A New England provider of freight rail services is moving ahead with plans to revive operations on two disused Maine branch lines.
TransloadX is proceeding with plans to restart operations on a line between Bangor and Bucksport that served a paper mill, and another branch running to the state capitol of Augusta.
The Nashua, N.H.-based company in a filing with the Surface Transportation Board said it has begun the process of leasing 18 miles of track connecting Bucksport and Bangor branch from owner CSX (NASDAQ: CSX). The line has been mostly unused since a paper mill closed in 2014.
The company, which runs a transload operation in Framingham, Mass., but does not operate a railroad in the same filing said it plans to lease another branch from CSX connecting Waterville and Augusta.
The Augusta line has been out of service for two years after feed, steel and scrap businesses transferred shipping to trucks.
“Our goal is to work collaboratively through private investment and public-private partnerships to rebuild rail infrastructure, attract new rail-served industries, and strengthen Maine’s industrial and logistics economy,” TransloadX co-owner Michael Milanoski told the Bangor Daily News.
The company offers integrated services for transloading, logistics and railroad real estate.
The Bucksport line was part of Pan Am Railways’ Maine network acquired by CSX in 2022. The newspaper said the line had been sparingly used to remove contaminated soil from a closed chemical plant in Orrington.
CSX said in 2024 it handled 26,000 carloads of freight, mostly paper and forest products, on 481 miles of track in Maine in 2024.
The lease terms are scheduled to be finalized in April, pending STB approval.
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Read more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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