Maine Rail Group

Trying to wrap your head around all the developments surrounding Maine’s state-owned rail lines and their interested shortline operators? Not to worry- South Coast Rail Videos has got you covered!

https://youtu.be/Q7z1uEhAYnM?is=I93qDSuT434Ij4V2

For the last few years, we’ve been reporting on the status of the Mountain Division, Berlin Subdivision, and Lower Road lines and making the case for their retention, as all of them face potential removal for recreational paths. These corridors now have one or more interested operators who have submitted proposals to the state to operate trains on these lines.

That’s probably the briefest brief we could provide on our end. Feel free to give the video a watch and acclimate yourself! After watching said video— and if you’re still in the mood to click more links— feel free to join us as we continue advocating for Maine’s rail infrastructure! 🛤️ 🌲 🏔️

https://mainerailgroup.org/contact-us%2Fjoin-us

Abandoned Rails to Be Restored or Removed - Rail vs. Trail in Maine - 2026 In Maine there’s an interesting and rare situation where a number o...

While we’ve been busy posting about railroad advocacy, news briefs, and a litany of other Maine train-related topics, we actually hit a major milestone recently: we’ve hit 1,000 Facebook followers!

When this page began posting more frequently a few years back, we had the simple goal in mind of informing the public about the importance of railroads and their place in a 21st century transportation system, and the benefits they can— and indeed do— provide to the state of Maine. After several years of networking events, attending county fairs, trips to Augusta, conversations with railroads and businesses, we like to think we’re still following that same basic principle.

As Maine’s railroad landscape continues to grow and evolve, we’re eternally grateful for all those who decided to join us and support us on this mission. We thank each and every one of you for joining us in getting Maine back on track! 🛤️ 🚂 🏔️ 🌲

https://mainerailgroup.org

This is gonna be a bit of a unique post from us, so bear with us on this one.

While we are all railroad supporters (at least, we hope you are!) – we need to remember that unless these railroad operators succeed, we will not have short line railroad operators to appreciate.

Why are we bringing this up now? Right now, there are three potential short line operators in Maine that are trying to prove themselves to take advantage of underused or unused rail corridors. All three are seeking business opportunities from freight customers, but they will not be able to succeed if they are inundated with fan messages, and sadly scammers and fraudsters, on their official emails and message platforms.

While we’re definitely excited by the prospect of these companies running trains on these lines, spamming them with messages can actually end up being counterproductive and harmful when they’re trying to get these corridors up and running.

Please wait for the potential operators to post updates on their sites, and while we know that waiting for updates is difficult, give the potential operators time to work out the business details before sending them questions, concerns or suggestions. It’s definitely refreshing and phenomenal to know that there’s support, but supporting them from the sidelines and keeping their business channels open goes a long way to helping their— and our— cause of getting Maine back on track.

Carry on, rail advocates! 🛤️ 🚂 🌲

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Make your voice heard, Hiram- vote this Thursday at the Sacopee Valley Middle School at 7:00 PM on the Mountain Division trail!

Those of you following us are probably aware of the towns of Brownfield and Hiram voting on the Mountain Division project. Hiram’s vote is up next, (this coming Thursday, as a matter of fact). Our stance on this hasn’t changed, but to reiterate our points from before:

- To remove railroad infrastructure is to remove the opportunity for rail service permanently. The benefits of rail that we’ve spent the last few years referencing would never again come anywhere near this region of Maine. While the intent is “interim”, the price of returning the rail infrastructure to the corridor ends up making any rail project expensive to the point of practical impossibility.
- Maine Rail Group does not oppose rail trails. Fryeburg and Windham have great examples of rails-with-trails. If we’re to operate under the pretense of these trails being temporary, it would be a more permanent solution to have both side-by-side rather than have to revisit this dialogue time and time again.
- The cost for the trail would ultimately fall upon the taxpayer, year after year.

There’s a litany of other reasons to vote no— whether or not you believe in rail to the extent we do— but ultimately we encourage the residents of Hiram to show up and voice their vote! 🛤️ 🏔️ 🌲

The vote for the Mountain Division trail maintenance agreement in Brownfield, Maine is this Thursday on August 6th, folks. A casual reminder that if you are a citizen of Brownfield, we implore you exercise your right to show up and vote the way you wish to see this go. Being granted such an opportunity is not something that occurs often.

Of course, being Maine Rail Group, we’re going to be biased towards keeping the tracks in place. We’ve posted a few reasons why some may want to vote no— even from viewpoints that we may deviate from— but ultimately want to iterate our own opinions. This is a state-owned piece of rail infrastructure that was purchased to preserve the corridor for future rail use. The removal of tracks, ties, tie plates, spikes, and resurfacing of the right-of-way does not accomplish this goal. Removing railroad lines, especially one with operating segments at either end, seems to us to be an unwise proposition.

