DANGER, DANGER!!!!! MDOT NEAR TO BEING AUTHORIZED TO TEAR UP RAILS IN MAINE. WE NEED YOUR IMMEDIATE HELP TO STOP THAT FROM HAPPENING.
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- Created: 25 May 2023 25 May 2023
In recent weeks, we have provided our members with multiple warnings that bills had been filed to authorize Maine’s Department of Transportation (“MDOT”) to tear up the rails on the Mountain Division line between Standish and Fryeburg and on the Berlin Subdivision line between Portland and Auburn.
Mountain Division Decisions: On Thursday, 5/24/2022, Maine’s Transportation Committee voted 5-2 (with votes from some additional members pending until noon on Friday, 5/26/2023) to pass LD 404 to allow the Mountain Division rail to be removed and replaced by a trail. It also voted to pass LD 1450, which originally would have provided $18 million to fund rail removal and trail construction for that line, but reduced that to $500 as a placeholder for later consideration by the Appropriations Committee.
Portland to Augusta Decision: The Transportation Committee has also voted 6-1 to reject a bill that would have permitted MDOT to tear up the Berlin Subdivision rail (again, with some additional votes pending). In both instances, the Committee followed the recommendation of MDOT. Once MDOT removes the rail from a line, it will never be economically feasible to replace it, meaning that any removal is effectively a permanent loss of the line to all future rail use and a waste of a valuable asset now owned by the people of Maine.
Conway Scenic Railway Proposal: While trails will provide benefits in these corridors, the best way to maximize their value is to keep the rail in place and require any trail to be constructed alongside, instead of in place of, that track. The Committee, however, voted for the passage of LD 404 even though the Conway Scenic Railway in New Hapshire has made an offer to work with the State to find federal or State funds to rehab that line for passenger and freight use and then operate it without further State subsidy! This offer was made was made in 2022, and was renewed during the hearing process, but was rejected by the Committee without any study of its potential benefits and costs by any party (the Conway Scenic now carries about 135,000 riders a year on its line in the North Conway area).
Next Steps: These bills will now go to the full House and the full Senate for consideration. Over 200 people submitted testimony on these bills and it appears that a significant majority of that testimony came from trail advocates who were in favor of tearing up the rail on both lines. Trail advocates are already at work in large numbers to obtain passage of LD 209 and LD 404. The only way to stop the passage of these bills in the Maine legislature is for as many people as possible to immediately and, if they have the time and energy, repeatedly contact Maine legislators to express their opposition to both bills. We do not know when the full legislature will take up these bills, but the more rail advocates who contact legislators before that time, the better chance that we have to ensure that those bills do not pass.
Your Steps: Access to the bills is available at https://legislature.maine.gov/ (just put in the LD number and click on “Search”), and further information is provided on our Web site. A directory of Maine House members, along with a way to determine who your representative may be, is available at https://legislature.maine.gov/house/house/.
Similar information for senators is available at https://legislature.maine.gov/senate/. Proposed talking points are available at https://www.trainridersne.org/images/stories/talking_points_5-16-23.pdf Please do not merely repeat the exact words used in thosee talking points, but, instead, use your own words to make the case that these rail lines need to be preserved, not only because you want them to be, but because that is what is best for the State of Maine and the northeastern rail network.
Thank you for your help on these important issues. If you have any questions or
comments, or want to coordinate testimony, then, as always, please email TrainRiders
at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
F. Bruce Sleeper, TRN president
WE NEED YOUR HELP NOW TO PREVENT RAILS IN MAINE FROM BEING TORN UP FOR TRAILS!
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- Created: 22 May 2023 22 May 2023
Last Thursday, the Transportation Committee of the Maine legislature held public hearings on LD 209 (seeking to rip up the rails on the State-owned rail line between Portland Auburn formerly held by the St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad), and LD 404 (seeking to tear up the rails on the State-owned Mountain Division line between Standish and Fryeburg), and their replacement by trails, as well as on LD 1450 (seeking the appropriation of $18 million to fund the removal of track from the Mountain Division and its replacement with a trail). Many rail and trail advocates testified at those hearings, with testimony not ending until around 6 p.m. TrainRiders, of course, testified against passage, a position that has been unanimously adopted by its board of directors.
Starting at 10 a.m. this Wednesday, 5/24/2023, the Transportation Committee will hold a work session on these bills. The bills will be discussed without public participation unless the Committee wants to make an inquiry of someone in attendance at the session. In all likelihood, the Committee will vote on the bills at the end of the work session. If the Committee is unanimous in voting to either pass or reject a particular bill, then it is likely that it will be presented to the full legislature with that recommendation being adopted without even the necessity of a formal vote of the full legislature. If there is a split vote on a bill, then a vote will be necessary for its passage or rejection.
Read more: WE NEED YOUR HELP NOW TO PREVENT RAILS IN MAINE FROM BEING TORN UP FOR TRAILS!
Transportation Committee Hears Public Testimony on RUAC Bills to Rip Up Mountain Division & Berlin Subdivision Rails (Between Portland and Auburn)
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- Created: 20 May 2023 20 May 2023
The Thursday Transportation Committee hearing was a bit grueling. (just ask Chairman Wayne Davis and Bill Lord who were up there with me, as well as Tom Mahon and Bob Hall who attended by Zoom). First, the café was closed for rehab. Second, the hearing that was supposed to begin at 1 pm didn’t start until after 2:30 pm because the House remained in session on other matters until then. Third, there were lots and lots of witnesses attending both in person and by Zoom, meaning that we didn’t finish up until about 6 pm, and that each witness was limited to only two minutes of time to talk. Despite that, Bill, Tom and I each testified. My written testimony is attached.
Given the 2-minute time limit, I didn’t get to do anything more in my oral testimony except to emphasize that once rail is removed, it will never be put back because of the cost of doing so. I also testified that the issue is not whether we should have rail or trail but, instead, that the question is whether Maine wants to give up an irreplaceable economic and social asset (rail) for trails or, for some additional money, preserve those assets using rail with a trail.
There were so many witnesses that they blurred together for me, and it’s impossible for me to say much about what they each said. Two major matters do stick out, however;