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Rep. Fitts’ Bill to Improve Rail Service Gathers Key Support

AUGUSTA – A bill to improve the movement of cargo by rail has attracted strong bipartisan support in the Maine Legislature, where it will be taken up by the Transportation Committee in the upcoming session.

“Untimely and sporadic rail service has put our industrial base in a position to increasingly rely on trucks for moving cargo that should be moving by rail,” said State Rep. Stacey Fitts (R-Pittsfield), the sponsor of LD 1638 – An Act to Impose Service Requirements on Railroads That Receive Funds from the Department of Transportation.

“The most efficient way to move large quantities of products over land is by rail,” he said. ”In many other parts of the country, rail service is a part of the answer to energy dependency needs. But here in Maine, those who would rather ship by rail are forced to choose other means because of poor service quality.”

As the bill’s title implies, it requires that a railroad company receiving funds from the State meet and demonstrate compliance with certain service requirements or pay a penalty.

“It is high time that we hold those who ask for financial support to at least a minimum standard of service quality,” Rep. Fitts said. “It is time to stop accepting mediocre and poor ratings as the norm. The carrot is our financial support; the stick is the financial penalty for not living up to their end of the bargain.”

Rep. Fitts said he is pleased with bipartisan support for the legislation. Sen. Stan Gerzofsky (D-Brunswick), who chairs the Rail Caucus in the Legislature, is the lead co-sponsor. Other co-sponsors include the Transportation Committee chairs, Sen. Dennis Damon (D-Hancock) and Rep. Ed Mazurek (D-Rockland), and Rep. Bill Browne (R-Vassalboro), the ranking Republican member.

Under the bill, a rail company that accepts state funds would have to sign a service agreement and report on service quality annually. The company would need to agree to move a loaded car within 48 hours of when it is released to the point of interchange with the next railroad company that is slated to receive the car. This standard would need to be met for 85 percent of the cars that the railroad handles or the company would pay a fine of $50 per late car.

Rep. Fitts is a three-term legislator serving on the Committee on Utilities and Energy and is the ranking House member of the Committee on Legal and Veterans Affairs. He also served on the Joint Select Committee on Maine’s Energy Future and was ranking member of the Joint Select Committee on Maine’s Future Prosperity.

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