PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 24, 2025
A renewed effort to restore passenger rail service from Portland to Bangor was soundly rejected Thursday by the Legislature’s transportation committee, following a similar failed attempt last year. The committee voted 9-1 against LD 487, recommending that it “ought not to pass” when the bill goes before the House and Senate in the coming weeks. The bill would direct the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority (NNEPRA), operator of the Amtrak Downeaster, to apply for at least $500,000 in federal funding to develop a proposal for passenger service between Portland and Orono, just north of Bangor. Opponents say passenger service to Bangor would be too slow, attract too few riders and cost too much to establish and operate.