Proposed Rockland Service Confronts Another Obstacle

Trains Magazine published this month a detailed article on another obstacle preventing the startup of a pilot program for weekend service between Brunswick and Rockland. 

ROCKLAND, Maine — Loss of a freight customer that supplied more than 95% of Midcoast Railservice’s revenue on the 57-mile Rockland branch leased from Maine’s Department of Transportation has prompted the Finger Lakes Railway subsidiary to exit the property.

The move upends plans the state, Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, and Amtrak had been working on with Midcoast to operate scheduled passenger service as an extension of the Boston-Brunswick, Me. Full story.

Rockland Harbor - TRN drone

Patricia Quinn, NNEPRA Executive Director, commented in the magazine article, “This development is disappointing, but we certainly understand the difficult decision made by Midcoast Railservice given the constraints they faced. NNEPRA continues to work with Amtrak and Maine DOT to explore options and determine next steps.”

F. Bruce Sleeper, President of TrainRiders, joined Ms. Quinn in lamenting the new development: "TrainRiders Northeast certainly understands the dilemma faced by Midcoast Rail service when its sole major shipper on Maine’s Rockland Branch closed. Midcoast is, after all, in the business of making a profit and the closure of that shipper makes that impossible unless and until a replacement is found, which will likely be a long and difficult project. TrainRiders is, however, disappointed that MidCoast has been forced to withdraw as the operator of the Rockland Branch because of these circumstances and hopes that this withdrawal will not have any negative consequences for the commencement of passenger rail service on that line."

Train's Magazine quotes MeDOT, "Maine DOT spokesman Paul Merrill tells News Wire the $3 million of pilot funding “is still in our Work Plan. We haven’t reached a final decision on the pilot project, but having Midcoast as an operator was a key component. Our work [with NNEPRA and Amtrak] to find interested operators and funding opportunities for a seasonal service will continue, but the absence of a freight operator on the line creates further headwinds.”

Hope springs eternal, however... 

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