The Maine Department of Transportation will get $53.3 million in federal funds to improve freight rail safety, speed and reliability across northern Maine and reconnect a Millinocket mill redevelopment site to global markets.

The grant will be used to upgrade two Eastern Maine Railway mainlines in Penobscot, Aroostook, Washington and Piscataquis counties. It also will rehabilitate tracks from the former Great Northern Paper Co. mill that have been dormant since 2008.

A freight train travels through Winthrop in July 2023. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer

The 1,400-acre mill site is being redeveloped into the One North industrial park, which will include a salmon farm and a variety of other aquaculture, technology and forest-based companies.

The revived tracks and renewed potential to ship products out of Searsport are key aspects of the park’s emphasis on sustainability, along with access to hydroelectric power and a community solar farm, said Steve Sanders of Our Katahdin, the nonprofit behind One North.

“The rail connection is a big deal to the wood products companies we’re trying to attract,” said Sanders, the mill site’s redevelopment director. “It allows companies to move products by rail, takes trucks off the road and opens wider markets.”

Our Katahdin has secured an anchor tenant, Katahdin Salmon, which is projected to produce 10,000 metric tons of salmon annually, and is in talks with a few other companies, Sanders said.

The funding was awarded through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Program.

Eastern Maine Railway and One North will contribute a 20% funding match, bringing the total investment to more than $66.6 million, according to Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who announced the funding Friday.

“This investment will make critical safety and reliability upgrades to enhance freight rail service in rural Maine,” said Collins, who is vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “Repairing and expanding our state’s rail network will strengthen economic opportunities and support jobs throughout the state.”

Freight rail safety in particular has been a growing concern in the wake of recent derailments, especially because operators are responsible for inspecting and maintaining their own tracks. Maine lawmakers approved a bill in April that allows the public to access records about hazardous rail freight, but only after a derailment or spill.

The work in northern Maine will upgrade more than 140 miles of rail, said Paul Merrill, spokesman for the Department of Transportation.

It will install 86,000 new crossties, 108,000 tons of crushed stone ballast that supports the tracks and technology to detect equipment failures. It also will replace jointed rail with continuously welded rail and upgrade seven highway grade crossings.

“In addition to providing critical connections to national and international markets, this work will also support new, sustainable industries and the good-paying jobs they create,” Merrill said.

The federal rail improvement program also supports upgrades that mitigate congestion at both intercity passenger and freight rail chokepoints to support the more efficient movement of both people and goods.

“The rail connection is critical to the success of One North,” said Peter Jamieson, Millinocket’s town manager. “It opens the door to bigger industry, greater production opportunities and more new jobs. It’s a connection to the rest of the world.”