Maine governor urges rail expansion

September 05, 2006|Associated Press

AUGUSTA, Maine -- As ridership on Amtrak's Downeaster train increases and Maine's highways grow more congested, Governor John Baldacci is ordering a plan for expanded passenger rail service to interior and coastal communities.

Baldacci's executive order, which he signed Friday and announced yesterday, also calls for clearer economic development plans near train stations along the existing route of the Downeaster, which connects Boston's North Station and Portland, Maine.

The passenger train stops in Old Orchard Beach, Saco, and Wells in Maine; Dover, Durham, and Exeter in New Hampshire; and Haverhill and Woburn in Massachusetts.

Baldacci's executive order could set the stage for passenger service north of Portland to Brunswick and Lewiston-Auburn, with seasonal and excursion links to Rockland, Bethel, and other destinations in Maine.

``Every month the Downeaster is breaking new ridership records," Baldacci said. ``We've made the trains faster and better. . . . It's time to head north."

The Downeaster finished the fiscal year that ended in June with the biggest increase in ridership since the start of the service in 2001. The train's 329,265 passengers was an increase of 31 percent over the previous year, accounting for the biggest jump on a percentage basis anywhere in the Amtrak system during the period, a spokeswoman said.

Baldacci's order directs the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority and its executive director, Patricia Douglass, to work with the state Transportation Department and present by Dec. 1 ``a clear set of next steps for investment north of Portland."

Baldacci's order cites several reasons to anticipate growing demand for passenger rail services, including increasing gasoline prices, a federal mandate to combat motor-vehicle emissions , and further congestion on Maine highways, especially portions of Interstate 95.