Like it or not, the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority’s commitment of around $14 million for a 52,000- square-foot railroad maintenance and layover facility near downtown Brunswick is becoming a reality. Taking advantage of presumed zoning preemption applicable to properties owned by rail carriers, the single- purpose structure will confirm Brunswick as a future railroad town despite disappointing three-year traffic experience as a terminal for Amtrak “Downeaster” passenger service — and an absence of local freight users. Consultants’ optimistic projections for ridership, associated real- estate development, and community economic impact simply have failed to materialize.

Now that more than $70-million of public infrastructure capital is contemplated for implementing the Brunswick extension, there’s more reason than ever to encourage people to take the train on the Maine portion of the 144-mile Brunswick-Boston corridor. As sole subsidizer of the tri-state Downeaster, Maine’s challenge is to stimulate traffic on its side of the New Hampshire border to obtain greater value for taxpayer support of an inherently hybrid service — part commuter, inter-city and long distance. In general, those markets demand capacity and service frequency, maximum speed of travel, and enhanced comfort, respectively.

Starting in September, when the normal twice-daily schedule was resumed following summer interruptions for track maintenance, only 17 of 474 arriving or departing Brunswick trains (3.6 percent) carried more than a busload equivalent 50 passengers through December, and the average count per trip was 22.5. At least 30 people were aboard 59 trips (12.4 percent), while fewer than 10 appeared on 138 trips (29.1 percent). Those riders produce revenue of just $2 each way for the 28 miles north of Portland.

Why aren’t more people using the train at Brunswick? It’s spacious and comfortable; the Boston-centric schedule works; there’s appealing food service aboard; and normal travel time is a tolerable three-plus hours. In comparison with other options, the Downeaster is a genuine bargain and should be marketed as such. Though the posted adult “ value” fare for a Brunswick- Boston round trip is $29 (43 percent below the motor coach), the average ticket last year was less than $22, reduced by an array of 10 special fares and promotions. There appears to be more discounted travel from Brunswick than any other station.

NNEPRA’s declared intention to increase service frequency to seven daily round trips between Portland and Boston and five on to Brunswick means more capacity will be offered outside of prime travel times. Since only 21 percent of all Downeaster patronage in the last June fiscal year was for business purposes ( mostly from commutable stations in New Hampshire and Massachusetts), this change would place even greater reliance on leisure and other categories of random and discretionary travel. That strategy may be slightly more convenient for some users, but inevitably will dilute ridership per trip in a light-density market and increase Maine’s net public subsidy requirement.

“More trips at any cost” proponents are leading us down the wrong fiscal track. An expanded schedule of full-length trains to Freeport and Brunswick is not the answer for a non- existent mass market. The case would be far stronger if current usage at Brunswick were more impressive or demonstrably growing. NNEPRA has presented no market research to suggest any need for more service — other than to reach the new layover facility.

A “build it and they will come” mentality persists despite convincing evidence that too few of them are coming to justify additional timetable options. Neither is “run it and maybe someone will want to ride” a winning proposition for the long-distance segment of the Brunswick- Boston route, especially when the average automobile goes 60 times farther than the train on a gallon of fuel.

The answer to chronic underutilization is not providing more trips at off-peak times, but promoting existing trains for the bargain they represent. Brunswick will not become a significantly more robust traffic generator simply by increasing service frequency.

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George C. Betke, Jr. is president of Transport Economics, Inc., a Newcastle consultancy.