The Berlin Subdivision rail corridor, pictured Thursday, runs perpendicular to Intervale Road in New Gloucester. The line from Portland to Auburn is not used for rail any longer and is being considered for a bike and pedestrian path. “Not only is it a safe place to recreate and exercise, but you’re bound to run into neighbors, meet old and make new friends,” said state Sen. Jill Duson, a Portland Democrat who is behind the proposal. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

AUBURN — Maine lawmakers are under growing pressure to yank up the state-owned railroad tracks between Auburn and Portland and create a 26-mile bicycle and pedestrian trail that would cost as much as $36 million.

The proposal is being met with mixed reviews.

“I love to run, bike and walk and would love to have more safe places to do so, away from motor vehicles,” Aitana Blevins of Auburn said. “An interim trail from Portland to Auburn would improve public health, protect the environment, connect to public transit, and provide options for people who don’t drive, or simply want to drive less.”

State Sen. Jill Duson, a Portland Democrat pushing the proposal, said she has “seen firsthand the impact and benefits trails bring to our communities.”

“It’s another opportunity to enjoy Maine’s outdoors, which in this day and age is something we should all strive for more of,” the senator said.

But not everybody’s on board.

Charles Hunter, an executive with the Vermont-based Genesee & Wyoming Railroad Services, said the proposal “could create impediments for any future rail service to return to the Portland-Auburn route,” though a second line exists that is still in use.

He warned that returning the route to rail service after ripping out the existing infrastructure would be a “very challenging” and costly endeavor.

Hunter said the need for two routes may seem “very likely” today, but “no one can predict the future” and the line someday “could be needed to support Maine’s future.”

A car passes underneath the Berlin Subdivision rail corridor while traveling Thursday on the Freeport Road in New Gloucester. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Peter Cole, president of the Maine Rail Group, said the trails “are not designed to improve connectivity within a neighborhood. They are designed to destroy the option of future public transportation options connecting communities that are far more than 3 miles away by removing the railroad tracks in key corridors.”

Colin Cundy of Brunswick urged lawmakers to pursue the trail only if they can keep the existing rails in place.

“If rails are removed in favor of trail, it would be without a doubt the most expensive option to then go back to rebuild both the rail and the trail,” Cundy said. “The best option then is to preserve the rail lines for future passenger use to meet our climate goals and provide Mainers with a genuine alternative to cars.”

Auburn Mayor Jeff Harmon said the city weighed the pros and cons and decided recently to endorse the recreation trail plan.

Harmon said the availability of the second, still-active line was one key factor. Another is the state Department of Transportation is operating an intercity bus program between Lewiston and Auburn that costs less than any potential passenger rail.

Before the Civil War, rail service began along a new line that stretched from Portland to Montreal, including a stop in Auburn’s busy Danville Junction.

Trains ran along the tracks for more than 150 years before the St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad ceased its last freight runs about a decade ago.

The section eyed for the new trail would run from a spot north of the swing bridge at Back Cove in Portland at mile marker 1.7 to mile marker 26.5 in Auburn. It calls for the new trail to have a surface that is either pavement, gravel or stone dust.

But officials are also eyeing an alternative for the route that would turn only the first 10 miles outside Portland into a recreational trail.

Some people who live along the tracks are also wary. Some are vehemently opposed.

“The trails will impact our privacy, lower our property value and increase the sense of vulnerability many of us will have sandwiched between two public accesses, the road and the trails,” Catharine Barnum of Falmouth said.

The Berlin Subdivision rail corridor, pictured Thursday, runs underneath Intervale Road in New Gloucester. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

“I’m not sure how many people this proposal will benefit with trail access, but how does that compare with the hundreds of people that this trail will hurt?” she asked. “This is unjust and a terrible thing for those of us that it affects.”

Yet most of the comments received by legislators called on them to support the trail.

Lucy Britt of Lewiston said “a greenway connecting Lewiston-Auburn to Portland would vastly improve my and fellow residents’ quality of life.”

Another Lewiston resident, Stephen Burger, said, “Connecting Auburn to Portland via bike path would support the economies of all the towns along the way” and would likely prove “a tourist draw for the many cyclists who visit our state from away — again, an economic benefit.”

“I also believe it would encourage folks who can’t afford to live in Portland but want to enjoy its scene to stay in the state and give municipalities like Lewiston and Auburn a chance,” Burger said, and “might especially encourage young folks to stay in Maine, or move to Maine.”

Plus, Burger said, a new recreation trail “would help us to be healthier, happier people.”

The Legislature’s Transportation Committee has yet to make a recommendation on the measure.