Amtrak service to OOB pushed back to late June

OLD ORCHARD BEACH – Passenger rail service to Old Orchard Beach will be delayed a month because of a now-resolved dispute between the track owner and the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, a town official said.

Amtrak’s Downeaster was scheduled to begin service to the town June 1. But Planning Director Tad Redway said the local station won’t be ready until late June.

The summer-only Downeaster service to Old Orchard was jeopardized earlier this month when Guilford Rail System refused to sign a lease for the platform. Guilford said it wanted to renegotiate the snow-removal agreements at the other six stations along the Portland to Boston route.

A compromise was announced Friday, but the town says the dispute pushed back work on the platform.

Redway said he hopes the lower platform with temporary handicapped access will be completed by late June.

The rest of the project, which includes a canopy with skylights and fencing around the platform, will be come later.

The contractor, Construction Divers Inc. of Scarborough, cannot break ground for the platform until a fiber-optic cable owned by Sprint is encased in steel. Redway said he hopes that task will be completed by the end of the week.