Maine Eastern Railroad

Maine Eastern Railroad

Maine Eastern 488, ex-Amtrak 239 and 488, and New Haven 2016
Reporting mark MERR
Locale Maine
Dates of operation 2004–2015
Predecessor Safe Handling Rail, Maine Coast Railroad
Successor Central Maine and Quebec Railway
Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length Approx. 57 mi. (Rockland Branch)
Headquarters Rockland
Website maineeasternrailroad.com
     The Mid-Coast Limited
Seasonal Service
Legend
0 Rockland
29.5 mi (47.5 km) Newcastle
Sheepscot River
36.6 mi (58.9 km) Wiscasset
Kennebec River
47.9 mi (77.1 km) Bath
Rock Junction: Lower Road to Augusta
56.6 mi (91.1 km) Brunswick
Amtrak Downeaster to Boston
Maine Eastern train at the Amtrak station in Brunswick, Maine

Maine Eastern Railroad (reporting mark MERR) was a railroad that operated in coastal Maine between Brunswick and Rockland on the state-owned Rockland Branch rail line. Maine Eastern passenger trains connected with the Amtrak Downeaster passenger train and Pan Am Railways at Brunswick Maine Street Station. The state of Maine did not renew the operating contract with MERR, which effectively ended operations at the end of 2015.

History

Maine Eastern was a subsidiary of the Morristown & Erie Railway of New Jersey, who won the bid to operate the line in 2003. MERR provided freight service year-round, and passenger service seasonally between Brunswick and Rockland with former New Haven/Amtrak EMD FL-9 locomotives and stainless steel streamlined passenger cars. Maine Eastern was the successor to Safe Handling Rail, which took over operation of the MaineDOT-owned line when the Maine Coast Railroad chose not to bid on a new contract. In September 2015, the Maine Department of Transportation selected the Central Maine and Quebec Railway to operate the line beginning on January 1, 2016.[1]

Commodities moved in freight service include cement, plate steel, and perlite.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Central Maine & Quebec to take over route of Maine Eastern". Trains Magazine. September 3, 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2015.


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