Portland, Maine
Tuesday, December 23, 1997
Wayne Davis, chairman of TrainRiders Northeast, stands next to a banner made in 1989 during the organization's inception.
by John Alphonse
With over $84 million of funding in place from federal and state sources, financial support is no longer an obstacle to bringing passenger train service back to Maine.
Right now, the holdup to beginning work on track upgrades is due to a federal transportation agency that is dealing with a backlog of around 600 cases. The Surface Transportation Board - made up of only two members - has not had the time to complete the finishing touches on authorizing the Portland-Boston project. The STB is the successor to the Interstate Commerce Commission.
"We're still waiting for word," says Wayne Davis, chairman of TrainRiders Northeast, an all-volunteer organization that has worked since 1989 to bring modern passenger rail service to Northern New England. The group is also responsible for Boston's North-South Rail Link initiative.
Davis, who also serves on the board of directors of the National Association of Railroad Passengers, points out that service to Portland should begin in either April or October of a given year to coincide with Amtrak's route schedule printing dates. "It's not going to happen in April (1998), but October (1998) should be possible," he feels.
The Amtrak train from Portland to Boston will run at speeds of up to 80 miles per hour. Commuting will take about two-and-a-quarter hours, with stops in Haverhill, Mass.; Exeter and Dover, New Hampshire; and Wells and Saco, Maine.
Looking beyond Portland-Boston, Davis sees the 22-mile stretch to Brunswick from Portland as the next logical stage in the resurgence of passenger rail travel through Maine. This train would also bring service to Freeport and provide some relief to the traffic congestion in their small town center.
Even further on, passenger train service to Montreal, Canada - and the Maine points in between - is quite feasible. "Most of the system is in place. It just needs to be upgraded," Davis notes.
Volunteers are needed.
TrainRiders Northeast is a non-profit, all-volunteer organization that needs your support. If you are interested in taking part in the return of passenger train service to Maine, contact TRNE through their website or at the phone number below.
TrainRiders Northeast
Box 4869
Downtown Station
Portland ME 04112
(207-879-7245)Top of Page
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