Amtrak Downeaster: Overview of Projected Economic Impacts

In 2005 a study prepared for the Maine Department of Transportation predicted that service improvements on the Downeaster and service extensions to additional Maine destinations would lead to increased ridership and the beginning of economic benefits for communities served by passenger rail. Three years later: 

• Downeaster ridership rose 32% in Fiscal Year 2006, 5% in FY 2007, and 20% already in FY 2008. On the Rockland Branch ridership rose 26% from 2006 to 2007.

• In Old Orchard Beach two hotels and a $20 million residential & retail complex have been constructed within two blocks of the train station.

• In Saco developers have broken ground on a renovation of old mill property by the station into a $110 million retail, office, and residential development.

• A thirty-acre site next to the Portland station is for sale for $12 million, with mixed housing and commercial development as the intended use.

• In Brunswick developers are seeking Planning Board approval for a $30 million hotel, retail, office, and residential complex that is projected to create 200 jobs and $500,000 in annual tax revenues.

Attachment: 

Amtrak Downeaster: Overview of Projected Economic Impacts (Full Report)