State of Maine on board with high-speed rail; upgrade work on the popular Downeaster begins

Yesterday, in a blog about traveling on high-speed rail lines in Turkey and Italy, I talked about good American jobs and improved service as we begin the challenge of developing a US high-speed rail industry.

It didn't take long for the state of Maine to rise to that challenge. Later in the day, we finalized a grant agreement allowing work to begin on the rehabilitation and expansion of the popular Downeaster Boston-to-Portland Amtrak intercity passenger service.

That work is the first phase of bringing high-speed rail to northern New England.

These funds are part of the initial $8 billion set aside in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to jump-start an American high-speed and intercity passenger rail system. And, while some of those funds have been designated for brand new high-speed rail corridors, a key part of our high-speed rail plan requires upgrading existing rail routes, particularly popular lines like the Downeaster, which has served nearly 3 million passengers.

Commenting on the grant, Maine Senator Olympia Snowe reminded everyone of the line's popularity:

“This grant validates the unceasing diligence of the people who promote, manage and operate the Downeaster, a truly invaluable transportation and economic asset.  Since its inception, the Downeaster has generated more than $40 million in fares and last year it had a customer service satisfaction rate of 93%, and this extension will not only help boost the economy of Coastal Maine, but all of Maine.”

Sen. Snowe is right about the Downeaster, and she's right about the economic stimulus this grant provides.

This project is a great example of what the Recovery Act is all about. We’re giving travelers better options while putting people in Maine back to work and improving New England’s rail infrastructure. That's a win for everyone.

The 110-mile Boston-Portland route has been designated for years as a high-speed corridor. But rail improvements are needed to allow the train to travel faster.

The work will rehabilitate approximately 26.4 miles of existing rail lines, improve 36 highway-rail grade crossings, upgrade numerous wayside signals, install signals on the Brunswick Branch, and result in many other right of way improvements. Those improvements will add up to potentially higher speeds.

Then there's the Downeaster's 30-mile expansion from Portland northward to Brunswick with a stop in Freeport.

Senator Susan Collins said, “Extending Amtrak service north to Freeport and Brunswick has long been a goal of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, and the start of this important infrastructure project is welcome news.”

Maine Governor John Baldacci was even more enthusiastic. “This is an incredible project," he said, adding that, "The expansion of passenger rail service north of Portland has been a priority for my administration.” 

I wrote yesterday that, as we move forward on high-speed rail in the US, we want to get it right. That means taking what already works--like the Downeaster--and making it faster, with more capacity and improved connectivity.

And that is exactly what we are doing in Maine.

Now, we can't do these upgrades without the cooperation of stakeholders, and that includes the freight railroads who own the rights of way and the track we need to improve. Federal Railroad Administrator Joe Szabo and I have had constructive discussions with the Association of American Railroads and many railroad CEOs, and we are fully committed to working with states and freight railroads to help them reach agreements that promote the public interest while satisfying private sector interests.

About the enhancements we need for high-speed passenger service, a recent National Journal blog observed that, "Upgrading track and signal systems, eliminating grade crossings, refurbishing existing stations, and deploying positive train control technology---will not only benefit the private railroad companies, but also enhance the overall capacity of the nation's freight carrying infrastructure."

So we are confident that more accords will be reached, permitting us to finalize more grant agreements with more states. And the pace of American high-speed intercity passenger rail will continue accelerating.

The state of Maine is getting it done today. And I look forward to seeing that success repeated across the country as the Obama Administration gets a US high-speed rail system on track.

Comments

[Matthew Davis]

"improve 36 highway-rail grade crossings"

How can you have safe high-speed rail with grade crossings? It seems to me that the only "improvement" that would make a grade crossing suitable for HSR would be grade separation.

[Digerian]

Quite interesting. In the UK we have proposed HSR but it keeps getting delayed due to government changes and lack of funding. I strongly hope something is build on these lines in the UK too.

[Harvey Botzman]

In today's (July 8, 2010) blog, Secretary LaHood praises the State of Maine and Amtrak for making improvements to and expanding the "Downeaster" Amtrak service in preparation for high speed rail service.

It is interesting to note that all 6 in each direction on weekdays (5 on weekends) "Downeaster" trains allow bicycles to be carried in the passenger cars, there being no baggage car service on this route. Of course having space for only 8 bicycles per train is not sufficient.

