think the free wireless internet helps a lot. I have only one small complaint about PTC: when you line up for the train, the process is ridiculous. Apparently parties of three+ get to go first, but they don't tell you this right away, so everyone is all lined up and then the line dissolves into chaos and has to reform. That's okay, I got to stand near some ridiculous out-of-town hipsters who kept making incredibly inaccurate comments about Portland and people from Maine. One of them was on the train I took toward New Haven, and he missed his stop in Providence and got completely wrangled by the conductor. That's what you get for determining that Mainers are only Red Sox fans because you think we might have a minor league team in Portland. Sir, you fail at both deductive reasoning and train-taking.

We decided to take the train to Boston to catch a Red Sox game. Needed to "ditch the car" and this place provided a great location for that (reasonably priced!). The services inside the building were limited, and a bit confusing as there were lots of signs for the bus service....and a small area off to the other side for Amtrak. That's where they lost a star. Service provided was ok as we had already bought tickets to the train online. Easy walk to the train area (covered and maybe heated?) Paying for parking on return was easy, but they could use more than one machine in the building. Look forward to my next visit.

This transportation center is well maintained: facilities are clean and the staff is friendly. The buses from Portland to Boston are very comfortable and they will take you directly to the airport for around $30 a person. This is a real treat to have when you don't feel like flying into PWM when going to Maine since it is more expensive and they have less options than BOS. Also if you're a student they give student discounts, just bring your school ID.

Every time I travel to Boston to fly out of Logan, or just need to get down to south station or the airport I use this station. It's clean, the folks are friendly and never had an issue. You can grab concord TRAILWAYS which is what we usually do, the Downeaster leaves out of here too! Give the Portland transportation center a shot it saves parking in Boston and the prices are fair.

For local transportation centers this place takes the cake. It's easily accessible, offers plenty of parking, is clean and has a decent selection of some coffee & snacks. I mostly take the Concord Coach Line (which btw you can get super cheap tickets for at http://Megabus.com - saving you at least $10 per trip), which continues to surprise me. I love how they are on time, professional, have wi-fi and offer complimentary bottles of water and bags of pretzels (only at the Portland Transportation Center). Inside the center it is warm and a comfortable place to wait for the train or bus and has an easy round about for pick ups. Definitely my go to spot when traveling to Boston!

The PTC is home to both the Downeaster and Concord Coach Lines. While I've ridden both before (and like both) CCL and I are old friends. When I lived in Boston I would take the bus from South Station to Bangor once every couple months to visit my dad. Now that I live in Portland, I take 4-5 round trips/month to Boston to work out of my office one day a week. When I was a student, the 6 tickets for $66 deal on The Downeaster was great. Now I mostly ride CCL because it's cheaper and drops me off closer to work. Overall it's a pleasant process. Parking is plentiful, conveniently located only a 2 minute walk from the terminal - and only $4/day. There is also an automated ticket validating kiosk that takes about 30 seconds to use to pay upon your return. For frequent commuters to Boston, there are a couple different options. Make sure you first look at the posted fares listed through megabus.com; 90% of the time this is going to be your least expensive option. If you have the luxury of knowing your schedule up to 45 days in advance, you can get fares as little as $1 each way - if you're the first person to buy a ticket on the route. You can also get commuter booklets: 10 one-way tickets to or from either South Station ($125) or Logan ($155) at a sharply discounted rate; not even factoring in wear and tear on my car, each ticket works out to be less than the cost of gas and tolls, so it's actually more cost effective to take the bus over driving. Plus, everyone loves a chauffeur, right? The only caveat to buying the commuter ticket booklet is that you need to use the 10 Portland-S. Station tickets within one month and the Portland-Logan Airport tickets within 45 days. The bus driver accepts Logan tickets to South station (but not vice versa). They also taken my tickets after their expiry date. There are a few downsides to riding the bus: 1. My biggest pet peeve is the spotty, sometimes non-existent wifi. If you advertise that you offer free wifi and (I imagine) factor it in to the cost of your fare, then please make it reliable. I would love to catch up on work or stream Netflix if I had the option. 2. What's up with the 9:25am S. Station arrival time? Don't you realize that most of the business world (myself included) still operates around a 9-5 schedule? I'll bet if you offered a bus route with an 8:30am arrival time you would double or triple your normal morning ticket sales. Give it a shot and see what happens! 3. While the departure times are fairly reliable, there have been a few times on recent trips that the bus has left 3-5 minutes late. Not a huge deal, unless you're already arriving late to work because of the above-mentioned 9:25am arrival time. 4. It's a bus. Which means commuters ride alongside all the pedestrian folks who rely on bus transportation to get anywhere. While almost all fellow passengers are fine, I've occasionally had horribly-smelling creepy dudes sit next to me. I think we've all played that passenger roulette game in our heads when we see a sketchy person board the bus 15 seconds before the scheduled departure time and do everything within our means to make the adjoining vacant seat as unwelcoming as possible. I hope I'VE never been that sketchy guy! 5. On the return trip to Portland from South Station, the bus you board usually comes directly from picking up passengers at Logan. If an unusually large number of passengers is picked up at Logan, there's a chance you may not get a seat. It's first come first served, so be sure to arrive at SS and get in line for the bus about 30 min before your departure time to minimize the risk - especially on trips leaving SS in the evening. Despite its shortcomings, CT is still a pleasant, convenient and affordable way to get to Boston.

