Caution: Trains, festival share site

BANGOR – With the long-awaited National Folk Festival in full swing, railroad safety officials are reminding residents and guests to use caution around the active railroad tracks running through the entire length of the festival site.

Despite an estimated attendance of 80,000 people last year, no train-related accidents were reported. Representatives from Guilford Rail and Operation Lifesaver are aiming for a repeat performance this year, when as many as 100,000 are expected to attend over the festival’s three-day duration.

“Trains will be operating at any and all times during the three-day festival,” Fred Hirsch, assistant state coordinator for Maine Operation Lifesaver, observed in a safety advisory issued late Thursday.

“They will operate slowly through the site, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that there is any less danger,” he said.

Four freight trains will move through the area today and four more are scheduled for Sunday, according to David Fink, executive vice president of track owner Guilford Rail System. There is no schedule.

Fink said that while Guilford was unable to postpone or reroute the trains, the company has worked closely with officials from the festival, city and others to keep festival-goers off the tracks.

They’ll also be on the lookout for illegal activities like placing objects on tracks, throwing objects at trains and trying to hop aboard trains.

Other safety precautions have been put into place.

A security fence has been installed on both sides of the track, Fink said.

Railroad police, some on all-terrain vehicles, will patrol the tracks and the crossings on Railroad, Front and May streets during the festival, he said. City police will assist, especially during periods when trains are traveling through the festival grounds.

Maine Operation Lifesaver is an education and information organization dedicated to reducing accidents at railroad crossings and along railroad rights of way.

During the festival, Maine Operation Lifesaver volunteers will be on hand to conduct tours of the group’s 19-foot caboose replica education center, located at the northern end of the festival grounds. Coloring books and other educational material also will be available.