Brunswick Maine Street Station

Brunswick Maine Street Station, or Brunswick station, is a multi-modal, multi-use real estate development in Brunswick, Maine. Located on Maine Street, it consists of commercial offices, service centers, healthcare, retail, restaurants, theater and residential space. Brunswick Station is also a transportation hub for city buses, taxis, and passenger trains.[3]

This article is about the train station in Brunswick, Maine. For the community, see Brunswick Station, Maine. For the former Amtrak station in Maryland, see Brunswick station (Maryland).
Brunswick, ME
Brunswick station platform
General information
Location16 Station Avenue
Brunswick, Maine
United States
Coordinates43°54′41″N 69°57′57″W
Line(s)PAR Brunswick Branch
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks2
ConnectionsBus interchange Greater Portland Metro Bus: BREEZ
Bus interchange Western Maine Transportation Services: Brunswick Link Bus, BlueLine Commuter Bus[1]
Construction
ParkingYes
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeAmtrak: BRK
History
OpenedNovember 1, 2012 (2012-11-01)
Passengers
FY 202265,109[2] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Freeport
toward Boston North
 Downeaster Terminus
Former services
Preceding station Maine Eastern Railroad Following station
Terminus Rockland Branch Bath
toward Rockland

The development is split into two parts, the "West" and "East" sides (West and East of Union Street respectively). The west side will consist mostly of residential apartments and homes, along with some retail and commercial office space. The east side consists of mostly retail and commercial office space, along with some apartments. The east side is also the location of the passenger train station. This development was built on the vacant lots surrounding the railroad junction between Portland, Lewiston, Augusta, and Rockland.[3]

History
Maine Street Station development and platform in July 2012

The first steps of the project began on August 20, 1998, when the Town of Brunswick purchased the land that the development is on for $655,000.[4] Not until 2004 (four years after the Downeaster's Boston-Portland service began) did the town begin to consider creating a commercial development around a train station.[4]

On May 28, 2008, the planning board approved the final plan for Maine Street Station. The plan, developed by JHR Development of Maine, was submitted on January 15, 2008. The current plan was scaled down from the original proposal. Ground was broken for the station on October 18, 2008. A branch of the Bowdoin College bookstore opened in one of the buildings constructed as part of phase I of the development on October 30, 2009.[5]

Construction of Building Three (connected to the platform) was completed in 2009, along with site work and preparation for the other buildings, including Building Four, which hosts the train station. In December 2010, construction began on Building Four (designed by Gawron Turgeon Architects, and built by Wright Ryan Construction). Mid Coast Hospital's Primary Care & Walk-In Clinic is the anchor tenant in this 20,000 square feet (1,900 m2) development.[6]

On January 28, 2010, the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority received approval for a $35 million grant from the federal government to fund track and signal upgrades for the Portland-Brunswick line.[7] Pan Am Railways began work on the line in spring 2010.

Passenger train station

The station serves as a terminus for Amtrak's Downeaster service. The station is staffed by volunteers.[3] In 2012, Amtrak built a longer high-level platform in preparation for the extension of Downeaster service. Service to Freeport and Brunswick began on November 1, 2012.

Maine Eastern Railroad operated passenger service between Brunswick and Rockland from 2004 to 2015. Maine Eastern used the open lot on Cedar Street prior to the construction of the first phase of Maine Street Station, when it began boarding passengers from a portable platform at the beginning of the 2010 season.

In 2023, a new service called the Coastliner will begin, connecting Brunswick to Rockland.[8]

References
  1. "Transit Options". Western Maine Transportation Services. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  2. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2022: State of Maine" (PDF). Amtrak. June 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  3. "Maine Street Station". Town of Brunswick, Maine. Archived from the original on July 19, 2009. Retrieved June 18, 2013.
  4. "Maine Street Station Timeline" (PDF). Town of Brunswick, Maine. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 31, 2009. Retrieved June 18, 2013.
  5. "Bowdoin Bookstore". Bowdoin College. Archived from the original on May 8, 2013. Retrieved June 18, 2013.
  6. Hoey, Dennis (October 1, 2010). "Mid Coast Hospital to invest in center". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved June 18, 2013.
  7. "Recovery Act High Speed Rail Awards" (PDF). whitehouse.gov. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 22, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2010 – via National Archives.
  8. Record, Jason ClaffeyTimes (August 22, 2023). "Coastliner train running Wiscasset-Bath trips this weekend". Press Herald. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
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