Tourism is a major economic force for Maine. A group of 20 bicyclists (an average sized fully supported commercial tour group) would not be able to travel together with their bicycles to Maine (Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park) from Boston under the present bicycle carriage conditions. Local and last minute vacationers would be unable to be accommodated under the current wonderful policy.

Let's make certain we plan for increasing the number of bicyclists traveling to Maine with their bicycles on Amtrak's current Downeaster service as well as the future high speed rail service.

When the Secretary and Federal Railroad Administrator were in Europe last week I am certain they discussed bicycle carriage facilities on the Italian, Turkish, Danish, German, and Netherlands high speed and normal speed trains.

The Danish trains have wide doors for carrying fully assembled bicycles on to the passenger cars; and a large separate bicycle/luggage area in each passenger car. Similar facilities for bicycle carriage are available on other european, japanese, and chinese trains.

A bit of planning now will avoid many problems in the future. As master carpenters say, "measure twice, cut once."

The author of this comment, Harvey Botzman, is on the Board of Directors, New York Bicycling Coalition and a member of several different tourism organizations.

[Morgan Davis]

A question for you then. What are w emeaning for the Downeaster by "High Speed". Are we talking 79mph, or the hundred+ that is "true" high speed? My fear then is that soemthing will have to move, be it freight or passenger, and either of those will badly disrupt service to their respective customers, but a train trying to break 80 can get kinda hairy when when near a train that can't break 40. Yes no?

[Timothy Lambert]

This is great news. But since we're going to be spending taxpayer money to upgrade PanAm's track connecting Portland to Brunswick, can we build a walking/biking trail alongside the track? We need rails with trails in Maine!

[Bob @ Freight Trucking]

This project is a great example of what the Recovery Act is all about

[Michael E. Bailey]

This is a terrific way to get high speed rail started. And it will improve the service of the freight railroads at the same time making them even more competitive with trucks. Here in Orange County, we are working on developing a high speed rail line from Anaheim to Los Angeles as part of the overall system that will go to Sacramento and San Francisco. One of the things OCTA has done is to seperate many grade crossings from the railroad tracks. The highways have been changed to go over or below the rails instead of across. The work is done or underway on all the busy north and central county crossings and work is underway to improve the south county crossings. They are also upgrading track and signals, upgrading stations, building new stations in some cases, and adding track. The railroad system of the 21st Century will look alot different from the one of the 20th Century. Best wishes, Michael E. Bailey.

[oinonio]

This is exciting news! Is there any chance of a link between North and South stations in Boston? I can imagine a direct train connecting northern Maine to NYC would be quite an economic stimulus. (perhaps bring back a sleeper to the east coast)

[Merrimack]

Time for a reality check. Have you ever crossed the Merrimack River on this rail line in Haverhill, Massachusetts? Do you think that the south approach to the bridge will ever be "high speed"? Have you ever been through the Old Orchard Beach section in Maine? Aren't there (hopefully) lots of tourists crossing the tracks?This rail line will never be high speed unless it is re-routed and built to a high speed specification. Unless the missing link (South Station to North Station in Boston)is built the potential number of passangers just isn't there. Rather then trying to justify high speed rail in corridors that lack numbers, the money would be better spend on light rail that supports population centers that have the potential to move high volume and produce revenue that justifies the initial cost.I support better rail but not projects that will require continueous federal subsidies. Maine just doesn't have the population density to support heavy rail.

[Mr Goodmorning]

@ Merrimack: Don't worry about the slow section through OOB. I've been on many high speed rail lines in Germany with slow sections through towns. It's just the tradeoff of having accessible service in a downtown area as opposed to a far off station that no one can walk to (though satellite stations have their place too). Regarding Maine's density and the numbers using the Downweaster, I'd look at the figures again. This is a successful service and is no less dependant on Federal and state subsidies than all other modes of transportation. Light rail is probably the next logical step in places like Portland and maybe even Haverhill.

[Not a fan]

I have never understood the hype about the high speed rail. The so-called high speed rail is built by spending billions of pounds and yet reduction in journey times is usually in minutes rather than hours. Would rather spend a bit more and travel by air which in my opinion is truly high speed!