The Morristown & Erie Railway has announced that 2015 will be the final year for its Maine Eastern Railroad subsidiary’s freight and passenger excursion operations.
The M&E has been operating in Maine as the Maine Eastern Railroad since Jan. 1, 2004, providing year-round freight service and seasonal excursion train service along the state-owned, 58-mile Rockland Branch, which connects Brunswick and Rockland. The state notified the M&E’s Morristown, N.J. headquarters Sept. 2, 2015 that the operating lease on the Rockland Branch will not be renewed with the Maine Eastern. Instead, the Central Maine & Quebec Railway, which took over operations of the bankrupt Montreal, Maine & Atlantic (the railroad involved in the Lac-Mégantic oil train disaster) will assume freight operations on the Rockland Branch on Jan. 1, 2016.
The M&E currently “has extensive freight operations in Morris County, N.J. and switching operations at the Bayway Refinery in Linden, N.J.,” the railroad said. “Both have seen significant rail traffic increases in the past four years. The M&E will be refocusing its efforts on these operations by pursuing several new business opportunities and continuing to foster the upward trend in freight shipments. M&E equipment currently located on the Rockland Branch will be relocated to New Jersey to supplement the railroad’s existing locomotives and rolling stock and help manage the increased business.”
There are no current plans for the continuation of passenger excursion service along the Rockland Branch in 2016, M&E noted. The remainder of the Maine Eastern’s 2015 excursion season will continue to operate as scheduled, with Saturday and Sunday round-trips running throughout October. The final day for excursion service on the Rockland Branch will be Sunday, Oct. 31, 2015.
“The Maine Eastern Railroad would like to thank its customers, passengers, supporters, and the State of Maine for the opportunity to operate the Rockland Branch for the past twelve years,” M&E said. “We also wish the Central Maine & Quebec the best success with its new operation.”