An Act To Establish Trail until Rail Corridors
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1370
Committee: Transportation
Sponsors: BELL, ARFORD, GROHOSKI, RIELLY, SACHS, WARREN
Amends: 23 MRSA §7107, 23 MRSA §7107-A

Legislative Document
No. 1370
H.P. 1004
House of Representatives, April 7, 2021
An Act To Establish Trail until Rail Corridors
Received by the Clerk of the House on April 5, 2021.  Referred to the Committee on 
Transportation pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative BELL of Yarmouth.
Cosponsored by Representatives: ARFORD of Brunswick, GROHOSKI of Ellsworth, RIELLY 
of Westbrook, SACHS of Freeport, WARREN of Hallowell.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  23 MRSA §7107, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 498, §4, is amended to read:
§7107.  Dismantling of state-owned track
Except as provided in this section, the Department of Transportation may not dismantle 
or contract with a state agency or private entity for the dismantling of state-owned track.  
When the department, in consultation with a regional economic planning entity and a 
regional transportation advisory committee established in accordance with rules adopted 
under section 73, subsection 4 or an advisory committee created pursuant to section 4206, 
determines that removal of a specific length of rail owned by the State will not have a 
negative impact on a region or on future economic opportunities for that region and is in 
the public interest, the Commissioner of Transportation shall seek review by the joint 
standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over transportation matters prior 
to removal.
Sec. 2.  23 MRSA §7107-A is enacted to read:
§7107-A.  Trail until rail corridors
1.  Definition.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, "trail 
until rail corridor" means a state-owned rail corridor that is authorized for interim use as a 
multi-use trail and that allows for rail service to be reestablished in the future as provided 
in subsection 6. 
2.  Authorization of design and engineering studies.  A public or private entity may 
conduct a design and engineering study to determine the cost and feasibility of multi-use 
trail development on a designated trail until rail corridor and shall comply with all trail 
until rail corridor access protocols established by the Department of Transportation. 
3.  Corridor modifications.  The tracks and ties on a trail until rail corridor may be 
dismantled, or the surface modified, for public use of the trail until rail corridor as a multi-
use trail.  The Department of Transportation shall consult with municipal authorities in the 
modification of a trail until rail corridor. 
4.  Trail until rail corridor designations.  The following state-owned railroad lines 
are designated as trail until rail corridors:
A.  The Calais Branch rail corridor from railroad mile post 168.95 at Washington 
Junction in Hancock to railroad mile post 268.55 in Calais;
B.  The Lower Road rail corridor from railroad mile post 30.0 in Brunswick to railroad 
mile post 63.002 in Augusta;
C.  The Mountain Division Line from railroad mile post 15.6 in Standish to railroad 
mile post 51.15 in Fryeburg; and
D.  Effective January 1, 2022, the St. Lawrence and Atlantic rail corridor from railroad 
mile post 1.74 in Portland to railroad mile post 25.96 in Auburn. 
5.  Additional trail until rail corridor designations.  In addition to the trail until rail 
corridors designated pursuant to subsection 4, when the Department of Transportation 
determines that it is in the public interest of the State to designate state-owned railroad lines 
as trail until rail corridors, the Commissioner of Transportation shall seek review by the 
joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over transportation matters 
pursuant to section 7107 prior to making that designation. 
6.  Restoring train service on a trail until rail corridor.  The Department of 
Transportation may reconstruct railroad infrastructure and restore train service on a trail 
until rail corridor if, when the department determines that it is in the public interest of the 
State to restore train service on a trail until rail corridor, the Commissioner of 
Transportation seeks review by the joint standing committee of the Legislature having 
jurisdiction over transportation matters pursuant to section 7107 prior to the reconstruction 
of the railroad infrastructure needed for train service restoration. 
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes the use of 4 state-owned railroad lines as trail until rail corridors 
for interim use as multi-use trails.  It allows for modifying the railroad tracks and ties for 
public use and also for restoring train service on those lines.