Maine
Maine gets $53 million to improve freight rail safety, reconnect old Millinocket mill
The Maine Department of Transportation will get $53.3 million in federal funding to enhance freight rail safety, speed and reliability along two Eastern Maine Railway mainlines in Penobscot, Aroostook, Washington and Piscataquis counties.
The funding also will be used to rehabilitate dormant tracks to connect with One North, a shuttered paper mill in Millinocket that’s being redeveloped into an industrial park and salmon farm.
The funding was awarded through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Program.
Eastern Maine Railway and One North will contribute the 20% funding match required for the project, bringing the total investment to more than $66.6 million.
“This investment will make critical safety and reliability upgrades to enhance freight rail service in rural Maine,” said U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who announced the funding Friday.
“Repairing and expanding our state’s rail network will strengthen economic opportunities and support jobs throughout the state by connecting our rural communities to national and global markets,” said Collins, who is vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The grant will be used to improve 140 miles of rail, including by installing over 86,000 new crossties and more than 108,000 tons of ballast.
It also will be used to replace jointed rail with continuously welded rail, install equipment defect detectors and upgrade seven highway grade crossings.
By rehabilitating tracks to One North, the project will support the Maine forest products industry and new and sustainable industries in the Katahdin Region.
The federal rail improvement program also supports upgrades that mitigate congestion at both intercity passenger and freight rail chokepoints to support the more efficient movement of both people and goods.
This story will be updated.