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April 23, 2001 The Hon. Christine Savage, Senate Chair Dear Co-Chairs Savage and Fisher; I present to you today testimony on behalf of the Town of Greenville supporting LD 881, "Resolve, Establishing the Blue Ribbon Commission on the East-West Rail Corridor". Whereas the Town of Greenville is not typically supportive of creating new commissions or boards, the Town does feel strongly that we need to sustain and improve our current East-West Rail corridor. We see this proposed commission as the only vehicle currently proposed which will support this vital rail corridor. The Town of Greenville benefits from the existence of a rail siding in adjacent Moosehead Junction Township: you can literally hit the siding from the Town-line. This close proximity is to our great advantage: a tremendous amount of wood is trucked in to this siding each week to be shipped to mills throughout the region. There is some use of the siding by businesses in the nearby Greenville Industrial Park, including Northern White Cedar and Moosehead Cedar Log Homes. Freight crosses over the tracks in our Town 2-4 times each and every day. But what is most important to the Town of Greenville is not only what the rail line currently provides for our community, but for what it promises in the near future. The Town of Greenville and the Piscataquis County Commission, on behalf of unorganized Moosehead Junction Township, have agreed to compile a Junction Revitalization Plan through the use of CDBG funds. As part of the public hearing process for this grant, it became very apparent that residents and businesses alike favor an additional siding in our industrial park, and/or the development of the current siding in the Junction. Moosehead Cedar Log Homes, a company which will expand nearly a dozen jobs in the next 3-5 years, will expand and make an investment of nearly $1 million in the same span. Moosehead Cedar is expanding its market of pre-manufactured log home kits, and the greatest area of growth is in the Western United States. Officials at the company explain these new clients all prefer, even demand, rail as the means to ship the product to them. Although the number of Greenville businesses willing or able to utilize rail is small, the vast amount of freight hauled over the tracks, and therefore NOT on Route 6/15 from Guilford to Jackman is staggering. My home is less than 1,000' from the tracks, and I can stand in my dooryard and count the freight cars as they cross the trestle over Route 6/15. If the same number of tractor trailers and tanker trucks were to cross in front of my house instead, I would not want my children to play in our front yard for fear of running in front of a loaded truck. Route 6/15 is the heart of the Moosehead Trail, the singular commercial and tourist roadway to and from Moosehead Lake. Currently, Route 6/15 from Greenville to Jackman is posted in the winter and Spring months, greatly restricting over-the-road freight transport through this region. The reason for this posting is a poor road base and asphalt depth over much of this 50-mile expanse: much of the road was never "built" to current minor arterial standards for the MDOT. Without an active rail corridor, the freight traffic over this road will multiply exponentially. If the MDOT cannot keep up with the capital needs of this roadway now, how will it be able to keep up with rail-displaced truck traffic over the same substandard roadway? The most important reason for keeping this East-West rail corridor open I have saved for last. The Town of Greenville, actually the entire Moosehead Lake Region and the State of Maine, are greatly fortunate to have the proposed Acadian Railway Ltd. Project be focused in our backyard. John Parten, President of Acadian Railway Ltd., proposes to develop a travel experience for tourists wishing to visit Maine, Quebec, and the Maritime Provinces by a combination of ship, train, and bus, beginning in the summer of 2002. This rail experience would bring tourists off cruise ships and from the urban areas of the Mid-Atlantic States and carry them in luxury train cars across the state of Maine's East West Corridor. At full capacity, Acadian Railway would have 600-800 passengers stay overnight and spend one full day in Greenville each week all summer and fall. If each of the estimated 600 guests spent even a modest $100 in our region over the 24 hours they would be visiting, the Moosehead Lake Region would see a economic infusion of $60,000 per week, and $1,320,000 over each 22-week summer season. These estimates are very conservative: our community depends upon tourist dollars to survive as much as we do the working forest. It is essential that the East-West Rail Corridor be sustained and improved immediately to make sure we do not miss this massive beneficial economic opportunity. I hope you will support LD 881, create the Commission on the East-West Rail Corridor, and take whatever steps are necessary to ensure the future of this essential piece of transportation infrastructure in Maine. Thank you. Sincerely; John Simko Attachments |