Maine Eastern Railroad (MERR) Discussion

They've bid in the past. They bid on a variety of things. Doesn't mean they'll be chosen.

^That, too. I guess PAR could give it a shot. I know there was more than one potential operator who put in for it one time before, so it should be interesting to watch.

It wouldn't be the first time where PAR has let a line go in years past only to take it back, and in the NEGS case, I believe it was by "force".

But the question is does the contract require passenger service? (I'm assuming it would). If they (PAR) got the contract, would the sisters be pulling the passenger trains with the 100-101-102(?)? Doubtful.

They've bid on the MBTA commuter rail contract several times in the past, and even tried to buy the Northeast Corridor at one point.

NH2060 wrote:

dnelson wrote:Maine Department of Transportation will be putting out a new RPF for the Rockland Branch in the near future after two straight years of giving Maine Eastern one year lease extensions.

I can see Pan Am putting in a bid. If they got it they could tie it in with the existing network.

I wonder what Coastal Cement Corp. would think about that..

They wouldn't think much as Pan Am is still their only rail outlet either way.

Will there be passenger service this summer on the ME? I know it is mid-winter, but about when will announcements be made about the upcoming excursion season?

A new railroad wouldn't take over operations on the branch until January 2016, so while I can't say with complete certainty that Maine Eastern will run passenger trains this summer, the will still be the RR leasing the branch for the rest of 2015.

I get the sense that MDOT is more interested in the Rockland branch's potential for passenger service than freight, so I think it's highly unlikely Pan Am will be a serious contender. Also, don't forget that Guilford ended all service on the branch and sold it to the state in the 80s where there was more business on it at the time than there is now. I suspect that in the unlikely event Pan Am were to put in a serious bid, it would be for the Thomaston to Rockland mileage exclusively (where the vast majority of money making on the branch takes place).

I think the possibility of Downeaster 681 continuing to Rockland and back instead of idling in Brunswick all day before departing at 5:55 as train 688 should not be ignored. It would be by far the easiest way to extend Amtrak service east of Brunswick given the tracks all ready having been rebuilt to passenger standards, and quite frankly, Rockland is a far more appealing destination than Augusta or Lewiston (which is impossible anyway). From a population size standpoint, it really makes more sense for someone beyond Brunswick to function as a destination for riders from out of state, rather than a source for new riders leaving Maine.

dnelson wrote:A new railroad wouldn't take over operations on the branch until January 2016, so while I can't say with complete certainty that Maine Eastern will run passenger trains this summer, the will still be the RR leasing the branch for the rest of 2015.

I get the sense that MDOT is more interested in the Rockland branch's potential for passenger service than freight, so I think it's highly unlikely Pan Am will be a serious contender. Also, don't forget that Guilford ended all service on the branch and sold it to the state in the 80s where there was more business on it at the time than there is now. I suspect that in the unlikely event Pan Am were to put in a serious bid, it would be for the Thomaston to Rockland mileage exclusively (where the vast majority of money making on the branch takes place).

I think the possibility of Downeaster 681 continuing to Rockland and back instead of idling in Brunswick all day before departing at 5:55 as train 688 should not be ignored. It would be by far the easiest way to extend Amtrak service east of Brunswick given the tracks all ready having been rebuilt to passenger standards, and quite frankly, Rockland is a far more appealing destination than Augusta or Lewiston (which is impossible anyway). From a population size standpoint, it really makes more sense for someone beyond Brunswick to function as a destination for riders from out of state, rather than a source for new riders leaving Maine.

MaineDOT is more focused on operating Passenger Rail period. It's a mistake though to try to replicate the Portland - Boston model anywhere outside of this corridor (and included in replicate I also mean modify).

Pan Am very likely would be interested in bidding on this.

Well both Amtrak and Pan Am ran specials to Rockland this fall. Pan Ams OCS went there at some point.

