Kennebunk station
Kennebunk | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Depot Street, Kennebunk, Maine | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 43°22′57.2″N 70°31′45.7″W / 43.382556°N 70.529361°WCoordinates: 43°22′57.2″N 70°31′45.7″W / 43.382556°N 70.529361°W | ||||||||||
| Owned by | Dietz Associates (station building) | ||||||||||
| Line(s) | B & M (Pan Am Railways) | ||||||||||
| Platforms | 1 side platform[1] | ||||||||||
| Tracks | 1 | ||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||
| Parking | 55 spaces[2] | ||||||||||
| Disabled access | Yes | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
| Opened |
1873[3]:95 2016 (planned)[2] | ||||||||||
| Closed | January 3, 1965[2][1] | ||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||
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Kennebunk is a planned intercity rail station on the Downeaster route, to be located off Depot Street in Kennebunk, Maine. Station facilities will be located in the extant station building, with a new high-level handicapped accessible platform outside.[1] Seasonal service is planned to begin in 2016, though the full platform may not be completed until 2017 or 2018.[2][4] The depot was previously used for passenger service from 1873 to 1965.[3]:95[2]
History
Boston & Maine Railroad
From the 1840s until 1873, the Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) used the Portsmouth, Saco and Portland Railroad to reach Portland, Maine. That year, after the joint lease of the PS&P by the B&M and the Eastern Railroad ended, the B&M built an extension of its mainline from South Berwick, Maine to Portland.[3]:95 The foundation for a station at Kennebunk on the new line was begun in 1872 and the station opened the next year.[1] The station was built as a single-story clapboard structure, typical of B&M stations on the line.[3]:164
The Kennebunk and Kennebunkport Railroad opened in 1883 from Kennebunk to Kennebunkport, Maine. The B&M operated service on the branch until 1926.[3]:162-164 Mainline service ton Kennebunk continued until the final day of service on January 3, 1965.[2] The station building remains, largely unchanged over the past 130 years.[3]:164
Downeaster
In 2001, Amtrak begun Downeaster service between Boston and Portland, which ran past but did not stop at Kennebunk. Some residents started to call for a stop at Kennebunk to attract tourists to the town, with serious discussions beginning in 2010.[1] In May 2014, the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority (which governs Downeaster operations) agreed to add a station stop at Kennebunk. Service as soon as 2015 was considered, but will be delayed until at least 2016 due to the timing of state funding.[1]
In June 2014, Kennebunk voters approved a $300,000 tax increment financing (TIF) plan, which along with $60,000 from current Maine Department of Transportation Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funds and another $800,000 in CMAQ funds in 2016 will supply the $1.16 million needed to build the station.[1] In October 2014, $183,000 of the TIF money was dedicated to build a 55-space parking lot near the station.[1] In October 2015, the town signed a grant agreement for the station, though the remaining state funds are not yet guaranteed.[4] The town will also pay the $45,000 in annual maintenance costs from the TIF funds.[4]
A small section of the former Boston & Maine depot building will be leased for use as a waiting area, as required by a deed restriction placed when the property was purchased from the B&M in the 1960s.[2] A 300-foot platform with a high-level section for handicapped access will be built behind the station building.[1] The platform will not be complete until 2017 or 2018 due to the timing of the CMAQ funds, but a temporary platform may open in 2016.[4] Like Old Orchard Beach, it will be a seasonal stop only open from April to October, though town officials hope it may eventually be a year-round stop.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Gillman, Faith (26 December 2014). "Next stop, Kennebunk: Amtrak’s Downeaster welcomed as seasonal economic boost". The Village. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Bell, Tom (October 29, 2014). "Downeaster train service adds stop in Kennebunk". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lindsell, Robert M. (2000). The Rail Lines of Northern New England. Branch Line Press. ISBN 0942147065.
- 1 2 3 4 Lynch, Nathan (28 October 2015). "Downeaster platform in Kennebunk chugging along". Journal Tribune. Retrieved 31 October 2015.