Board endorses passenger rail proposal

PARIS —   A resolution supporting the restoration of passenger rail service from Portland to Montreal and endorsing the Oxford and Coos County Corridor Coalition was adopted by Paris selectmen during their meeting Monday.

Signing on would allow the coalition to show that the project had support from municipalities along the route, said Glen Holmes, director of the Western Maine Economic Development Council.

The coalition is comprised of municipalities along the proposed route and WMEDC staff. As part of the agreement, Town Manager Amy Bernard or her designate will attend its meetings.

The proposed passenger service would run from Portland, through Lewiston, Mechanic Falls, Oxford, Paris, Bethel and northern New Hampshire before terminating in Montreal, Holmes said.

There has been a surge of interest in passenger rail over the last decade, Holmes said, noting the recent expansion of the Portland to Boston Downeaster service to Freeport and Brunswick last year.

Towns with rail stations tended to witness substantial economic development, Holmes told the board.

Responding to a question from Board Chair Sam Elliot, Holmes said the project would probably be supported by private investment or federal or state funding, not from towns along the route.

In any case, the project would take some time to be realized.

"This is not a next-year thing," Holmes told the board.

Only a few towns along the corridor had not yet signed the agreement, Holmes said.

Vice Chair Bob Kichherr said he had attended several meetings of the task force organizing the project and said the energetic group had a "clear vision" of what it wanted.

"I support their efforts wholeheartedly," Kirchherr said.