STB concludes effort to save Maine rail service

The Surface Transportation Board announced Monday that it had completed its work “in the multiplicity of effort to to save freight train service in northern Maine.” The agency’s final action in the case took the form of approving the request of the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic to abandon 233 miles of line in Aroostook and Penobscot counties, thus paving the way for the state tco acquire the line and find a third-party operator.

In the meantime, the railroad will continue to serve its customers.

The agency took a proactive role in the abandonment proceeding, facilitating mediation among the parties and then holding a public hearing to give them the opportunity to state their cases.

“I am pleased that the STB was able to play a role in keeping the trains rolling in northern Maine,” said Chairman Daniel R Elliott III. “It is an impoprtant achievement that will preseerve jobs and businesses and set the stage for future economic development.”