The Port Of Eastport And Need For Rail Freight Service

Eastport has the greatest natural depth of water of any port on the east coast of the United States and as the easternmost port in the United States, is significantly closer to Europe. With 100 feet of water on approach channels, 64 feet of water at the pier at low tide and more than sufficient space to turn the largest ships afloat, Eastport is uniquely positioned and naturally endowed to accommodate any size vessel existing or planned. However, the lack of rail service is increasingly limiting Eastport's ability to market itself as a serious contender to capture a broad range of marine commerce that demands a solid, direct rail connection to the North American rail system and ability to economically move freight to inland markets.

The Port of Eastport commenced small scale operations in 1977 as an import/export facility in addition to a fishing oriented port just months before rail service to Eastport ended when the Maine Central Railroad abandoned the 15 1/2 mile long Eastport Branch in 1978.

The primary industry that had supported the Eastport Branch and a major employer in the region was the sardine canning industry centered within Eastport and nearby Lubec, Maine. That industry collapsed during the 1960's and 70's forcing the Maine Central to abandon rail service on the entire branch between Ayers Junction in Pembroke through Perry to Eastport. At Ayers Junction the Eastport Branch connected to the Maine Central's 134 mile long "County Line" between Bangor and Calais. Most of that line was abandoned in 1985 further isolating Eastport from rail service. These abandonments left only a short segment of railroad in Washington County to serve the pulp and paper mill in Woodland (Baileyville), Maine about 30 miles north of Eastport and a single outlet to the North American rail system by way of a connection to the Canadian Pacific Railroad into New Brunswick, Canada at St. Stephen, across the international border from Calais.

Despite the lack of rail service for all 30 years of its existence and spurred on by steady growth in annual tonnage, significant port expansion occurred in 1998 with construction of a deep water pier at Estes Head on the west side of Eastport. This pier (shown on the cover photograph) provides a 900 foot berth with 64 feet of water at low tide and a second 550 foot long berth on the shore side of the pier.

The primary commodity handled at Eastport has been the export of northern bleached hardwood kraft pulp from the Domtar (formerly Georgia Pacific) pulp mill at Woodland (Baileyville). Pulp is drayed by truck to Eastport where several warehouses store the pulp between ship calls. The Domtar mill can produce about 1,200 tons of pulp per day and Eastport has been exporting most of that production, over 400,000 short tons per year in recent times. The recent closure of this mill for most of May and June and subsequent reopening due to the rise in the price of pulp coupled with tax credits for the mill burning for energy the black liquor recovered from the pulping process, has served to emphasize the tenuous nature of the Ports current traffic base.

Continued growth of the Port of Eastport and efforts to diversify from mostly one source of traffic has been severely hampered by the lack of rail freight service. This deficiency is a major impediment to Port officials as they diligently market the physical benefits of Eastport to a shipping community increasingly focused on cost control and management of a just-in-time supply chain. Rail freight access is a necessity if the Port of Eastport is to continue to grow and provide increased economic vitality to Washington County.

The purpose of this preliminary report is to estimate the cost of restoring rail freight service to the port of Eastport and to determine a feasible location, layout and cost for a rail to truck trans-load facility within reasonable distance to the port of Eastport. The results of this report will be incorporated in an application for an ARRA TIGER Grant for Federal Stimulus funds that will be used to solicit funding to restore vital rail freight access to the port of Eastport.

Contents of Report

• Chapter 1 - Introduction

Chapter 1 goes on to describe the historic background of railroads serving the project area, the current track layout and limitations, as well as current rail operations.

• Chapter 2 - Summary and Future Considerations

Chapter 2 is a summary of the overall report that also includes additional discussion of rail operations and the proposed infrastructure improvements and assessments as well as a discussion of future infrastructure improvements, primarily in Canada, if the volume of rail served commerce at Eastport were to grow significantly. Currently, the overall layout of rail infrastructure in Washington County, Maine and adjacent New Brunswick is sufficient for relatively small volumes and short trains. Chapter 2 also provides a summary of cost estimates for various alternatives considered.

• Chapter 3 - Transload Facility
• Chapter 3 - Figures

Chapter 3 details the site evaluation considerations and layout of the proposed trans-load facility at Perry, reviewing four potential sites and defining several various sized footprints for a facility that could be expanded in a logical sequence as necessary.

• Chapter 4 - Permitting Requirements

Chapter 4 provides a summary of permitting that would be required and a project schedule including design, procurement, land acquisitions and construction. The schedule indicates that construction could be completed by February, 2012, a requirement of the Grant selection criteria.

• Chapter 5 - Existing Track Conditions Report

Chapter 5 details the condition of the present track structure and right-of-way.

• Chapter 6 - Bridge Condition Report

Chapter 6 details the condition of bridge structures.

• Chapter 7 - Cost Estimates

Chapter 7 provides detailed cost estimates for the various upgrade alternatives and the trans-load facility at Perry.