Maine will receive $53 million to improve freight rail safety and reconnect the former Millinocket Mill

The Maine Department of Transportation will receive $53.3 million in federal funds to improve the safety, speed and reliability of freight rail in northern Maine and to reconnect the Millinocket Mill Redevelopment site to global markets.

The grant will be used to upgrade two major rail lines in eastern Maine in Penobscot, Aroostook, Washington and Piscataquis counties. It will also revitalize the tracks of the former Great Northern Paper Co. paper mill, which have been closed since 2008.

A freight train passes through Winthrop in July 2023. Ben McCann/Staff Photographer

The 1,400-acre mill site is being developed into the One North industrial park, which will house a salmon farm and a number of other aquaculture, technology and forestry companies.

Renovated tracks and renewed capacity to ship products from Searsport are key aspects of the park’s emphasis on sustainability, along with access to hydropower and a community solar farm, said Steve Sanders of Our Katahdin, the nonprofit behind One North.

“The rail connection is a big deal for the wood products companies we’re trying to attract,” said Sanders, the mill’s redevelopment director. “It enables companies to transport products by rail, takes trucks off the road and opens up broader markets.”

Our Katahdin has secured an anchor tenant, Katahdin Salmon, which it estimates will produce 10,000 tons of salmon annually, and is in talks with several other companies, Sanders said.

The funding was awarded through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement Program.

Eastern Maine Railway and One North will contribute 20% of the funding, bringing the total investment to more than $66.6 million, according to Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who announced the funding on Friday.

“This investment will result in critical safety and reliability improvements that will improve freight rail service in rural Maine,” said Collins, vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “Repairing and expanding our state’s rail network will strengthen economic opportunity and provide jobs across the state.”

Freight rail safety in particular is of increasing concern following recent derailments, especially as operators bear responsibility checking and maintaining your own tracks. Maine legislators approved the bill in April which allows the public to access records relating to unsafe rail transport, but only in the event of a derailment or leak.

The work in northern Maine will include upgrading more than 240 miles of rail lines, said Paul Merrill, a Department of Transportation spokesman.

It will install 86,000 new tracks, 108,000 tons of aggregate track substructure and equipment failure detection technology. It will also replace articulated rails with continuously welded rails and upgrade seven highway level crossings.

“In addition to providing key connections to domestic and international markets, this work will also support new, sustainable industries and the good-paying jobs they create,” Merrill said.

The federal rail improvement program also supports upgrades that alleviate congestion at intercity, passenger and freight rail bottlenecks to support more efficient movement of people and goods.

“Rail connectivity is critical to the success of One North,” said Millinocket City Manager Peter Jamieson. “It opens the door to more industry, more production capacity and more new jobs. It’s a connection to the rest of the world.”