Relocating Portland Station will transform passenger rail in Maine | Opinion
Maine Secures $48 Million for New Amtrak Station on St. John Street
Portland, Maine – August 2026 – A new Amtrak Downeaster station on St. John Street in Portland will be built with a $48 million federal grant, a decision announced last month by the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority (NNEPRA). The move will replace the current Portland depot, which sits about a mile away from the mainline tracks and forces trains to reverse into the station—an operation that adds 15 minutes to each journey.
The relocation will cut travel time between Brunswick and Portland from 50 minutes to 33 minutes, making rail travel more competitive with cars and buses, boosting ridership, and cutting greenhouse‑gas emissions. It will also unlock the ability for Amtrak to run more than the current six round‑trip service per day, a capacity that freight operator CSX has said cannot be achieved unless the station sits on the mainline.
NNEPRA’s new station will sit at the junction where the mainline meets the Mountain Division, the line that currently serves the old Portland depot and extends into New Hampshire. The site will be served by an elevated pedestrian bridge connecting the Northern Light Mercy Campus and Fore River Parkway to St. John Street, improving walkability for the roughly 9,000 jobs within a half‑mile radius. Bus riders on Metro Route 1 and Biddeford, Saco, Old Orchard Beach Route 60 will have enhanced access, and NNEPRA is working with local transit and intercity bus carriers to link the station to the Portland Transportation Center and Concord Coach Lines.
The project began in earnest in 2021 after the Maine Department of Transportation completed a draft study of the Portland Transportation Center. Extensive stakeholder engagement, public meetings, and a formal comment period culminated in a final report in 2024 that identified the St. John Street site as the only viable option.
Support for the new station is broad. In addition to Amtrak and CSX, the Maine Tourism Association, MaineDOT, the Portland Chamber of Commerce, Freeport Economic Development Corp., Visit Portland, the Urbanist Coalition of Portland, and the chairs of the Legislature’s Transportation Committee have all endorsed the project. Communities along the line—including Brunswick, Freeport, Old Orchard Beach, and Wells—have also voiced backing. The station could become a catalyst for transit‑oriented development along St. John Street and could even serve as a convenient rail stop for visitors to the proposed Hearts of Pine Soccer Club stadium at Cassidy Point.
Former Portland mayor James Cohen, now NNEPRA board chair, and former Biddeford mayor Alan Casavant, vice chair, have been key figures in shepherding the project to fruition. Their leadership, along with the cooperation of the federal government and Maine’s congressional delegation, made the funding and relocation plans possible.
The new station represents a significant investment in Portland’s future connectivity and the broader New England rail network. By reducing travel times, expanding service capacity, and linking communities more effectively, the project is poised to enhance both regional mobility and economic development.
