For the second consecutive season, Maine Eastern Railroad has experienced double digit growth in its passenger excursion service. The railroad, a subsidiary of the Morristown and Erie Railway in New Jersey, announced a 26 percent increase over 2006 passenger numbers.

Final tallies for the 2007 season show that more than 17,000 passenger seats were filled during the trips which run between Brunswick and Rockland, including pickups in Bath and Wiscasset.

These numbers do not reflect the estimated 3,000 people who will enjoy the train during the annual Polar Express and Candy Cane specials in November and December.

Executive vice president and chief operating officer, Gordon Fuller, said the company made a projection at the end of 2006 that it would increase its passenger business by 25 percent in 2007. Fuller, who was in Maine for the announcement, said he is thrilled with the outcome.

Actual results are measured in two ways: passenger seats filled during the season, and passenger seats filled compared year over year for the same weeks during both seasons. Only ten percent of the increase is attributed to an extended season schedule, while the remaining 16 percent is credited to increased awareness of, and a renewed interest in, passenger rail.

This kind of growth does not come without strong effort and added expense. Fuller noted that while public relations and marketing tactics were successful this year, advertising and operational costs also increased.

The company recognizes the value of keeping its product forefront in the mind of the consumer, and even received a marketing award this year from the Maine Tourism Association for its endeavors.

But while ticket prices remained at 2006 levels, the cost of off-road diesel fuel increased by as much as 30 percent. A federal mandate that became effective on October 1 requiring off-road diesel engines to burn low sulfur diesel fuel also added an extra 17 cents per gallon over conventional diesel fuel.

All things being equal, the railroad has done a good job in promoting the expansion of passenger rail service in Maine. Maine Eastern was recently featured in a state wide transportation trade magazine article about the revival of railroads in Maine.

Maine Eastern has operated the passenger excursion service since 2004 as the result of a request initiated by Governor Baldacci to run a special Lobster Festival Train into Rockland that summer. And while the seasonal excursion business is becoming increasingly more important, the freight service remains strong and is the foundation on which everything else is built.

Of course the real value of the passenger operation to the Pine Tree State is the example it has set for those who have not yet embraced the concept of rail revitalization, and ultimately, the extension of Amtrak service to Brunswick.

Maine Eastern believes that it is important to continue good customer service and its commitment to passenger rail expansion so that one day people will be able to move by rail between Boston and Rockland.

Until then, they will keep growing by giving people the opportunity to enjoy the coast of Maine in a way that was only a memory just a few short years ago.