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(rshsdepot) Rockland, Maine

From Trains.com

Former Maine Central station reopens to passengers after 47 years
July 14, 2006
ROCKLAND, Maine - The former Maine Central station in Rockland, reopened to serve passengers on June 30 after 47 years, according to a report by WLBZ Television in Bangor. The trains are operated by the Maine Eastern Railroad, which began passenger operations on the 57-mile former MEC Rockland Branch between Brunswick and Rockland in 2004. MEC ended passenger service on the branch on April 4, 1959.

The state of Maine purchased the railroad in 1989 and owns the station, constructed in 1917. In 2005 the original main line to the station was re-laid, and passengers boarded from a platform west of the depot until this June. The railroad did the renovations to the structure, which include a ticket office; plans call for a restaurant to be built in the waiting room. The city hopes that re-opening the depot will bring more people into downtown Rockland.

Maine Gov. John E. Baldacci helped cut the ribbon for the renovated station and says he'd like to see more rail passenger service around the state as a way to save energy and reduce highway traffic, WLBZ reported. With daily Amtrak Downeaster rail service from Boston to Portland, and tourist service from Brunswick to Rockland, the Governor hopes to connect the two for continuous service between Boston and Rockland.

In November 2003, Maine contracted with New Jersey-based Morristown & Erie Railway to operate the Rockland Branch and also the 33-mile former Maine Central "Lower Road" main line between Brunswick and Augusta, the state capital. M&E formed the Maine Eastern to operate the lines. The Brunswick-Rockland passenger trains operate from June into October. Motive power is a pair of former Amtrak FL9 cab units built for the New Haven Railroad.
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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