AUGUSTA, Maine - A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers and environmental and business leaders is calling for a $28 million bond to expand passenger rail service in Maine. Roughly half the money would go toward connecting the Lewiston-Auburn area to Portland.
It's not every day that politicians like Lewiston's Republican Mayor, Robert MacDonald, show up at a press conference with liberal Democrats and environmental groups like the Sierra Club.
But there was MacDonald, at a noontime event beneath the capitol dome in Augusta, arguing the time has come to be able to take the train from Lewiston to Portland and back.
"We need this railroad," he said. "Too long we have been isolated. We're in the middle of some growth now. It's very important to the people of Lewiston-Auburn that this bond passes because it will start us on the way to economic prosperity."
The measure would allocate $13 million for the Lewiston-Portland route. The rest would go toward repairing and rebuilding other state-owned lines.
Supporters hope eventually to bring passenger rail service to western Maine and Montreal. The bond proposal is one of many lawmakers are considering this session