Task force to tackle rail lines
The state's effort to purchase 240 miles of rail lines in Aroostook County now includes a task force to help develop a plan for the possible purchase and potential mediation between the rail lines' owner and the Maine Department of Transportation.
Gov. John Baldacci signed an order creating a task force that will represent state and taxpayers' interests if voters approve $7 million in bonds to purchase the rail lines, according to the Portland Press Herald. Those bonds are part of a $57.8 million spending package that will go before voters in June.
Meanwhile, the Bangor Daily News reported the federal Surface Transportation Board announced it will ask officials from Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway Inc. and the Maine DOT to discuss formal mediation efforts in Washington, but no date has been set.
MMA sought federal approval in February to abandon the tracks this summer, which run from Madawaska to Millinocket. The Hermon-based company says it is losing $4 million to $5 million a year hauling freight on the lines. More than 20 major Maine manufacturers use the freight lines, including Fraser Papers and Louisiana-Pacific Corp. State officials have said as many as 1,722 jobs could be lost if the freight lines are abandoned.
Go to the article from the Portland Press Herald >>
Go to the article from the Bangor Daily News >>
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