This is One Form of Public Transportation We Need in Maine
Maine’s diverse landscape allows for outdoor activities all year round. I love kayaking in the summer, hiking during fall foliage, and skiing in the winter.
We have numerous mountains that are home to many locals when it snows but unless you have a place to stay there or live close by, it can be difficult to access the slopes.
I tend to take day trips to Sunday River, which is a little less than two hours from Portland. I go early in the morning to maximize the three-hour round-trip drive but the ride home is always exhausting.
I don’t have many friends that ski so carpooling is never an option for me and recently I’ve had car troubles that have kept me from skiing. As someone with a season pass and gear, it’s extremely frustrating to not be able to visit the mountains.
Maine Train from Portland to Bethel
We’re all familiar with the saying, “I grew up in the wrong generation”, and that’s exactly how I felt when I recently learned that there used to be a train that went from Portland to Bethel every single day.
A train that essentially drops you off at Sunday River?! We need it!
Maine needs better public transportation in general but a bus or train that took you to the mountains around Maine would be EPIC.
I just learned from The Bethel Journals that during the last decade of the 19th century, there were passenger trains that traveled their way between Portland and Island Pond, Vermont, daily and made stops in Bethel every morning.
The service ended in 1960 but I am here to say we need it back!!!
A train to the ski mountains would make so much sense. It’s a long journey to get to the slopes and a leisurely train ride would be better for the environment, safer, and smarter. Plus, it would just save my butt for times when I can’t drive, especially in the snow!