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Passenger Rail Study Finalized

August 15, 2011 - Bethel -The Maine Department of Transportation is now accepting comments on the recently finalized feasibility report on passenger rail service connecting Portland, Bethel and Montreal.

In March a presentation of cost estimates (in 2020 figures), ridership and routes for a re-established passenger service on the St. Lawrence & Atlantic rail line took place in Bethel.

The completed final report includes more detail, such as proposed daily schedule times for trains through Bethel, track upgrades needed in the Bethel area and use of the Bethel station.

According to the proposed schedule, service between Bethel and Portland would include eight trips between Portland and Bethel a day, with six offered as a one-seat rides (no changing trains); one providing a transfer in Portland to the Downeaster to Boston; and the other the return trip of the transferring train.

The schedule shows that trains would leave Bethel for Portland at 8:43 a.m, 1:33 p.m. and 6:23 p.m. on a trip of approximately one hour and 40 minutes. Trains from Portland would arrive in Bethel at 2:52 p.m., 8:47 p.m. and 1:02 a.m.

A trip (with no train changes) from Bethel to Boston would take approximately four hours.

If service between Portland and Montreal were added, another four trains a day would pass through Bethel: northbound at 1:02 p.m. and 1:22 a.m., and southbound at 4:13 a.m. and 4:18 p.m. The separate Portland-Bethel schedules would be altered slightly to accommodate the longer-distance trains.

To restart passenger service to Bethel, track or other upgrades would be required on many sections between Portland and Bethel.

The platform at Bethel Station, built more than 15 years ago, has sunk and would need to be improved. In addition, the Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce has said it would be willing to move its office at the station to a new location, according to the report, so the station could once again be used for rail service.

The estimated annual ridership for service between Portland and Bethel, beginning in 2020, is projected to be between 66,700 and 71,100, and the annual operating cost $7.8 to $10.4 million.The project would seek both state and federal funding.

The proposal also outlines options for interim bus service to provide transportation between Portland and Bethel until rail service becomes a reality.

The full report may be viewed at www.maine.gov/mdot/portlandnorth/railstudydocs.htm. Comments may be sent to Susan Moreau of MDOT, at susan.moreau@maine.gov.

The comment period ends Sept. 2.

Rail Rally date set

A “Rail Rally” in support of returning passenger-rail service to Bethel will take place Sept. 14 at the Bethel Inn, according to Robin Zinchuk, executive director of the Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce.

“This rally is being organized to create the advocacy voice for passenger rail connections from Portland, through Bethel and eventually on to Montreal,” Zinchuk said Friday.

Dana Connors, president of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce and former MDOT Commissioner, will be the keynote speaker.

The cost to attend is $25 per person, and includes lunch with the keynote (noon to 1 p.m.) and afternoon working sessions (1 to 4 p.m.), with topics to be chosen by the participants.

The working sessions will apply "Open Space Technology," an approach for self-organizing conferences. The notes from the sessions will be prioritized, and actions identified. The final report will be an action plan to establish the impetus for funding the investments in capital and operations for rail service.

Registration starts at 11 a.m. (Online registration is available through www.facebook.com/BACofC.Transportation.Committee.)

Zinchuk also said a representative from AVCOG (Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments) is expected to contact municipal leaders in communities all along the St. Lawrence/Atlantic Rail line to encourage them to attend, “so that we can come together with a common vision for how rail service will help to create an environment for economic development along the corridor.”

Representatives from Gorham, N.H. are expected to attend and invitations will also go out to community leaders in Vermont and Canada, she said.

Alison Aloisio, Bethel Citizen, August 2011


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