Coaxing tourists to fly into Bangor International Airport, then hop a train in Brewer to the coast is a fine idea, and it sounds even better when the federal government says it is willing to pay for 80 percent of the $21 million cost. But the second, more important, part of the Transportation Department’s rail plan for eastern Maine should not get overlooked in the excitement: Getting rail to the cargo port in Eastport must remain a priority.

These two pieces of the rail strategy try to solve opposite problems: Eastport doesn’t have enough traffic; Mount Desert Island has too much. The Brewer link to Trenton could help relieve traffic jams on MDI as it offers a less-polluting way for the estimated 3 million tourists who visit each year to get around. If even a small fraction of the visitors used the train service, it would be of benefit. The expectation that it will attract people and businesses to the region also is important.

But the larger, more expensive portion of this 10-year project promises greater returns. The deep-water port at Estes Head in Eastport is an ideal magnet to attract jobs and people Down East, but it works only if this part of Maine has sufficient road and rail support. DOT calls for a $52 million plan to rebuild the link from Brewer to Eastport to Calais and Canada, tying Down East by rail to the rest of the continent. It’s an ambitious and much-needed proposal that legislators ought to support.

The plan already has the support of analysts asked by the Maine Legislature to review the plan. Stafford Business Advisors of Portland concluded that, “The best long-term prospects for rail to stimulate entirely new business in the region lie at the port of Eastport, and it is here that [the Eastern Maine Railroad Development Commission] and the state should focus investment in rail in the region.”

One of the keys to Stafford’s conclusion are the words “long-term.” Rail isn’t going to change Eastern Maine overnight and the 10-year plan will not work at all if lawmakers approve it one session then doubt it the next. But sustained commitment to improving the region’s infrastructure can more than pay off over the years. Lawmakers need to start with the commitment.