NNEPRA updates Wells station work and urges support to relocate Portland station to main line

Patricia Quinn, executive director of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority (NNEPRA), updated the Wells Select Board on July 15 on the status of the Wells Transportation Center project and a multi-jurisdiction plan to relocate the Portland Transportation Center to a main-line site.

Quinn said NNEPRA has a $31 million station expansion under way in Wells that will add a second passenger platform and a connecting pedestrian bridge; a temporary platform was scheduled to open later that week to preserve service while construction continues. She said the project also supports a planned sixth round trip that would run between Brunswick and Wells and then on to Portland to improve commuting options.

NNEPRA presented numbers intended to show the operational and fiscal benefits of moving the Portland station from its current branch-line location on Thompson’s Point to a main-line site closer to the hospital and employment centers. Quinn said the current station requires inbound trains to enter the terminal and reverse back onto the…