The historic trains in Portland will pause operations for several months due to construction on a new luxury development.
The Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co. operates these trains as a fun tourist attraction for most of the year, including during the popular Polar Express event. But now, they have to pause their tours until April because the construction requires taking apart the railroad tracks.
Griffin Bourassa, the executive director of Maine Narrow Gauge, shared that they love being part of the community and making the train rides special. However, they received a letter saying they’d be closed for three months, which felt a bit abrupt.
The Portland Foreside project is a big deal. It’s a 10-acre luxury neighborhood being developed by the Prentice Organization along the eastern waterfront. It’ll have restaurants, shops, condos, and even a new indoor market for local vendors.
This project also includes moving the Eastern Promenade trail and the railroad tracks closer to the waterfront. The city confirmed that there’s an agreement in place to reconstruct the trail and rail line, which are on state-owned land.
When the Portland Foreside development got the green light back in 2016, Bourassa was told the tracks would need to be taken apart for a short time. They had initially agreed on a two-week closure in January, but now it looks like the trains will be out of service until April.
Bourassa received a letter in December saying the closure would last longer than expected. It even mentioned that anything left on the tracks would be considered abandoned, which included some historic train cars.
He described opening that letter just before a Polar Express event as feeling like a scene from a bad Christmas movie. Casey Prentice, the CEO of the Prentice Organization, said he supports the project and is committed to enhancing Portland’s waterfront.
Prentice explained that the contractor needs warmer weather to reset the tracks, which is why the closure is extended. He mentioned that they planned the construction during winter and spring since the railroad usually doesn’t operate after the Polar Express season until April.
However, Bourassa pointed out that the trains typically start running again in February. He also said he wasn’t informed about the extended closure until last month, despite what the release stated.
Bourassa recently met with the developers to see if there’s a way to speed up the construction. Unfortunately, the answer was a firm “no.”
