Rail track removal to proceed full steam ahead

Plans to remove 85 miles of railroad track on the Calais branch line have been given the green light to proceed full steam ahead, with a legislative committee whistling its support, even though not everyone's on board with the proposal. Work to begin removing the track and building a multi-use trail for ATVs, snowmobiles, hikers and cyclists could begin this year.

The legislature's Transportation Committee voted 12-1 last month to approve the plan, although the committee's approval was not required. The committee heard a presentation on April 6 from the Department of Transportation (DOT) about the project. Committee members did express some concern about preserving the option for restoring the rail line in the future, once the tracks are removed.

Rail line supporters, though, believe that once the rail is taken up it will never be brought back, even though the corridor will be railbanked, a measure that guarantees a return to rail should a need arise and it is economically feasible. At the May 8 Eastport City Council meeting, City Manager George Finch stated that rail supporters have been told that no rails would be removed without the city and Eastport Port Authority in agreement. Both the city and the port support protecting the rail corridor and do not agree with the removal of the tracks. He and other rail supporters twice attended meetings of the legislature's Transportation Committee at which the removal of a portion of the Calais branch line was discussed, but they were told that public input was not being considered at the meetings, since they were not public hearings.

Federal Marine Terminals Manager Skip Rogers, who is chairman of the Eastern Maine Railroad Development Corporation, had prepared remarks for the committee but was not able to give them. He notes that it is not realistic to operate a port without a rail connection. He argues that accessing the port at Eastport by rail through Canada should only be considered a short-term solution, since it would be a cumbersome connection requiring two reversals, two border crossings and two switches between carriers and an uncontrollable business and political arrangement through another country.

With rising fuel costs and the capacities of the Panama Canal and large hub ports being exceeded, Rogers predicts that the way that freight transportation is handled is about to change. Removing the rail will limit the options of the port and Washington and Hancock counties as a whole. He notes that aggregates, such as gravel, abound in the area, but a large volume transportation mode such as rail and water-borne carriers are needed to move low-value cargoes like gravel.

Finch is also concerned about the future of other forms of rail, noting that this area is at the center of Atlantica, an area that stretches from New York City to Maritime Canada. He said he expected to ask Governor John Baldacci for an assurance, before the rails are removed, that the rail line right-of-way will not be abandoned. "No rail should be taken up until that's approved by the Attorney General's Office," he stated.

Salvage funds to cover costs
The DOT is now developing a request for projects for removing the rail and building the trail. It will be at least three months before the bid request goes out, according to Dan Stewart, the bicycle/pedestrian coordinator in the DOT's Office of Passenger Transportation. Depending on the response, it's possible that the project could begin this year.

The DOT estimates that the cost will be from $30,000 to $50,000 a mile for the 85 miles from Washington Junction in Hancock, just outside Ellsworth, to Ayers Junction in Pembroke. The rail salvage funds are expected to cover most or all of the cost for removing the track and building the trail, but other funding sources will be sought if it is not sufficient. "We won't move forward until we have the funds," says Stewart.

"The purpose of the corridor is to preserve it for future rail use, if feasible," says Stewart. "In the interim, we will use the asset for the benefit of the region, and with increased attention to the rail bed so it will be in better condition."

"We feel it's a good project for the region and the communities, with a strong showing of support from a variety of interests," he adds. Support has been received from the Sunrise Trail Coalition and municipalities along the corridor.

The DOT and the Department of Conservation are coordinating the conversion to a multi-use trail. A management plan for the trail is being developed by a trail management committee, and a full-time trail administrator will be hired to address any issues that arise.