March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Big Dig sets back Amtrak project again> Portland-to-Boston run may begin in April

WELLS – Mile by mile, workers are creeping northward as they replace tracks for Amtrak’s long-awaited Boston-to-Portland run.

Even though the rail rehabilitation is expected to be completed in December, the daily service, once set to start in 1993, has been delayed again because of another construction project.

The Big Dig – the monster multibillion-dollar effort to put 3 miles of Interstate 93 under downtown Boston – has pushed the anticipated start of service from January to April.

“It’s almost funny, if it weren’t so annoying,” said Wayne Davis, chairman of TrainRiders Northeast, a rail advocacy group that has been pushing for the service for more than a decade.

The start has been delayed so many times that operators of the service are not making ironclad promises.

But the service should start no later than April 13 – if the Big Dig tunneling project goes according to plan, said Michael Murray, executive director of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority.

Murray has no control over the Big Dig, but he’s confident the tracks will be ready after the $47 million overhaul.

Guilford Rail System, the company that owns the 77 miles of track between Portland and Plaistow, N.H., recently confirmed that it expects to complete the track rehabilitation on schedule, Murray said.

It has been tedious work.

The track overhaul began in South Portland and moved southward as workers replaced railroad ties. This summer, crews in New Hampshire started to install new rails and are working their way north. Crews recently were working under the sun on a summer day on tracks running alongside fields and a farmhouse in Wells.

By the time it is completed, the crews will have installed more than 100,000 railroad ties, along with 14,000 tons of 115-pound rail over the Guilford-owned track. They also will have added 200,000 tons of crushed stone to the railroad bed, upgraded dozens of crossings

But the biggest hurdle to re-establishing service has not been the miles of track that lie before the workers.

The Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority and Guilford have wrestled for years over the terms of the tracks’ use, including the latest wrinkle that involves the passenger trains’ speeds.

The rail authority has long contended that the upgrades will support Amtrak trains hitting speeds of 79 mph, while Guilford contends heavier rail is needed for trains to safely attain those speeds.

The U.S. Surface Transportation Board decided last year that the lighter rail could be used so long as the tracks are maintained to a certain standard for the track modulus, which is the flex of the rail.

Because of the stipulation, Murray is preparing to conduct tests to show that Amtrak can safely run at 79 mph at the same time he prepares to ask the board to clarify its order.

“To my knowledge, this is the first time the STB has ever imposed these conditions on any authority or railroad,” Murray said. “And we’re simply asking for reconsideration to bring the decision in conformity with actual inspection practices that are in place today.”

The disagreements contributed to delays that led to the project’s dubious distinction as the longest-delayed passenger rail project in Amtrak history, said Rick Remington, an Amtrak spokesman in Philadelphia.

“Maine really stands out for the amount of time it has taken,” Remington said.

“Fortunately, we’re far enough along that the end is in sight.”

Murray said the Big Dig delay would allow more time to work out any kinks in the system that would otherwise be ready in January.

“Now, is that the best time to start? I say it isn’t, particularly with the winters that Maine does have,” he said. “We want this first experience for the folks that use our service to be a positive experience.”

While the date of the inaugural run has not yet been set, there may be trains heading to places such as ski areas or sporting events, before April on the tracks that aren’t shut down by work on the Big Dig.

When regular service begins, stops will include Portland, Biddeford and Wells in Maine; Dover and Exeter in New Hampshire; and Haverhill, Mass. The trains also would make summer stops in Old Orchard Beach.

Passenger trains along that route last ran in 1965. The 114-mile trip, with all stops, is expected to take 2 hours. A roundtrip ticket from Portland to Boston is expected to cost between $30 and $35.

But potential riders are not holding their breath.

Heath Campbell said he would ride the train because it would be safer and cheaper than taking his car to Boston. But the 20-year-old University of Southern Maine student found himself taking the bus recently.

“It seems like they’ve been talking about it forever,” he said.


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