Group calls for referendum on rail passenger service

PORTLAND — A Portland-based group plans to collect voter signatures in hopes of forcing a 1991 referendum on the restoration of rail passenger service in Maine.

John Hume, president of the recently formed RailVision, said the proposed ballot question has been submitted to the secretary of state to make sure the wording is appropriate for a statewide referendum.

If voters approve the question, the state Department of Transportation will be directed to raise $40 million, most likely by a bond issue, to restore rail passenger service between Portland and Boston by June 1, 1993.

“The immediate goal of RailVision is the return of regularly scheduled passenger service to Portland,” Hume said. “The ultimate goal is regularly scheduled passenger service to other major cities in the state.”

RailVision is a spinoff of Trainriders Northeast, an educational, non-profit organization that is also touting the return of passenger rail service to Maine.

Because Trainriders is non-profit and tax-exempt, it cannot be involved in political issues, Hume said.

“We had to form a new group to do the lobbying and influence any legislation,” he said.

Hume said the group plans to post volunteers at polling places in November to collect signatures. An estimated 50,000 will be needed to place the question on the November 1991 ballot, he said.