I've just been informed that both the MDOT and M&E have the option of discontinuing Maine Eastern's lease on the Rockland branch with 30 days notice at any time. No idea if either is considering it, but that means there's no guarantee ME will be operating the Rockland branch this summer after all.

It's important to remember that while historically, Guilford had zero interest in the Rockland Branch and its miles with few customers, the state's original intention with rebuilding Branch in the early 00s was to try to market it to Amtrak. This was before Maine Eastern was even in the picture.

Also don't forget that this isn't your daddy's Guilford. There's a shift in thought going on. While I would err more on the side of Pan Am not seriously bidding, I certainly think it is more likely they'd put in a serious bid now than any year in the past.

BostonUrbEx wrote:Also don't forget that this isn't your daddy's Guilford. There's a shift in thought going on. While I would err more on the side of Pan Am not seriously bidding, I certainly think it is more likely they'd put in a serious bid now than any year in the past.

I strongly concur. They might put in a low ball bid simply for the sake of eliminating the cost of interchanging in Brunswick.

dnelson wrote:I get the sense that MDOT is more interested in the Rockland branch's potential for passenger service than freight, so I think it's highly unlikely Pan Am will be a serious contender. Also, don't forget that Guilford ended all service on the branch and sold it to the state in the 80s where there was more business on it at the time than there is now. I suspect that in the unlikely event Pan Am were to put in a serious bid, it would be for the Thomaston to Rockland mileage exclusively (where the vast majority of money making on the branch takes place).

Is it theoretically possible that Pan Am could get the freight rights while another party gets the passenger rights?

I think the possibility of Downeaster 681 continuing to Rockland and back instead of idling in Brunswick all day before departing at 5:55 as train 688 should not be ignored. It would be by far the easiest way to extend Amtrak service east of Brunswick given the tracks all ready having been rebuilt to passenger standards, and quite frankly, Rockland is a far more appealing destination than Augusta or Lewiston (which is impossible anyway). From a population size standpoint, it really makes more sense for someone beyond Brunswick to function as a destination for riders from out of state, rather than a source for new riders leaving Maine.

I like to think that this could be more of a reality than we might think. However I don't see it happening soon as Amtrak has no short term plans to extend service anywhere in Maine. Of course that might have simply been said so as to not jump the gun on any other possible proposals that don't have much if any backing. If things change within the next year or two with a change in operator and a continual shift towards passenger vs. frieght on MDOT's end who knows.

Now if service to Rockland does indeed become a reality 681/688 -in spite of its ample dwell time during the afternoon for visitors, etc.) doesn't have to be the only service option. After doing an analysis of the weekday timetable I have found that Rockland could have 2 RTs through the following equipment shifts. NOTE: This is based on Brunswick-Rockland taking an 1 hour minimum to 1 hour 10 minutes maximum and on Portland still being the base of operations if the Brunswick facility doesn't get built.

Bold indicates Set #1 Italicized is Set #2 and Underlined is set #3.

-Train 680 still returns to Maine as 681 but is extended to Rockland for a 1:30PM arrival.
-Train 682 originates in Rockland at approx. 6:00AM, still returning to Portland as 683. However the equipment will layover in POR for the afternoon instead of heading down on 686.
-Train 684 remains as scheduled and still returns to Maine as 685, but running all the way to Rockland for a roughly 9:30PM arrival.
-Train 686 originates in Rockland using the now extended 681's equipment leaving at around 1:45-1:50PM and arriving in Boston just after 5 as scheduled. This allows for anyone coming into Boston to visit for the night, weekend, etc. to take in a whole first evening instead rolling in @ 9:30ish. The set than becomes 687 and returns to POR as scheduled.
-Train 688 (using 683's equipment) originates in POR at 6:50PM arriving in Boston as scheduled and returning as 689 to POR 1:25AM.

Pan Am would not want or get passenger rights. Those are already built into the UTU and BLE contracts wherever ST operates, and even then they have been negated numerous times (Downeaster and Vermonter).