The Amtrak Downeaster provides daily commuter rail service from Boston to Brunswick. It stops in Saco and Wells year-round, and seasonally in Old Orchard Beach.
Pan Am Railways, which owns local track on which the Downeaster operates, will begin a railway tie replacement project on Oct. 11. The project is expected to be completed by Nov. 18, according to the Downeaster website.
The project with replace about 15,000 ties between Portland and Wells and “provide a more resilient Downeaster track infrastructure,” according to railway officials.
During the construction period, two mid-day routes will be canceled. There will be no weekend train service Oct. 22-23 and Nov. 5-6.
Southbound routes continuing during this period will begin in Wells, and northbound routes during this period will end in Wells.
Buses will provide transportation from Brunswick, Freeport and Portland to Wells, and from Wells to the three northern stops. Vans will carry passengers between Wells and Saco.
Railway improvements are also underway on a 38-mile rail segment in Massachusetts owned by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, which is also used by local commuter service, according to information on the Northern New England Rail Authority’s website.
This project will include replacing areas of single track with double track to help improve Downeaster reliability.
During the 2015 fiscal year, there were about 438,400 riders on the Downeaster, according to the Amtrak Downeaster annual report. This was down about 18 percent from the year before.
“FY15 was a challenging year plagued by deteriorating track conditions, severe winter weather and significant track work,” stated the report.
Ridership numbers from January to August 2016 show that ridership is up this year, averaging about 41,800 riders a month thus far.
For more information on the temporary bus schedule, go to amtrakdowneaster.com/tieproject.
— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.
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