Rail company proposes connecting Rockland to Amtrak in Brunswick villagesoup.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from villagesoup.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Updated April 11
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Central Maine not included in Amtrak’s 2035 vision plan. What does that mean for the future of passenger rail in the region?
Experts say future not totally bleak, even if central Maine is not part of the passenger rail giant s long-range plan.
Locomotives and boxcars in January at the Pan Am Railways yard at 55 College Ave. in Waterville.
Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel file
If passenger rail service were to return to central Maine, it would probably not be because of Amtrak’s 2035 vision plan.
Amtrak released its plan in late March after President Joe Biden unveiled his nationwide plan for investing in infrastructure roads and bridges, communication networks, sewerage, water and electrical systems and other structures and facilities needed for society to function.
Amtrak seeks to extend rail service on the coast, not inland
April 12, 2021
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Amtrak is asking Congress for funds as a part of the president s infrastructure bill to extend passenger rail service up the coast to Rockland, but cities in central Maine, including the state capital, would be left out.
Amtrak has proposed extending its Downeaster passenger rail service to Rockland, which is located north on the coast from Brunswick and Portland. The train currently carries riders from Brunswick to Boston.
Amtrak officials are hoping Congress will provide the $80 billion designated for rail in Biden’s American Jobs Plan, they said in an announcement on March 31.