Latest news with #MaineSwitchingServices
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
With contract inked, Brunswick-Rockland rail operator preparing for trains
Apr. 30—After being selected to take over maintenance and operations of the Rockland Branch Railroad early this year, Maine Switching Services is readying the rails as it prepares to begin hauling freight in the coming weeks. The Unity-based company formally signed a contract with the Maine Department of Transportation Monday, but there are several steps that need to be completed before engines can return to the line, said spokesperson Finn Kelly. "The railroad is more than running trains, so we are starting operations," Kelly said. That includes reactivating railroad crossing signals that have been down for months and sending the first engine to the region, Kelly said. The company had been waiting to sign the contract before moving equipment, he added. He said trains should be riding the rails by the end of May, with Maine Switching operating under the title of the Cumberland and Knox Railroad, but it's too early to say precisely when the first shipment will take place or how frequently trains will run. The line had been without an operator since Midcoast Railservice announced in summer 2024 that it would terminate its lease on the roughly 56-mile stretch. The state released a request for proposals to take over service in September, and Maine Switching was selected from five proposals, the department said at the time. Though the current contract only includes freight service, the new operator is interested in expanding to passenger service, the company said in a written statement. Several companies have already expressed a desire to ship products and materials on the freight line, including Thomaston-based Dragon Cement Products, which will be the largest customer at launch, Kelly said. "That is the big company that has committed to it," Kelly said. "We are working with all of the former customers who were shipping by rail in addition to some new companies that have reached out to us." Maine Switching is "dedicated to supporting industrial and economic growth along the Rockland corridor," Joe Feero, the company's president, said in a written statement. Kelly said that being able to support local businesses will be a key indicator of the railroad's own success. "We are providing a service for them, and if those businesses are successful, then so are we," Kelly said. Copy the Story Link We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others. We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion. You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs. Show less
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Dragon Cement deal fires Maine rail line revival
Cumberland & Knox Railroad parent Maine Switching Services has signed a lease agreement with the Maine Department of Transportation to restart operations on the Rockland Branch on the southern Maine coast. Headquartered in Unity, Maine, the company, a unit of Belfast & Moosehead Lake Railroad of Maine, in a release said that operations on the 56-mile branch between Portland and Thomaston will commence immediately utilizing MSS power, as the CKRR works to activate signals for freight service. It will interchange with Class I carrier CSX at Brunswick, Maine. The railroad will serve longtime branch customer Dragon Cement Products of Thomaston, which is resuming rail freight transportation. The line was operated by the Maine Central from 1901 to 1987, and by a succession of operators until 2024 when Finger Lakes Railway subsidiary Midcoast Rail Service filed for abandonment after Dragon shuttered its plant. The new agreement comes as Heidelberg Materials of Germany, one of the world's largest building materials producers, closes on its acquisition of Giant Cement Holding Inc., which owns the Thomaston property, and continues to evaluate its strategic importance. The railroad said 'it is meeting with other former freight customers on the corridor to find ways of making their businesses succeed utilizing rail.' 'As a small business established in Maine, we are dedicated to supporting industrial and economic growth along the Rockland corridor,' said MSS President Joe Feero, in the release. The new operator also wants to revive passenger excursions; the branch's last regular passenger train ran in 1959. Maine Switching Services serves paper mills in Rumford and Skowhegan, Maine, and provides locomotive and railcar repairs. It currently operates trains on the state-owned Belfast & Moosehead Lake Railroad corridor. Subscribe to FreightWaves' Rail e-newsletter and get the latest insights on rail freight right in your inbox. New railroad heralds Indiana multimodal development BNSF and UP say possible container glut doesn't scare them BNSF, UP battle over California mountain pass trackage rights Illinois railcar owner doesn't have to pay damages in Ohio train derailment The post Dragon Cement deal fires Maine rail line revival appeared first on FreightWaves.
