Notice from All Aboard Brunswick:

Hello, All Aboard Brunswick friends—

We have an update on the layover facility for the Downeaster.

Patricia Quinn, executive director of NNEPRA, will be at the Brunswick Town Council meeting on Monday, April 27, at 7:00 p.m., to present an update on the Downeaster and progress toward constructing the layover facility. We believe her primary topic will be a plug-in power facility in Brunswick that was proposed during the Transportation Committee’s deliberations on L.D. 439, “An Act To Prohibit Excessive Idling of Passenger Trains.”

 

This temporary solution will not prevent idling in the winter to keep engine fluids at operating temperature or periodic idling year-round to deliver compressed air to the brakes. It also will not cure the problem of overnight idling in Portland by the Downeaster train sets, and it will not enable NNEPRA to increase the number of round-trips between Brunswick and Boston.

It is important for as many AAB supporters as possible to attend the Town Council meeting to show support for the BLF, the Downeaster, and NNEPRA. We understand that members of the Brunswick West Neighborhood Coalition, who oppose the layover facility, will attend as well. If you can join us, that would be great. We’ll have All Aboard Brunswick stickers available if you choose to identify yourself as a supporter of the Downeaster and the Brunswick Layover Facility.

Patricia’s report is early on the agenda, so it won’t be a long night.

On April 24, the court reporter delivered the transcript of the March 25 DEP public hearing. Closing briefs for all interested parties are due on Wednesday, May 6, and we expect a ruling 45 working days after that, or around July 8.

If you are a resident of Brunswick and you can’t make it to the April 27 Town Council meeting, please consider sending a brief email to your Town Councilor expressing your support for the Brunswick Layover Facility, the Downeaster, and NNEPRA. You can find a listing of Brunswick councilors and their addresses at http://www.brunswickme.org/departments/town-council. Be sure to include your street address below your “signature."

Thank you very much,

Emily Boochever
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