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Downeaster arrives in Brunswick

Read More: http://www.onlinesentinel.com/news/d...brunswick.html

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U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe and U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree rode the train and spoke at the Freeport and Brunswick stops. Also on board were U.S. Senate candidate and former Gov. Angus King and Wayne Davis, a retired banker from Topsham who led the grass-roots campaign to revive passenger rail service in Maine. Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Szabo had planned to attend, but was in Washington because of recovery efforts with Superstorm Sandy.

- The expansion of the Boston-to-Portland service to Freeport and Brunswick fulfills the original vision of the passenger rail service launched in 2001. Photos posted this morning by Twitter users in Boston showed people in “Maine” sweatshirts celebrating the launch of the service, and there were celebrations at each station stop along the way. The expansion was made possible through $38.3 million in federal stimulus dollars, which was used to overhaul 30 miles of track and rehabilitate 36 crossings between Portland and Brunswick. The state also spent a half-million dollars to install train platforms in Brunswick and Freeport.

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