We have little issue with the trail and rail being side-by-side. After all, if we are to say that these trails are valuable assets for these communities but that they are interim in design, what’s the point? If the trails are supposed to be temporary, why would we deprive future generations of the ability to have both?

While we once more reiterate that citizens vote to their own opinion, we hope that we and others have provided reason to vote no and reconsider what could otherwise be a permanent decision. 🛤️

We’ve been seeing a great amount of feedback on the post we made recently regarding the upcoming trail votes regrading the Mountain Division in Hiram and Brownfield. There’s been support for the railroad, some supportive of both the railroad and the trail, some supportive of the trail, and some who are still undecided. We’re actually quite stoked about that- the public ought to have a forum where such a topic can be discussed, and the fact they’re holding a vote on this is phenomenal.

We don’t necessarily hide who we are and what we’re about (read our page description to see what we mean), but ultimately we believe a few things regarding the future of the Mountain Division:

- The RUAC process used to determine the best use of the line had some significant flaws (ranging from representation of rail interests to economic determination and analyzing nearby properties for economic development, and little representation of the health benefits of rail transit over current car and truck transport).
- The line would be best suited for a rail-with-trail compromise, which actually preserves the rail infrastructure for future use without hampering either option presented.
- Removal of the tracks would forever remove any future rail service on this line, at a cost of $12 million in taxpayer dollars & yearly maintenance costs.

Besides that, we’re basically just an advocacy organization made up of local folks who believe strongly in rail and its positive transformative impacts on communities. While we prefer people vote no on this project (see the attached image for a further list of reasons, provided by citizen advocate Patricia Barber), we invite folks to vote on this project based on their own conclusions. A reminder that the vote for Brownfield’s maintenance is August 6th, and you must be a resident of the town to vote. 🌲 🛤️ 🏔️ 🚲



(Photos attached are from Patricia Barber, citizen rail advocate. Thanks, Patty!)

Are YOU a resident of Brownfield or Hiram?

Do YOU want to remove the rails on the Mountain Division railroad line for a trail, irreversibly destroying the possibility for rail service on the corridor?
Do YOU want to bear 100% of the trail maintenance responsibilities— including manpower and funding— for the next decade, at the very least?
Do YOU want $12 million of your tax dollars going to removing 10 miles of a 60 mile rail line, as household expenses are on the rise?

If your answer is no, then neither do we! If you live in these towns, you finally find yourselves with an opportunity to be heard. On August 6th, the town of Brownfield will be voting on whether or not to sign the trail maintenance agreement, and on August 20th Hiram will be doing the same. Through this entire process, this is one of the first times there will be direct voting input from the general public on this trail project.

If you are a citizen of Brownfield or Hiram and are seeking to keep this vital corridor intact, then we implore you to attend these special election sessions and vote NO on the maintenance agreement. This will put a pause on the trail, keeping the rail infrastructure intact for future use while allowing for further discussion for the possibility of a rail-with-trail compromise.

Let your voice be heard, Brownfield and Hiram citizens, and get Maine back on track! 🛤️ 🌲

We want to start this post with a massive thank you to those who submitted their commentary on the Mountain Division trail study that MaineDOT put out. We heard from several sources that rail supporters came out in force to advocate for the retention of the rails on the Mountain Division and pushed for a rail-with-trail compromise, or just keeping the tracks. Folks, advocacy does work. Thank you all for showing up for Maine’s crucial rail network.

Speaking of rail network, how about that train ride on the Rockland Branch?

On June 27th, Maine Rail Group hosted it’s annual meeting on the Penobscot Shore Line Railroad for an excursion down the Rockland Branch. The passengers absolutely loved the trip (which sadly did not include the person writing this), and were able to get a taste of what will hopefully be a successful excursion experience on this scenic stretch of New England coastal railroad!

It’s never been a better time to support Maine’s railroads. Consider joining us below!

https://mainerailgroup.org/contact-us%2Fjoin-us

A very happy 250th American birthday and 4th of July to all, and thank you for continuing to help us get Maine back on track! 🛤️ 🚆 🌲

Reupping one more time: MaineDOT has announced that they’re extending the commentary period by another week for the Mountain Division trail project! If you’ve yet to do so, please leave your commentary on this $12 million dollar project to remove the railroad tracks, removing the opportunity for rail service in this region!

Fryeburg-Hiram, Mountain Division Trail Preliminary design to convert 10 miles of the inactive Mountain Division Rail Corridor into an interim off-road shared-use path/trail.

A gentle reminder that commentary for the MaineDOT Mountain Division trail project is due by TOMORROW, June 22nd! If you haven’t done so yet, now is your time to voice your opinion on this project, the study’s general completeness, and the (hefty) price tag associated with just this 10 mile stretch. Make your voices heard, railroad advocates! 🛤️ 🌲 🏔️

Fryeburg-Hiram, Mountain Division Trail Preliminary design to convert 10 miles of the inactive Mountain Division Rail Corridor into an interim off-road shared-use path/trail.