(The following story by Edward D. Murphy appeared on the Portland Press Herald website on April 11.)
PORTLAND, Maine — Maine’s Downeaster rail service offers a model that Amtrak hopes will be followed by other states, the head of the passenger rail service said Tuesday.
Alex Kummant, Amtrak’s president and chief executive officer, said Maine’s subsidy for rail service is critical to continuing passenger train service from Portland to Boston. Some other states also provide money to help cover the cost of train service, he said, and Amtrak wants to see state aid expand and supplement an annual federal subsidy of about $1.2 billion.
“Clearly, we are looking for the states to step up,” Kummant said as he toured Portland’s train station before having lunch with business leaders in Freeport.
Kummant said expanded rail service can be an economic development tool, and Amtrak is ready to work with local governments to help encourage commercial or residential projects that are centered on train service.
“We at Amtrak need to take a comprehensive view and make that part of our mission,” he said.
The Downeaster is one of Amtrak’s most successful runs, he said, although it still loses money.
Patricia Quinn, executive director of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, said the Downeaster saw its passenger numbers jump by 30 percent last year, the highest percentage increase among Amtrak’s routes. Ridership is up another 7 percent in the current year, she said, and a fifth daily round trip is coming this summer to handle the increasing number of people riding the train,
But the train service faces a budget crunch in 18 months.
The Downeaster makes about half of its annual $12 million operating cost from ticket sales, Quinn said. Of the rest, 80 percent is covered by a federal grant that is matched by 20 percent in state funding.
But the federal grant, which is aimed at reducing highway congestion and pollution, runs out in September 2008. The state can’t reapply for it, she said, so another funding source needs to be found.
Maine also is looking to expand service north as far as Brunswick, but a bond bill that would have provided $40 million to upgrade rail lines to handle passenger trails wasn’t included in a $295 million borrowing package. The measure, which was signed by Gov. John Baldacci on Tuesday, is going to voters in three elections between now and June 2008.
Kummant said it’s up to state leaders to decide whether rail service should move north, but it also will be up to the state to provide the capital funding needed for the rail lines.