B&M may subsidize bean delivery by rail
Bean maker B&M has asked federal regulators for more time to develop a financial plan to keep open a rail line that delivers beans to its East Deering factory.
The Portland Press Herald reported that the company may be willing to subsidize the Auburn-to-Portland rail line operated by the St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad, which received federal approval in late February to stop service on the 24-mile line.
The newspaper reported the federal Surface Transportation Board approved B&M’s request to extend a deadline for shutting down the rail line while the company puts together a financial plan for continuing the service. The line was scheduled to stop Friday.
Without rail service, the company would need to receive deliveries by truck, which would cost more. Railroad officials argued that it loses money on deliveries to the bean factory, which is the only customer for the Auburn-to-Portland line and receives around 30 carloads of beans per year.
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