RAIL RESOLUTION

Economic development in northern Maine gets a significant, though still theoretical, boost with Transportation Commissioner John Melrose’s proposed resolution of the conflict over the future of the currently abandoned Bangor-Calais rail line. Although the proposal attempts to balance recreational and industrial uses of the line, it leans – as it should – toward the industrial.

Most importantly, the proposal describes the quickest and most cost-effective way to provide freight rail to the Port of Eastport. The track would be restored from above Eastport at Ayers Junction in Pembroke – or perhaps a spur would be added to a marshalling yard in Perry – to Calais. From there, trains would cross the Canadian border and run on New Brunswick Southern tracks up to the Houlton area, recross the border and connect with a switching point at either Mattawamkeag or Brownville Junction.

It is certainly a more roundabout route than going directly from Ayers Junction to Ellsworth and then to Brewer, but mileage is a considerably less significant cost factor in freight rail than it is in freight trucking. The cost driver in rail is handling by multiple carriers; Mr. Melrose’s suggestion to have one carrier provide service on tracks owned by several different companies in two countries will require some deft negotiation but it is doable and will result in the needed efficiencies.

There are two additional issues of concern with this plan. The first is that trade relations with Canada are always shaky; the current fight over lumber makes them downright fragile and the possibility that a better-connected Eastport would take cargo from ports in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia could turn the two border crossings into political pawns. The Melrose plan solves an immediate problem, but the long-term answer is the Ellsworth-Brewer route.

The second concern is domestic. Any rail route from Eastport to the rest of world will involve the use of tracks owned by Guilford Rail. The federal and state negotiations with Guilford for the re-establishment of passenger rail from Boston to Portland were extremely difficult and the results still unsatisfactory. Delays, uncertainties and unanticipated changes – such as the most recent failure to open a planned Amtrak station in Old Orchard Beach – are, in passenger rail, nuisances. In freight rail they would be unacceptable. Whatever ails the relationship between the state and Guilford must be remedied for this plan to succeed.

The part of the Melrose plan that is of questionable value would remove the tracks from Machias to Ayers Junction so the rail bed could be converted to a hike-bike trail. The justification, that this section is remote and offers few freight opportunities, merely describes the current economic condition of Washington County which the track removal would only perpetuate; expecting the investment in restoring this section to provide immediate and sufficient return is a standard not applied to transportation improvements elsewhere in the state and it should not be applied here. This restoration need not be undertaken now, but removing the tracks – even if the right-of-way is retained – would make their replacement later unlikely.

Further, this section is far from suitable for recreation. It is a narrow swath though dense boggy woods, there are no views or tourist accommodations, the insects are ferocious. Routes 191 and 86 from East Machias to Dennysville run parallel to the tracks, they are scenic roadways running along ridgetops. A recreation trail placed safely along the shoulders would be more appealing for users and profitable for merchants along the way. Upgrading these roads for this purpose would be expensive, but it would improve transportation in the area, create business opportunities and save the cost of tearing up tracks needlessly.