Maine Eastern Railroad

Maine Eastern Railroad

Maine Eastern 488, ex-Amtrak 239 and 488, and New Haven 2016
Reporting mark	MERR
Locale	Maine
Dates of operation	2003–2015
Predecessor	Safe Handling Rail, Maine Coast Railroad
Successor	Central Maine and Quebec Railway
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length	Approx. 57 mi. (Rockland Branch)
Headquarters	Rockland
Website	maineeasternrailroad.com

Maine Eastern Railroad (reporting mark MERR) was a railroad that operated in coastal Maine between Brunswick, Maine and Rockland, Maine on the former Maine Central Rockland Branch rail line. Maine Eastern passenger trains connected with the Amtrak Downeaster passenger train and Pan Am Railways at Brunswick Maine Street Station. The state of Maine did not renew the operating contract with MERR, which effectively ended operations at the end of 2015.

Maine Eastern was a subsidiary of the Morristown & Erie Railway of New Jersey, who won the bid to operate the line in 2003. MERR provided freight service year-round, and passenger service seasonally between Brunswick and Rockland with former New Haven/Amtrak EMD FL-9 locomotives and stainless steel streamlined passenger cars. Maine Eastern was the successor to Safe Handling Rail, which took over operation of the MaineDOT-owned line when the Maine Coast Railroad chose not to bid on a new contract. In September 2015, the Maine Department of Transportation selected the Central Maine and Quebec Railway to operate the line beginning on January 1, 2016.

Commodities moved in freight service include cement, plate steel, and perlite.

In February 2018, the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority voted to conduct a three-weekend pilot passenger service along the line during the summer. However, Amtrak later announced that this plan would be cancelled due to time constraints in the execution of their risk-assessment plan for the rail line.