November 09, 2024
Business

June target for Portland rail service

PORTLAND – Transportation officials say they’re willing to compromise with rail executives to bring passenger train service between Boston and Portland by June.

Plans to revive rail service have repeatedly stalled as both sides have clashed over the speed of the trains. At issue has been whether the rails are engineered to accommodate the 79 mph speeds promoters of the service are seeking.

The head of TrainRiders Northeast, Wayne Davis, has said he doubts trains traveling at 59 miles an hour would be able to attract enough riders to sustain the service.

Now transportation officials in Maine said they’ll concede to a maximum speed of 59 miles an hour if Guilford Transportation Industries, which owns most of the track on which the Amtrak train will run, can have service up and running within three months.

“The general opinion now is we’d prefer to run it sooner, at 59 mph, then wait for federal agencies to resolve whether we can go at 79 mph,” said John Melrose, Maine’s transportation commissioner.

David Fink, Guilford’s president, also has pledged to get the operation off the ground.

“Let’s get the thing up and running at 59 mph in June,” he said.

A handful of obstacles would still have to be overcome to meet that timetable, including the completion of platforms and rail upgrades, and the resolution of some liability issues. But Melrose said the goal is realistic.

At 59 mph, the trip between Portland and Boston is expected to take roughly 2 hours, 40 minutes, including stops in Saco and Wells, Dover and Exeter, N.H. and Haverhill, Mass.

At 79 mph, the trip would be around 12 minutes faster.

“It makes no sense to me why 12 minutes is life or death to this operation,” Fink said.


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