Maine to take over short line

Maine to take over short line    Maine government officials Tuesday said they have reached an agreement to purchase a large section of a freight rail line scheduled for abandonment by the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic (MMA) Railway.
   The acquisition of 233 miles of track in the northern part of the state for $20.1 million will preserve access to rail service for the paper industry and local manufacturers, they said.
   The state will receive title to the line along with overhead traffic rights to move freight over certain lines that the MMA is retaining. The trackage rights will allow a new operator to connect with the Canadian National line at Van Buren and the Eastern Maine Railway in Brownville Junction. Maine will issue a solicitation for a private rail operator to provide service over its track when the deal is finalized.
   The Maine Department of Transportation has already received numerous expressions of interest from established short-line railroads to operate the franchise, according to news release from Gov. John Baldacci.
   The track will be paid for with $7 million from a June bond issue, $4 million from a 2009 bond initially created for another purpose, $7 million from state reserve accounts, $1.1 million from rail balances from canceled projects and $1 million from a major shipper on the line.
   Maine also received more than $10.5 million on Wednesday from the U.S. Department of Transportation's TIGER II grant program to assist innovative multimodal projects that provide demonstrated economic benefits. The money will be used to rehabilitate track so that trains can move faster and more reliably.
   More than 25 businesses in Aroostook and Penobscot counties depended on the MMA rail line and its shutdown would have cost 750 to 1,000 jobs, according to the governor's office. The track is primarily used to transport pulpwood, heating fuels, fertilizer, wood chips and cooking oil.
   'This will certainly improve the business climate in Northern Maine,' MaineDOT Commissioner David Cole said in a statement. 'Lifting this cloud of uncertainty not only helps stabilize these rail dependent industries, but with improved services lays the groundwork for future expansion and new business opportunities.'
   Local business leaders supported the state's intervention because rail is a much more economical alternative than truck transport.
   The MMA began operation in January 2003 after Rail World Inc. purchased the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad and changed its name. It owns more than 745 miles of track in Maine, Vermont, Quebec and New Brunswick, Canada, and operates about 25 trains per day. Last year the company, citing heavy losses and the economic downturn, said it wanted to sell or abandon its track between Millinocket and Madawaska because the section is no longer profitable to maintain.
   A letter in the Bangor Daily News 14 months ago drew a connection to the MMA's lack of business on the rail line and the state's successful effort to obtain a federal exemption on interstate highway weight limits for trucks weighing up to 100,000 pounds. ' Eric Kulisch