BRUNSWICK, Maine- A number of visitors, and one Downeaster passenger train, were able to escape Saturday's downpour by ducking into a new rail facility set to go online next month.
Maine's passenger rail authority unveiled its new layover facility where trains will soon be spending the night.
"Just like you would park your car at your home garage, you park your trains at your terminal station." says Brian Beeler who manages passenger service. "So, by building a layover facility, or your garage, here, we're able to maintain our engines, our equipment here, clean it, service it."
The improvements will allow for another Downeaster round trip service from Brunswick to Boston.
"We're thrilled that it's here. The crews are thrilled that it's here." says passenger rail authority chief Patricia Quinn. "And, even more importantly, we're anxious just to be able to launch that third round-trip from Brunswick and then, go up to five eventually. And that's what we're here to do, is to move people, and this is a first big step in getting there."
Quinn says work should begin next year on the rail siding project that will enable the service to offer all five of those daily Brunswick to Boston Downeaster runs.
The new layover facility will start bedding down trains on Nov. 21.
