Are you looking for a way to spread some holiday cheer for your family, get out of the house, and have a nice time—but are concerned about being in a space with other people? Well, the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad’s Holiday Express may be just the thing you’re looking for! This year, to accommodate concerns with COVID-19, the MNGRR is offering the option to charter a WHOLE train car for just your family. We’re even reserving the TWO caboose cars just for groups. The cabooses have a maximum capacity of either 15 or 20 people, and can be chartered for the flat rate of $450 or $600 respectively. Not only are the cabooses being set aside for private groups, but if you have a larger party (up to 24), you can also reserve a whole public car (either in coach or first class) for your group as well (depending on availability).
Just call us at PortTIX to reserve, or email us at help@porttix.com to inquire about availability. Our phone number is 207-842-0800, and we’re open Mon-Fri 11am-3pm.
One of the great advantages of purchasing a whole car for your party is that it is a flat rate to do so. As long as you do not exceed the maximum capacity (which even for groups is reduced from the usual full capacity for safety), you don’t have to purchase more tickets if one more person wants to come with, or figure out what to do if someone can’t come last minute. Just show up to your train time with up to the maximum number of people for your car, and you will be all set! And don’t forget, as usual children under 2 do not count towards your ticket count, so if you have 15 people including your baby, and grandma decides she wants to come, no worries at all! You will be okay even if you’ve rented the smallest caboose.
The biggest advantage, other than getting the space to yourself, is of course safety—reducing the chance of infection from strangers nearby in the same car. But selling whole cars isn’t the only thing Maine Narrow Gauge is doing to protect you and your family. As we mentioned, capacity in all cars is reduced to at least half of normal, masks are required for all passengers (and will be available at no cost if you need one), hand sanitizer will be available, and most significantly perhaps, the MNGRR staff will be taking extra time between train rides to clean and sanitize the cars and the gift shop at the station. You can also rest assured that travel guidelines are being strictly adhered to, and anyone from a restricted travel state will be required to either quarantine or get tested before attending. We at PortTIX and the MNGRR will be reaching out to everyone out of state to make sure they are aware of current travel guidelines when they purchase, so that you—and they—can have the safest Holiday Express train ride possible!