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| Rockland's Direct Connection to Amtrak Service Comes Closer | | 2/4/2010 3:22:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article |
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| L-R: Rocklands Representative Ed Mazurek; Patricia Quinn, executive director of Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority (NNEPRAs job is to advocate, manage and oversee the development of a viable passenger rail network in Maine); Congresswoman Chellie Pingree; and Gordon Page, vice president of Maine Eastern Railroad, at last weeks $35 million announcement. |
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by Alice McFadden and Christine Parrish
Federal funding to expand passenger rail service from Portland to Brunswick was awarded last week. The decision will open the passenger rail transportation corridor up to Rockland, once the connection is made.
The Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority (NNEPRA) will oversee the $35 million U.S. Department of Transportation grant that will be used to upgrade the 30 miles of track from Portland to Brunswick so that Amtrak's Downeaster can safely carry passenger trains.
Gordon Page, vice president of Maine Eastern Railroad, said he was very pleased with last week's announcement and that, yes, it looks to be a done deal.
Once the connection is made - with Amtrak service from Portland through Yarmouth Junction, with stops in Freeport and Brunswick - Maine Eastern Railroad will provide Amtrak-connecting service from Rockland to Brunswick.
"I understand that Pan Am/Guilford has crews in place and that orders have already gone out from Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority" for the track work, Page said. The actual work on the track is expected to start in April, and Pan Am has declared that the tracks will be ready in 2012.
"We have a verbal agreement with Amtrak and NNEPRA to provide the connecting service" from Brunswick to Rockland, said Page. It is unlikely, he said, that Maine Eastern RR will receive any funding. The railroad receives no subsidies for the seasonal excursion service it runs between Brunswick and Rockland, and he expects the revenue to provide Amtrak connecting service will come from fares.
Once the track work is finished and Amtrak starts running service to Brunswick, Page said that Maine Eastern will run the new connector service between Rockland and Brunswick as well as its year-round freight service, and it will continue service that's similar to the seasonal excursions it now provides.
Maine Eastern Railroad will not use the same historic, vintage coaches it now uses for its excursion service for the Amtrak-connector service. Maine Eastern's parent company in Morristown, New Jersey, will provide Amtrak-certified coaches, and it's likely, said Page, that initially Maine Eastern will run two coaches, with about 100 seats per coach, plus a locomotive for the Amtrak-connector service. The vintage coaches will continue to be used for the excursion service.
As for the schedule, Page said, it depends on who you talk to, but the talk now is of two round trips a day. "There's a lot of time between now and when the trains start running," said Page, "and there's plenty of time to work out the details."
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Reader Comments
Posted: Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Article comment by:
Bernard Cole Ii
I am happy to see that Maine Easten will connect witht he Downeaster. However I have yet to hear officially that they will dedicate a train to the City of Augusta via the Lower road. I rode this section of rail in 2008 and it seemed in good condition up till behind Pine State in Augusta. At one time I clocked the train with my GPS and it hit 34.4 mph not bad considering I was told the FRA Set the Speed limit on this section of rail to 10mph. The is a newer section of rail with new switches in Augusta I think it is about time that a train comes to Augusta again!
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