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January 14, 2011

Transfer of rail lines due today

By The Mainebiz News Staff

The state of Maine is slated to become the new owner of 233 miles of rail lines in northern Maine by the end of the day.

Mark Latti, a spokesman for the Maine Department of Transportation, told the Bangor Daily News yesterday that the sale of the lines was scheduled to close this morning when the recording of deeds was completed. U.S. Sen. Susan Collins yesterday announced that the federal agency had cleared all legal hurdles to allow the state to take ownership of the rail lines from Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway. Last month, the federal Surface Transportation Board approved MM&A's request to abandon the lines from Madawaska to Millinocket, after the company said it was losing millions a year operating them. The state originally reached an agreement to buy the lines for $20.1 million, but Latti told the paper the price was $19.1 million, $10.5 million of which is a federal grant.

The state has issued a request for proposals to find a company to operate the lines, with a deadline of the end of the month, and so far has received "numerous inquiries," Latti said.

Go to the article from the Bangor Daily News >>

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