East-West Railway Route

I would like to offer a few clarifying comments on the “Atlantica” area article (BDN, Jan. 21-22).

Tim Woodcock [a founder of the East-West Highway Association] is quoted as commenting that rail lines from Halifax to Montreal detour around Maine and are capable of handling double-stacked containers. The fact is that the Canadian National Railway is the only railroad serving Halifax and there-fore routes its double-stacked steamship containers over its main line running through Canada to Montreal.

But there is another alternate route from Halifax connecting with the CN at Saint John, New Brunswick, that is also double- stack capable.

The Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway, a Maine-based business, hauls double-stacked containers and highway trailers every day between the Port of Saint John and Montreal in conjunction with the New Brunswick Southern Railway. This east-west route traverses the middle of the state, running between Vanceboro through Brownville and Jackman to the Quebec border and straight through the Eastern Townships of Quebec to Montreal.

The MMA line between Searsport and Montreal is also cleared for double-stack containers. While Searsport is not presently equipped for container traffic, the new cargo pier is otherwise well positioned for container vessels, with 40- to 45-foot water depths equal to those at Halifax. Containers landed at Searsport can reach Montreal in 24 hours or less in dedicated trains.

The east-west highway exists today on steel rails, and is capable of handling any conceivable amount of freight and intermodal traffic. Maine produces vastly more freight in forest and agricultural products than it receives. This fundamental imbalance will not be solved by an east-west highway, whether on rails, roads or otherwise.

Richard J. Rushmore

Vice president

of marketing

Montreal, Maine

& Atlantic Railway

Hermon