BRUNSWICK, Maine (AP) _ Construction has begun on a 650-foot by 70-foot layover facility in Brunswick that will service Amtrak Downeaster trains overnight.
WCSH-TV reports that the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority received its final permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection and began construction earlier this month.
A group of neighbors are fighting the project, saying the noise and pollution will hurt residents. The group says diesel exhaust emissions contain harmful chemicals that cause cancer. A hearing on their appeal of the state permit to the Board of Environmental Protection is scheduled for Nov. 19.
The Rail Authority says it wants to put concrete in the ground before winter. The facility is scheduled to be completed next summer, pending the appeal.