Important Hearing This Thursday (5/18/23) at 1pm in Augusta on Ripping Up Unused Rails for Trails (Updated 5/15/2023)
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- Created: 13 May 2023 13 May 2023
This update corrects our prior notice dated 5/13/2023 in order to reflect that MDOT
does not support removal of the rail from the line between Portland and Auburn, and
that it does not support passage of the bill that would provide funding for the removal of
the Mountain Division line at this point in time.
We previously warned that the formation of Rail Use Advisory Councils (RUAC) in Maine could lead to the ripping up of State-owned rail lines, whether or not those lines have future rail potential. That danger has now become very, very real.
In spring 2022, one RUAC recommended that the rails on the Mountain Division line be removed. In December 2023, another RUAC recommended the removal of the rail on the line (formerly owned by the St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad) between Portland and Auburn (also known as the “Berlin Subdivision”).
RUAC Berlin Subdivision Recommendation
RUAC Mountain Division Recommendation
The Commissioner of the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) approved of the recommendation to remove the rails from the Mountain Division, but rejected the recommendation for removal of rails from the Berlin Subdivision.
However, bills were submitted to the legislature this year to permit removal of rail from both lines. In both instances, the rail lines would be replaced by trails. A hearing on these bills is now scheduled to be heard in Augusta by the Transportation Committee starting at 1 pm this coming Thursday, 5/18/2023. Passage of these bills, and approval by the Governor, would then permit the removal of the rail on these lines as soon as money became available to do so.
TrainRiders Northeast absolutely opposes passage of LD 404, LD 1450 and LD 209. The removal of the rail from these lines is shortsighted and irreversible steps that would eliminate even the possibility of future rail use on these lines. In theory, the lines would be preserved for rail use at some point in the future, but, in fact, removal of the track on those lines would make their reconversion to rail economically impossible. TrainRiders position is that any trails should be constructed beside the existing rails, with appropriate separation and fencing to ensure that the trails would not impede future rail use after any necessary track upgrades.
Trainriders Elects a New President
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- Created: 19 April 2023 19 April 2023
Since TrainRiders’ creation in 1989, Wayne Davis has been both its president and chair of its board. In the last part of 2022, TrainRiders’ board elected F. Bruce Sleeper as president of the organization, effective as of January 1, 2023. Wayne, of course, remains as chair, but separation of the chair and president positions will allow him to concentrate on policy issues, as well as maintaining the close personal connections that he has created over the years and which have been so important to TrainRiders’ success. Bruce, on the other hand, will handle many of the organization’s day-to-day activities.
For those of you who do not know him, you can rest assured that Bruce comes to his new position with an unmatched breadth of experience. Bruce has served as volunteer legal counsel to TrainRiders since 1989, just a few months after its creation, while also working at the Portland law firm of Jensen Baird Gardner & Henry until his at least partial retirement on December 31, 2023. He wrote the original version of Maine’s Passenger Rail Service Act, which, in 1991, became the first citizen-initiated bill adopted by the Maine legislature without the need for voter approval. That Act directed the Maine Dept. of Transportation to spend a minimum of $40 million to reinitiate passenger rail service between Portland and Boston. In 1995, he worked with MDOT to include provisions in that Act for the creation of Maine’s rail authority, the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, to contract for the construction and operation of this service. Then-Governor King appointed him to a five-year term on NNEPRA’s inaugural board of directors. In 2015, Bruce also successfully represented TrainRiders in extensive proceedings before the Maine Dept. of Environmental Protection, helping to ensure that NNEPRA would be able to build its maintenance and layover facility in Brunswick.
In addition to these activities, Bruce worked closely with Wayne on many, many other issues faced by TrainRiders, including attendance at meetings throughout the Maine, New England, Washington, DC and elsewhere, as well as talking to and working with Wayne on a daily basis. He has already stepped into his new role without much, if any, transition time. In fact, he comments that his new position will not be much different from what he has done before, just more of it.
Bruce was born in Maine and attended Cape Elizabeth schools. He obtained a BA from the University of Chicago in 1978 and a JD from the University of Michigan in 1981, and then immediately returned to Maine to both work and raise a family. We can look forward to seeing more of Bruce in the future as he finishes up his tenure as a practicing attorney.
Train Lobby Day in Augusta - 2023
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- Created: 07 April 2023 07 April 2023
On Thursday, April 6, 2023, several passenger rail advocacy groups, including TrainRiders, held a lobbying day at the Maine legislature. This was the very first time that multiple passenger rail groups have jointly held such a day, and it could not have come at a better time since 12 or more passenger rail-related bills are now pending before that legislature, including three that seek to rip up two different state-owned rail lines and replace them with trails.
The Maine Rail TransitCoalition (“MRTC”) and the Maine Rail Group (“MRG”), together with TrainRiders, participated in this lobbying day, along with a private group proposing to provide passenger rail service through Maine between Boston and Montréal and a subsidiary of the Finger Lakes Railway that proposes to provide passenger rail service between Brunswick and Rockland. Both TrainRiders President F. Bruce Sleeper and several TrainRiders members attended the meeting.
The day started with a brief meeting to provide legislative newbies with instructions on how to contact their legislators and perform other lobbying activities at the State House. From there, attendees spread out to do just that, followed by a luncheon at which each group made a presentation to about 10-15 legislators.
In their presentations, TrainRiders, MRTC, and MRG, each described itself and then briefly discussed the bills about which they were most concerned. TrainRiders used its time to warn about the bills seeking removal of the Mountain Division track between Standish and Fryeburg, Maine, as well as another bill proposing track removal over the line formerly owned by the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad between Portland and Auburn, Maine. Several legislators knew that trail advocates wanted to build trails along these routes, but were surprised to learn that this involved tearing up those tracks, making any future use of the lines for rail (passenger or freight) economically impossible. MRTC and MRG discussed other bills that would promote passenger rail expansion in Maine, including those that could result in service to Bangor or Montreal, as well as other legislation that could determine just how existing State-owned lines could be used for both rails and trails.
The day was a real success, setting the stage for educating legislators as to what these bills are all about. On Wednesday, April 13, 2023, the Transportation Committee will hold hearings on most of the bills that do not deal with ripping up State-owned rail lines, with no hearing dates yet set for the remaining bills. TrainRiders will shortly add a discussion of these bills will be added tothis web site.
F. Bruce Sleeper - President, TRN