The place is functional. It's clean and well-staffed, BUT it's basically designed for people who park (or get dropped off) and then take the Concord Coach or Downeaster. Access to Portland itself is an afterthought with a small "ground transportation" bulletin board hidden on one side wall, and the corresponding local bus pickup spot hidden behind a bush outside on the other side. Taxis are there but are very expensive. And you could walk if you didn't mind crossing expressway on-ramps and other roads not really designed for pedestrians. There is also zero decent food or drink beyond vending machines, and none within walking distance to a city that has an enormous number of establishments for its size.

Concord Bus Lines is the main company located here at Portland's Transportation Center. It services buses as well as Amtrak trains. Front desk service is ok. Not usually the friendliest bunch of folks but they get the job done. The bus drivers on the other hand are friendly unless you're late. They tend to be a bit grumpy in the mornings. I take this bus to Boston but I know it can take you to Augusta and Bangor. Tips: * Buy your tickets from Megabus.com to get tickets as low as $1 depending on how far advance you book the ticket. * Free water bottle and pretzel snack when you board * Arrive at least 15 minutes before you board

Small building, easy parking. vending machines.

Not too shabby for a transit center. I took the Amtrak here and it's clean with free coffee on certain times along with vending. Shared with a bus company so it's pretty small. Adequate parking lot for day trips and there's also a small TV and free wifi!

The facility itself is quite nice, but the staff is so jaded, cynical and rude. They have no patience for questions and act like they are being put out when asked to do anything that is even a hair outside their normal routine. Their parking payment machine ate my credit card, and the person who eventually came out to extract it, intentionally walking very slowly to do so, was really nasty about it. A staff refresher course in customer service is definitely a need here.

I recently had a bad experience in the PTC. I was stranded at Logan airport, jet lagged and exhausted, since the last bus downeast of Portland leaves at 4:30, way too early for many incoming flights (mine included). But since there were still hourly buses to Portland, I figured that it must be safer to hang out at Portland than Boston, Turned out I was wrong, since I was kicked out into the dark at 10:30 - something that has never happened to me before in any terminal where passengers can tend top get stranded for long periods. And not only that, but the person whom I can only assume was the shift manager showed a profound disdain for my safety as he did so, even threatening me with arrest if I availed myself of the shelter of the station's outdoor roof in a heavy mist and dewfall.. I wound up sleeping under a tree, with only my jacket for warmth. Portland is not some one-horse town stop along a single route, where you can assume that anyone who gets off there is at their final destination. : it's a regional transportation hub, connecting both downeast and central Maine. There are hourly buses from Boston to Portland until well into the night, but only two buses a day downeast. In such places, it's customary and expected for passengers to be given a safe place to be while waiting for infrequent connections: and such connections are VERY infrequent in Portland. It's time for them to grow up and become professional in their operations, before a customer they've kicked out into the dark gets raped, mugged, or worse due to their policy of kicking their customers out into the dark, rather than maintain a safe waiting area.

The process of purchasing a ticket from Portland, Maine to Boston, MA (South Gate or Logan Airport) was very simple. After obtaining your tickets, you wait in a line to get onto the bus. Nice gesture, they provide bottled water and a small bag of pretzels.

This place is fine, but I don't understand why Portland has located their main transit hub like 10 minutes from the center of town. It seems like it would be a good idea to fix this before the city gets any more dense than it currently is.

