MDOT's "energy corridor"

I came across this nugget while reading a 2009 MDOT report:

"The Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railroad’s corridor between the Bangor Freight Hub and Brownville Junction, and on to Montreal, provides an opportunity to invest in improving east-west rail connections with the added benefit of securing a potential future energy corridor...

Additionally, acquisition and improvement of the MMA line will provide faster and more reliable rail options for shippers, and will support the marketing of a major container port at Searsport. The acquisition would include the rights for the state of Maine to utilize the rail corridor right-of-way all the way to the terminus of the MMA line in Montreal. This energy-corridor banking could provide major benefits to the public, as renewable energy opportunities for rural Maine develop. Transmission access and capacity is a central issue in the growth of the energy industry sector in Northern, Central and Eastern Maine."

http://www.maine.gov/mdot/freight/docum ... 070209.pdf

What are they thinking? Leaving aside the obvious questions of (a) how a State-run railroad would be better, and (b) where all this energy to be exported to Montreal will come from, MMA's ex-CP right-of-way can't be wide enough to host both a rail line and high transmission line, can it??

While I have no idea about the width of the MMA ROW, I believe the answers to your "left aside" questions are likely to be, a) because it would be willing to take on less-profitable traffic than regular commercial carriers want to handle these days, particularly if its success is gauged by the success of its customers and not its own bottom line, and b) probably wind power.

Mark, re your point on (a)... MDOT has,thusfar, not been willing to operate state-owned lines. Rather, they contract operations out. Furthermore, they place in the bids revenue-sharing clauses - in other words, the state wants a cut of every carload. Not saying that's right or wrong, but it certainly doesn't foster development of less remunerative traffic. RE (b), you may be right on that, but it seems far-fetched considering the dispersion of projects throughout the state. Who knows... it does imply that they are predicted the ex CP line's eventual demise.