High speed rail in Maine

By U.S. Sen. Olympia J. Snowe
(R-Maine)
The Obama Administration recently announced a $35 million High Speed Rail Grant to extend Amtrak service from Portland to Brunswick as part of the funds distributed from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in a move that will certainly provide profound benefits to our state.
    This grant validates the unceasing diligence of the people who promote, manage, and operate this invaluable transportation and economic asset. It refutes the claims of naysayers made as far back as 1995, when the Maine Legislature took the first steps to get the Downeaster under way. I was thrilled to have been an advocate for this astonishingly successful passenger rail line back then. In fact, I attended the 1999 groundbreaking alongside this train’s most ardent supporter, Wayne Davis, the chairman of Trainriders Northeast, when then-Governor Angus King hammered in the first golden spike.
Through the following years, I worked alongside the Downeaster’s supporters to obtain a waiver from the United States Department of Transportation to use federal funds to assist in operating the train; we partnered together to achieve the approval of the Surface Transportation Board to allow the speeds along the rail line to be increased to 79 miles per hour – a significant threshold in making the train more competitive with automobiles. Lastly, I was so proud to support the request for the High Speed Rail Grant that led to this announcement, working with Commissioner Cole and the Maine Department of Transportation as well as Senator Collins to urge Transportation Secretary LaHood to see the obvious merit in the Downeaster’s application.
Now, nearly three million passengers later, the Downeaster begins its next step forward by completing its long-awaited extension north to Freeport and Brunswick. It was this type of project I envisioned when I voted to support last year’s economic stimulus package. After all, this project will create jobs and spark economic growth in Brunswick, throughout the region and, indeed, throughout Maine – the intended purpose of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Since its inception, the Downeaster has generated nearly $40 million in fares. How does one explain this type of success? Hard work, attention to detail, and an unwavering conviction to provide the best passenger rail service in the country. Last year the Downeaster had a customer service satisfaction rate of 93 percent! This is well above the national standard for Amtrak service – not to mention, the on-time performance of Downeaster stands at 85 percent – equivalent to the best performance times on the Northeast Corridor, which runs high-speed rail from Washington, D.C. to Boston.
As our nation confronts myriad economic challenges in a downturn that has been felt by each and every American, this news could not be more welcomed. As a Bangor Daily News article on February 4th stated, these new rail connections “return Maine to the mid-1950s, when daily passenger service linked Bangor to Boston. It’s a step back that’s worth taking.” I couldn’t agree more. While the high speed rail infrastructure is developed and expanded across the nation , Maine can now take advantage of this vital transportation mechanism that will not only help boost the economy of Coastal Maine, but all of Maine as our abundant resources and countless iconic treasures continue to attract friends and visitors alike.