"Portland PTC", not to be confused with the local bus terminal downtown, is the station for Downeaster Amtrak trains coming in and out of Portland and also for bus service to/ from other cities in Maine, as well as Boston. This is a fairly large and busy station and the staff does a pretty good job of trying to help people with their transportation needs. Word of warning: Have an advance reservation or else come early because the buses especially fill up and if you show up to buy a bus ticket like 30 minutes ahead, especially on a busy weekend or a football game day, you run a good risk of the bus being sold out or you not making it onto the bus in time. Word of warning #2: There is no place to eat out here except for snacks out of machines that may or may not work, so bring some food with you. There isn't even a little cafe serving sandwiches or anything. Word of warning #3: If you are coming in on the Downeaster, be prepared for a pretty long uphill hike from the platform to the train station. If you have heavy luggage or can't walk well, you might need some help. The only really bad thing about this station are that it is basically in the middle of nowhere and is NOT easy walking distance from downtown. On maps it looks like you could maybe walk, but in reality you'd be walking along a highway and it's just not set up for walkers. You will need to either take a taxi into town or take the bus. I recommend the bus as you can get a free transfer to the bus with your Downeaster ticket stub and even if you can't get a free ride, it's way cheaper than a taxi. To get the bus, you walk out the door of the station and turn LEFT, go behind some bushes and there is the bus stop. It is NOT visible from the door, there are NO signs and a lot of people don't seem to have a clue there's a bus stop there so I'm telling you how to find it so you don't have to wander up and down in front of the place for a half hour like I did asking random people before I found it. Ask the nice bus driver if he is going downtown as sometimes the buses are going out to some suburban mall (the "Maine Mall") way out in the boonies, although they do end up downtown eventually and the guy won't throw you off the bus or anything. It was raining the day I arrived so I actually just stayed on the bus for a few loops and saw more of Portland especially its 'burbs than I planned on seeing. If all this is too much hassle for you then you can take a taxi as they do a land office business picking up and dropping off people at the PTC but like I said, it's kinda expensive - maybe in the 20-30 dollar range depending on where downtown you need to go. Overall it would be nice if they moved this station closer to the downtown but a taxi driver I asked told me that it wasn't going to happen any time soon. Of course that could just be wishful thinking on his part since he benefits from it being in the midst of nowhere.

Was here to catch the bus from portland to Boston. They have buses to Boston just about every hour. The staff is very friendly and the loading process is very efficient.

Bus Station for Concord Coachlines Customers. During Holiday breaks of Colby College/Bowdoin College, the students who can't afford an uber/lyft ride home, live far away from college, or don't have a car or don't like to drive use the Concord Coachlines Bus as a layover to go home. Their bus schedules never sync perfectly with airline schedules nor school start/end schedules for breaks during the college school year. Many loath sitting many hours waiting for their Concord Coachlines bus to arrive and go to college. We have better things to do than wait for the concord coachlines. Concord Coachlines has a oligopoly on the rides to Colby College/Bowdoin College. There are no other less expensive competitors in this market.

Why can't they update/automate the parking payment process? Standing in line to pay for parking after a 2-1/2 hour train ride from Boston is a big pain in the ass.

The Portland Transportation is a great place for a bus station because it's very clean, easy to get around and there are a lot of vending and soda machines if your hungry. The fact that the Downeaster and Concord Coach Lines both use the terminal is very convenient for making connections. Theres also a hotel within walking distance to the terminal if you are in town for the night. The downside is that it can seem on the smaller side sometimes but thats only when it's busy and that it's not to close to the downtown area. Overall it's not half bad for a bus terminal.

If it's your first time passing through, the interior heat and lines will make you a little squirmy. Once you've done it once, it's all part of trying to get in and out of Maine.

Frequent service to Boston by bus and train. Last bus leaves S. Portland around 11:30p.m. to Boston. Last bus leaves S. Portland to Boston around 8p.m. Plenty or room to sit. Vending machines. Helpful staff. There's a bus stop right outside. #5 bus goes to the Maine Mall for $1.50.

I came across one of the worst drivers aboard a Concord Trailways bus from Boston Logan airport to Portland. I boarded the bus at terminal A headed for Portland after landing in Boston. At terminal B the bus stopped, the driver opened the door to a look out and then closed the door. A man and a young girl on cruches were pushing their way through the crowd on the side walk and the bus pulled away. The man dropped his bags and ran beside the bus up to the door banging on the door. The bus kept going and at the last terminal the man made it to the bus before the driver closed the door. I heard the man explain to the driver what I and others on the bus had observed. The man asked the driver for his name, and he responded Brian. The driver said "To bad pal I'm not going around again, you and your kid will have to take the next bus". which would be around 1130 p.m. I have seen other drivers go through the terminal a second time before.