FREEPORT – With pomp and circumstance, the Amtrak Downeaster will make its long-anticipated arrival into Freeport this week for a special inaugural on Thursday, Nov. 1.

The regular schedule of trains between Brunswick and Boston begins on Friday, Nov. 2.

The first day of service will be reserved for a special ceremonial train that will carry invited guests from Boston to Brunswick. The train will stop at the Freeport station on Depot Street at approximately 1 p.m. for a public welcoming event as invited guests and the media make their way up from Boston on the inaugural run.

Interest in the new Downeaster expansion has been high, according to the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, which will be running the service between Boston and Brunswick. Some 200 members of the media have said they wanted to ride the train on all or part of its first run between Boston and Brunswick.

The train will stop for ceremonies at all of the stops on the line. In Freeport, the welcoming ceremony will last approximately 45 minutes. Edward Bonney, the chairman of the Freeport Train Station Committee, and Freeport Town Council Chairman Jim Cassida will both speak. The public will also hear from representatives from Amtrak and the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority.

Besides the speeches, there will be music from the Freeport High School band. There will also be opportunities for the public to win one of several prizes, which include travel packages between Freeport and Boston, including a hotel stay.

On Nov. 2, the first southbound train to Boston will leave from Freeport station located at 19 Depot St. at 7:20 a.m. and will arrive at Boston’s North Station at 10:30 a.m. The first train northbound from Boston will depart North Station at 9:05 a.m. and arrives in Freeport at 12:15 p.m. before continuing on to Brunswick.

A train will also depart Freeport heading to Boston at 6:05 p.m. each day, arriving in Boston at 9:15 p.m. The final northbound train between Boston and Freeport will leave North Station at 5 p.m. and will pull into Freeport at 8:45 p.m.

The train will make two other runs through Freeport each day as the train is repositioned between Portland and Brunswick at the beginning and end of each day. The train will leave Portland at 6 a.m. each day, passing through Freeport at 6:30 a.m. as it is moved to Brunswick for the initial run to Boston. At the end of the day, the train will pass through Freeport at 8:45 p.m. on weekdays and 9:25 p.m. on weekends and holidays as crews move the train to Portland for the night.

According to Amtrak, those two runs are primarily equipment moves between Portland and Brunswick, as there are no facilities to hold trains overnight in Brunswick. Passengers will be allowed on those runs, but the trains will operate on a “flag stop” basis, meaning if there are no passengers on the train waiting to get off in Freeport and no passengers visible on the platform, the train will not stop at the station. Instead, it will pass by the platform before continuing to its destination.

A one-way adult ticket to Boston from Freeport will cost between $27 and $29, depending on the time of day. The Freeport train station will not be staffed with a ticket agent, though automated ticket machines will be available to purchase tickets or pick up pre-reserved tickets. For more information, visit www.amtrak.com.

The platform for the Amtrak Downeaster is all ready to begin receiving passengers when the train begins its run from Boston to Freeport on Nov. 1.