I think they would be crazy to get rid of the rail service....listen to the people...we should have passenger rail service especially here in the county.

If a private company cannot make money with it, why should the state buy it. The MDOT has allready proved it can't even keep the highways maintained. Sounds like MMA is just looking for a $17 million cash influx.

When was the last rail service that made money? We need to invest in things that will help the state. I understand the county wants business to move up there. Every where in the state wants business right now. I would rather hear the argument that the paper industry needs it, than we want it for future business. The state shouldnt spend 17 mill on something that could help. I think more would be made by spending that 17 mill and make more of a highway all the way to madawaska or ft kent.

Railroads are booming in this country - but not here in the Northeast. More commerce is moving by rail than ever before - but not here in the Northeast. A report issued this past spring by the American Society of Civil Engineers rated Maine at 48th in the nation in volume of state commerce that moves by rail. We did beat out Hawaii, which of course, has no railroads, but came in behind Alaska - which has a single railroad that has no outside railroad connections to the world.

The problem isn't with the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic. They have made some pretty significant investments in their physical plant. They have upgraded their rail right-of-way, they have bought new railcars and they are regularly overhauling a fairly modern fleet of locomotives. The problem is to the south, with the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic's connection to the rest of New England. Look closely at Pan Am Railways. Their mainline is restricted largely to 10 mile per hour operating speeds. They have never purchased new railcars to serve their customer's needs. They haven't overhauled a locomotive in years, such that their locomotives do not meet today's emission standards. And the locomotives themselves? They were built in the 1960's and mid 1970's, and many of them have never been rebuilt.

But no one seems to want to do anything about them. That's because Pan Am has done one thing correctly, and they have done this quite well. They have made a strong friendship with John Baldacci.

Glad to hear that the folks in Aroostook came out in strong support of the rails! The most efficient way commerce moves for long distances is not by truck, but by rail when the proper infrastructure is in place. We need to be rebuilding our rails, instead of removing tracks and turning them into trails. I am not against the rails to trails movement. This is a good way to keep unused corridors intact until service can be restored. Until we take our focus off the highways and put it on trains, our rail system will continue to be neglected. Thanks again to these folks for pointing us in the right direction!

Thanks for this great article. I for one, a resident of both Winthrop, ME and Mars Hill, ME wouldlike to see the train/rail service contined and expanded and I urge all state representatives in the region served or to be served with passenger as well as new rail service for freight to study this problem/situation carefully and note the economic significance rail service in Maine as it now stands andas it might be would effect the economy of Maine and Aroostook County in particular. Thanks don beattie in Winthrop, ME. I am at nacelod@aol.com if any represenatative wants further input from me. I have a farm in Mars Hill and a residence in Winthrop.

SUPPORT OUR RAILS! Let's keep them and let's keep them moving!

This plan seems to make a whole lot more sense than the $57 million "bridge to nowhere" for Washington County.

Dead on Steamship, dead on:

The Northeast really really really needs to think out of the box. You have soooooo much potential by reinventing Railroad service. You situation with the trucks and roads are never going to get better, only worse. It is stuck in a permanent cat and mouse situation. Look at the big picture with a fresh mind. Railroads are what built all the cities. You have a perfect opportunity to re invent a whole new way of transporting anything. Double stack, triple stack, tank, lumber, high cube, intermodal, auto racks, flat cars, military transport, clay slury, Sulfuric acid, grain. List goes on and on.a

Take a guess where all your heating propane and ethanol is coming from? Rail.

Each train is capable of pulling 16,000 tons. Equate that to trucks. CP Rail is now up to 2 miles in length per train. Amazing. Take 40 tons now, and possibly 50 tons per truck. Do the math. See how many trucks it takes. Imagine MDOT help rebuilding the railbed and how much lighter they can focus on the roads. Man, so much better. Hot top and it;s binder can withstand just so much vertical weight, that it breaks up. Pure and simple. Combine that with frost, water, snow, ice, weight abuse and you can see what DOT has to fight. Railroad deal mostly with lateral " horizontal" weight.

Concrete and rebar roads are the only close match to railroad railbeds. Stop "go with what you know" mentality. Rail is the future of Maine. Guarenteed.

This article doesn't say whether or not the state already subsidizes this rail line. If not, then they should. All other forms of transportation are not only subsidized publicly---but enjoy public ownership/financing for much of their infrastructure. Where would truckers be without the roads, air traffic without airports or shipping without ports? Railroads (and the public) should expect the same type of support.

I can see one rail line running from other states thru portland, lewiston, augusta, bangor, lincoln, houlton and the other cities above houlton to Ft Kent.

That would be freight trains. Let me see passenger trains to the county. Well until I see more wall to wall traffic (what traffic) traveling north of Stillwater Ave exit, that is just not in the cards, but some do have great dreams. I really don`t think passenger rail can survive in Maine w/o massive public money just like Amtrac doesn`t seem to be able to make it on it`s own. I guess we could nationalize it, and have it run to every little town in the state and country to make us all feel good. Not this taxer payer.

First of all how many of the 60 people attending have worked with or know anything about any rail road? Well I have,and MMA is nothing like the class1 rail roads,they are a regonal short line and will never be able to get in line with their rates because once they pass the cars of to another short line the rates sky rocket ,the transit time doubles and the quality of service goes down the drain.Don't let MMA fool us saying the rest of the country runs on rail.They are profitable else where,but those are the class 1 rails running more than 241 miles. They do not have to sway to a multitude of short lines (like the MMA)The day of the steel road in New England is over.Why should we "bail out" the rail road.If they couldn't make a profit and provide reliable service it is time to move on.They will make great snow sled trails or lets pave them over and the inter state extension problem is solved.Sorry I missed the meeting,rest assured I will be at the next.Also I wonder if we can get the state to pay for the maintanance of the trucks in the county....lets be fair