Column; New Portland station could help launch rail revival in Maine

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 19, 2026

Passenger rail service in Maine scored its first big success since Amtrak trains started running to Brunswick in 2012 when the Federal Railroad Administration last Friday announced a $48 million grant to relocate the current Portland station to a site near Mercy Hospital. The new station could open up a new era of passenger and freight rail travel in Maine, if the state’s leaders would only listen to the growing popular demand for new service, expediting Amtrak service to Lewiston, Waterville and Bangor. ~ Douglas Rooks