State makes offer for Maine rail line
Written by jrood
The state has offered $18 million to purchase the 233 miles of rail line that Montreal Maine & Atlantic Railway is seeking to abandon in Aroostook and Penobscot counties, the Maine Public broadcasting Network reports.
Maine Department of
Transportation Rail Program Director Nathan Moulton says the offer is
conditional on federal approval of MMA’s request to abandon the tracks. The
federal Surface Transportation Board is still considering whether to allow MMA
to abandon the railway, and Moulton says the offer will protect the right of
the state to purchase the line if the STB grants that request.
MMA says it wants to
abandon the line because it’s no longer profitable, but state officials say
shutting down the railroad could cost the region as many as 1,700 jobs. In June,
Maine voters approved a $7-million bond to help purchase the line.
Moulton acknowledges that
the state’s offer is well below the $27 million value the rail owners have
placed on the land and tracks, but he says the $18-million figure was based on
the value of the net liquidation of the railroad, which includes the real
estate, the rights-of-way, as well as the steel in the rails and other
equipment.
Moulton says the state’s
offer will be considered if the STB approves MMA’s request to abandon the line.
He says he expects that decision to be made within a couple of weeks.
