Collins requests $3 million
for rail improvements
By Kathy McCarty
Sen. Susan Collins — recognizing the importance of infrastructure improvements with regard to future development in Aroostook County — has successfully secured initial approval of $3 million for the state of Maine’s effort to repair and improve the rail lines in Aroostook and Penobscot counties that Montreal, Maine & Atlantic (MMA) seeks to abandon.
“This funding is included in the fiscal year 2011 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Senate Appropriations Bill, which was approved July 21 by the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development,” said Collins, who is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Collins cited the devastating impact MMA’s rail abandonment would have on the region and the need to keep the rail line operational. Rail improvements are necessary, she said, to encourage economic growth.
“The state of Maine is currently attempting to purchase the rail line should the Surface Transportation Board approve the operator’s request to abandon the track. If the rail line is abandoned by the current operator, it will be devastating to Maine’s economy, especially given the already steep unemployment rate in Aroostook County,” said Collins.
Collins said in order to make this line work, it will take an investment of capital whether from the state, federal and private sources.
“This federal funding would assist the state in its effort to repair and improve the deteriorating rail lines, once it has successfully completed its purchase, thus helping to ensure continued rail service to nearly two dozen employers and preventing the loss of nearly 2,000 jobs in northern Penobscot and Aroostook counties,” she said.
As a member of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, Collins has led the effort to preserve this rail line. At a hearing in March, Collins secured a commitment from U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to explore all available federal options to help address this critical issue.
In April, Federal Railroad Administrator Joe Szabo and other transportation officials met with Collins, Gov. John Baldacci and local and state officials and stakeholders in Bangor to discuss how to preserve rail service in northern Maine and to save the jobs associated with that rail service. Last month, Maine voters approved a $7 million bond package to purchase the rail lines.
The FY 2011 THUDA bill must now be approved by the full SAC before it can be considered by the full Senate. A similar version of this legislation, which was approved July 20 by the House Committee on Appropriations, does not include any funding for this project. Collins will work to help ensure her provision remains in the final version of the bill.
