The Downeaster won’t make a scheduled stop in Old Orchard Beach until later this month, but some see the idea of a year-round stop as a goal worth pursuing.

The ambition to make Old Orchard Beach accessible by rail year-round might seem as far-fetched as trying to sell Pier Fries in January, but the ideas behind it strike us as sensible.

Town Manager Jack Turcotte has proposed investing $20,000 so the train platform can be heated. There may be no call for it today, but if passengers are ever to ride the Downeaster to Old Orchard Beach when the weather is cold and inclement, a comfortable waiting area will be needed.

Tourists and day-trippers may not think of Old Orchard Beach as a prime destination when there is a chill in the air, but rail access might create more interest among those looking for an off-season getaway. And there are already year-round riders who would use the Old Orchard Beach station; today they drive to the station in Saco. Town Council Chairwoman Sharri MacDonald describes year-round service as a potential asset to residents and the real estate market.

If the goals seem speculative, they are not unique to Old Orchard Beach. Farther south, officials in Exeter N.H., are considering a $400,000 investment in a transportation center to replace the town’s open-air platform for the Downeaster. They see it as part of a long-range effort to improve transportation services and revitalize the immediate area.

With Downeaster service extending to Freeport and Brunswick by 2012, the train is becoming a more important part of Maine’s transportation system. Investments in rail infrastructure by the Obama administration will make more and more destinations accessible by rail, and increase ridership.

Investing in a heated train platform in Old Orchard Beach would be good preparation for year-round service; the bigger challenge would be to actually get more stops scheduled. The question is whether the line’s managers would be responsive to such interest expressed by the town, area businesses and its customers.

Business and community leaders probably already have a good sense of the odds of success. We’d like to believe it could work out as part of the expected expansion of passenger rail service.

— Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Nick Cowenhoven at nickc@journaltribune.com.