A new committee in Newcastle will oversee the train depot as the town prepares for the return of regular passenger service after a 55-year absence.
The Newcastle Board of Selectmen appointed the Newcastle Depot Committee Jan. 13.
The committee consists of town and business leaders in the Twin Villages.
Damariscotta Region Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Toni Crouch, Damariscotta Town Manager Matt Lutkus, Newcastle interim Town Administrator Lynn Maloney, Twin Villages Alliance Vice Chairwoman Sarah Maurer, Damariscotta Region Chamber of Commerce President Marva Nesbit, Twin Villages Alliance Chairwoman Mary Kate Reny and Damariscotta-Newcastle Superintendent of Roads, Buildings and Grounds Steve Reynolds will serve on the committee.
The committee is already at work to secure transportation from the Depot Street station to downtown Damariscotta and Newcastle.
The committee hopes to collaborate with Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor and Wiscasset to set up a shuttle loop between those towns and the Twin Villages. The committee also hopes to establish a daily trolley service in Damariscotta and Newcastle.
The committee plans to solicit donations, sell advertising space and apply for grants to fund the shuttle service and the future purchase of a building at the depot. Louis Doe Home Center currently owns the building and uses it as a warehouse.
Maine Eastern Railroad, which operates the Brunswick-Rockland rail line, will include the Newcastle depot as a regular stop on its weekend passenger trains this year. The service will begin July 4 and continue through Columbus Day weekend.
