NNEPRA plans to relocate the Amtrak Downeaster train station in Portland, Maine to a location along the CSX Freight Mainline (parallel to St. John Street). Relocation of the station is necessary to reduce travel time, increase service frequency, expand passenger rail service and improve connectivity in the region. Downeaster service is capped at 6 daily round trips to/through Portland, with no potential for additional connecting passenger rail service, until a mainline station is build.
The current station is located approximately 1 mile down a branch line. The mainline station location will reduce travel time for the Amtrak Downeaster riders, improve reliability of freight and passenger trains, reduce Amtrak Downeaster operating costs and is necessary to support passenger rail service expansion. These positive impacts will increase Amtrak Downeaster ridership and revenue, take cars off the road and support economic development along the Amtrak Downeaster Corridor. NNEPRA has secured funding for final design and construction of the $60M project through the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), in collaboration with MaineDOT, and with full support from Amtrak and CSX Transportation.
Vision for the New Station in Portland
The new station is planned to be located along the CSX mainline between Northern Light Mercy Hospital and St. John Street. The site was selected by NNEPRA and MaineDOT through an extensivealternatives analysis.
The new station will have two passenger platforms, allowing northbound and southbound trains to meet simultaneously, increasing reliability and improving schedule flexibility. The current 15-minute stop will be reduced to 2 minutes at the new location. The new station will shorten the current travel time between Brunswick and Portland from 50 minutes to just 33 minutes.
The platforms will be connected by an elevated pedestrian bridge which will provide direct access to both the Northern Light Mercy Campus and Fore River Parkway, as well as St. John Street, the Maine Medical Center shuttle, and the Congress Street corridor. The facility will have passenger waiting and ticketing areas and restrooms with a pedestrian courtyard and parking on St. John Street.
The new station will transform St. John Street into a transit and pedestrian-friendly corridor. The location is currently served by METRO Bus Route 1 and BSOOB Bus Route 60. NNEPRA is collaborating with local transit and intercity bus providers to improve and enhance connectivity to the Amtrak Downeaster when the new station is complete, including connectivity to the Portland Transportation Center and Concord Coach Lines. The new station will also serve as an anchor for Transit Oriented Development along the St. John Street corridor.
A New Station is Critical to Passenger Rail Service Improvement and Growth
The current Portland Downeaster station at the Portland Transportation Center (PTC) on Thompson’s Point is located on a branch line about 1 mile from the CSX mainline. This requires train passengers travelling between stations north and south of Portland to make time-consuming reverse moves in and out of the station, adding approximately 15 minutes to each trip. This extra time makes the Downeaster less competitive than other modes of travel and hinders ridership growth while increasing labor and fuel costs. These movements also delay freight and passenger trains on the mainline, limit schedule flexibility, and prevent additional frequencies or future connecting passenger rail services in the region. The 2023 Maine State Rail Plan (MSRP) passenger rail investment program forecasted that the increase in ridership due to travel time reductions through Portland and the relocation of the station to a more walkable location was projected to be 66,000 riders annually. The 2025 Mayor’s Institute on City Design (MICD) Case Study: Downeaster Amtrak Station Siting recommended that a “new train station closer to downtown and the city’s employment/medical anchors will be of great benefit to the community in either location”.
Project Timeline
Date
Goal
December 2024
Portland Train Station Relocation Planning Report Published
August 13, 2024 thru August 27, 2024
Formal Public Comment Period
August 13, 2024
Virtual Public Meeting
April 25, 2024 thru May 10, 2024
Formal Public Comment Period
April 25, 2024
Virtual Public Meeting
Winter 2024
Project planning with Maine DOT, public, and stakeholder involvement
Winter 2021
Maine DOT PTC Draft Study Complete
Resources
Summary Comparison of Train Station Locations, January 2026
